I'm kinda proud that Marquette was the first Catholic university in the world to admit women, and that we're celebrating the centennial of that this year (
http://www.marquette.edu/women100/index.shtml). It's sad to see two Jesuit schools (including Big East rival Georgetown) in this story, which was posted on the Chronicle of Higher Education Web site today:
Civil-Rights Panel Names 19 Colleges It Will Investigate for Gender Bias in Admissions
By Ben Terris
Washington
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights today approved a list of 19 colleges and universities that it will examine for evidence of gender discrimination in undergraduate admissions.
The commission aims to find out if the institutions — a mix of public, private, religious, secular, and historically black colleges and universities — are giving admissions preferences to men as the number of female applicants rises. Title IX, the federal gender-equity law best known for opening up opportunities for women in sports, prohibits public educational institutions from discriminating against applicants based on gender.
The colleges and universities will be subpoenaed by the commission not because their admissions practices have raised red flags, but because they represent a diverse group of institutions and are within 100 miles of Washington. (The commission has subpoena power only within 100 miles of where it holds its meetings.)
The one exception is the University of Richmond, which was specifically put on the list because of reports in the news media several years ago that it was intentionally admitting a disproportionately high number of male applicants.
The institutions to be subpoenaed are Georgetown, Howard, Johns Hopkins, Lincoln (Pa.), Shepherd, and Virginia Union Universities; Gettysburg, Goldey-Beacom, Goucher, Messiah, and Washington Colleges; the Catholic University of America; Loyola University Maryland; Shippensburg and York Universities of Pennsylvania; and the Universities of Delaware, of Maryland-Baltimore County, of Maryland-Eastern Shore, and of Richmond.
A representative of one of the subpoenaed colleges could not immediately be reached for comment.
