WOMEN TO JOIN THE RANKS AT VALLEY FORGE

 OCTOBER 20, (WAYNE, PA) – Beginning in fall 2006, Valley Forge Military College (VFMC) will extend its unique education model to all students, as the first women in the school’s history enroll as freshman or “plebe” cadets at the school. Valley Forge is the last American all-male military college to become co-educational.

This change opens opportunities for women in four areas: traditional two-year transfer college; ROTC; military service academy preparatory programs; and the Army Early Commissioning Program, where Cadets earn an Army commission in just two years.

“This decision makes sense and is clearly the right thing to do,” said VFMA&C President Charles A. McGeorge. He is the first non-military president in the school’s 78 year history, and he brings corporate and academic expertise to the school. “Women attending our college is a natural step in creating a more robust and diverse learning environment,” McGeorge said.

“Discussing women Cadets at the college began about a year and a half ago,” stated Trustee Chairman Mike Nolen. “The board of trustees voted to go co-ed in July, and renovations to Rose Hall dormitory were finished in late August. We’re now ready to press forward,” Nolen said.

The school plans to fully integrate women into the corps of cadets next fall. Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll and State Senator Connie Williams have agreed to participate as members of the VFMC Co-Education and Gender Integration Committee, which will supervise and oversee the transformation process. Enrollment for women could reach as much as 20% within five years, based on the projected ratio of women to men entering college nationally.

“The concept of a college is to bring forth an exchange of ideas, and now a whole new segment of our society will contribute here; that is great news,” said Lt. Col. John Church, college dean. “We are excited because this shift brings new diversity into the classroom and will strengthen our academic programs, while bringing us inline with the service academies and our military structure,” Church said.

Valley Forge educates using the “whole individual” model, built around five cornerstones: academic excellence, character development, personal motivation, physical fitness and leadership.

“For us at Valley Forge, this change is about more than just gender,” stated McGeorge. “It brings the circle of our revolutionary heritage to completeness. Just as intrepid men and women persevered together to forge a future of self determination, courage and hope 227 years ago at Valley Forge, our cadets will now fully preserve that legacy through their accomplishments and leadership,” McGeorge said.

Founded in 1928, the mission of VFMA&C is to educate young men fully prepared to meet their responsibilities, to be alert in mind, sound in body and considerate of others, and to have a high sense of duty, honor, loyalty and courage. The school is home to nearly 550 young men from grade seven through second year in college, hailing from 31 states and 38 countries.

News release written by Valley Forge Military Academy and College and posted with permission from VFMA&C