In the fall of 1971, after years of plans for a Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s merger were ultimately scrapped, the University offered a highly-contested consolation — the admittance of women into the class of 1972. This week’s edition of From the Archives explores the aftermath of the University’s coeducation decision: administrative adjustments, evolving traditions and the personal experiences Notre Dame's pioneering women.
Notre Dame welcomes first class of women, expands administration
Sept. 2, 1972 | Jerry Lutkus | Researched by Evan McKenna
On September 5, 1972, Notre Dame’s first class of 365 women registered for classes. Included in this historic group were 125 first-year students and 240 transfer students — 211 of whom were former Saint Mary’s students. But the inception of coeducation was more than just a point of progress — the addition of women to the undergraduate student body also changed the way the University operated on an administrative level.Ghosts of the past and the present: Evolving tradition at Notre Dame
Sept. 2, 1972 | Jerry Lutkus | Researched by Adriana Perez
In an Observer Comment column, Jerry Lutkus shared his thoughts on tradition as the University welcomed its first coed class in September 1972 — a new tradition that was long overdue, according to Lutkus.“Notre Dame is finally opening its eyes (and doors) [to] the reality of the world around us,” Lutkus wrote. “The world that is beyond the border of Angela [Boulevard] and Juniper [Road] is not all-male as some might lead you to believe. It is not the exclusive domain of those males we see around us.”Lutkus suggested a counter to the belief that coeducation marked the “death of tradition”: “If a tradition, as beautiful and wonderful as it is, is lacking or falls short in some way, why should we maintain it in the form that we find it?”To Lutkus, Notre Dame’s tradition of educating an all-male student body left much to be desired, because it meant the University had “neglected throughout the years to educate the other half of society.”Lutkus reflected on traditions from his former residence hall, Badin Hall, which had been converted to a women’s dorm that year. Those types of male-centric traditions were “ghosts of the past,” Lutkus said.“But give it time because soon there will be new ghosts,” he added. “New ghosts created by tradition present, no longer by tradition past. There will be new residents of the beams and attics and corners of Badin Hall.”And to those who claimed tradition died when the University began educating women, he had something else to say: Tradition had not been upended — it had simply evolved.“So, that tradition that you think is destroyed at Notre Dame is actually not destroyed,” Lutkus said. “It is simply enhanced, expanded. It is added to and given a dimension it’s never seen before.”Women of Notre Dame discuss the ‘Era of Coeducation’
Sept. 9, 1972 | Jerry Lutkus and Anthony Abowd | Researched by Madilynn O’Hara
Notre Dame welcomed a cohort of 365 female students in 1972, beginning the “Era of Coeducation,” in the words of Jerry Lutkus (‘74). Lutkus compared the influence of these 365 women to that of the University’s founder — just as Fr. Sorin made his way through the Indiana woods with a revolutionary plan, the first class of female students were creating a revolutionary new space for themselves at the formerly all-male school.In this special eight-page insert covering coeducation, Lutkus highlighted the reactions of students and faculty concerning the controversial change. Unsurprisingly, the decision was met with mixed feelings from male students and staff, but the women of Notre Dame expressed varying responses as well — describing the start of coeducation as the beginning of a new era, or just another day on campus.Some women believed there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the decision, as Saint Mary’s women had been attending classes at Notre Dame since the introduction of a co-exchange program in 1965. One female student argued it was “simply Notre Dame's 130th year — nothing's different.”