Benefits of Girls’ Schools

* We at Mount St. Mary’s College wholeheartedly endorse the views of Elizabeth T. Kennan (“Girls’ Schools Are Best for Girls,” Commentary, Jan. 19.) Research continues to demonstrate that women’s colleges offer unique opportunities to their students and that the United States would be diminished by the loss of them. As Kennan argues, the evidence for this position comes from the success of women’s college graduates. Given the smaller number of women graduated by single-sex institutions, the figures on their achievements and influence are truly dramatic.

Like Mount Holyoke, we recognize the urgent need to reverse the “self-esteem slide” documented in Sadker’s study. Our Strides Toward Educational Proficiency (STEP) Program, founded in 1985, has brought hundreds of selected students from inner-city high schools to the MSMC Doheny campus for summer workshops designed to sharpen their skills in preparation for college-level study.

We are proud that more than 40% of our baccalaureate students choose to major in biology, chemistry and nursing. Of the MSMC students who apply to medical school, more than 80% are accepted. Our strong programs in the sciences have been reinforced over the years by significant grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, especially with regard to encouraging minority women to engage in biomedical research.

The significant increases in enrollment we and other women’s colleges are experiencing are attributable to far more than the “Hillary factor.” Students have a special environment in which to develop their talents fully at women’s colleges, and we have the opportunity to help prepare many of tomorrow’s most vital and creative leaders.

SISTER KAREN M. KENNELLY

President, Mount St. Mary’s College

Los Angeles