During a time when the development of women's leadership is crucial to the success of so many industries, including business, government, and nonprofit, and to addressing the major crises of the world, including poverty, AIDS, and terrorism, Douglass needs to remain, and in fact, advance itself as THE place for women to learn critical leadership skills. Diminishing Douglass to a "campus" will in effect diminish its ability to implement its leadership initiatives and the ways in which Douglass College students learn to lead, learn to become effective citizens and businesspeople, learn to change the world.
--Julie Abrahamsen Class of 2000

Douglass provided me with a wonderful sense of community in the face of a huge university and fostered in me important leadership skills. Douglass's unique course offerings, such as the Scholars' program seminars and the more recent Shaping A Life course, combine top-notch academics with the important experience of learning and living in a women's college environment. Douglass offers many programs that develop leadership skills and further her mission of preparing women for whatever career paths they choose. Douglass has a long line of traditions and history of educating women that is passed down from class to class. Douglass also offers wonderful deans who are committed to women's education and who are accessible and supportive to students.

Douglass's status as a women's college contained within a larger university is unique and should be maintained and cultivated, not consolidated or eliminated. After Douglass, I went on to attend law school at Harvard, and I observed what has happened to Radcliffe as it has been absorbed into the larger university and relegated to a mere "institute." There is very little that is distinctive and unique left to it. I do not want to see the immense value that Douglass as a college offers to her students lost. Douglass is one of the important strengths of Rutgers University, and I urge you to support its continuation as a unique college within the university system.
--MaryBeth Musumeci Class of 1996

When I entered the massive, faceless university system as a scared first-year student over ten years ago, I was shy, lacking in self-confidence, and totally unsure of myself. Douglass provided me a small, safe, supportive learning environment that encouraged me to explore my academic potential, taught me to become a leader (which is a vital lesson for ALL women to learn), and inspired me to uncover my inner potential. Upon graduating, I felt there was nothing I couldn't do. This was, in large part, due to the crucial services Douglass - as a women's college with its own funding and alumnae association - offered, particularly the Extern Program and the innumerable mentoring programs in which I participated, both as a mentee and a mentor (I still maintain a strong relationship to my mentee, who is a Berkeley law student!) Reducing Douglass to a campus would significantly dilute its ability to provide such key services to students, and would hinder our ability to "turn out" strong, intelligent, confident women who could, in turn, help change the world. It is essential to protect Douglass College and its programs, such as Project SUPER and the Global Village. Before closing, I will also say that I devoted my senior honors thesis to the history of Douglass College. In "The Survival of a Woman's College" (1994), I examined the impact of Reorganization on Douglass in the early 1980s. I drew in large part on your father's papers at the University Archives. Studying Reorganization gives me a particularly keen insight into the current proposals. Knowing all of the structural and bureaucratic hurdles our university faces, I can confidently say that creating one College of Liberal Arts will no better help the inherent problems in our system, and will probably do far more damage than good in the end by eliminating the "small college" feel that is so necessary to mitigating the overwhelming size of Rutgers-New Brunswick.
--Pamela R. Lach Class of 1998

I cannot express to you enough how important Douglass College is to me and how it molded me into the confident, self-assured woman I am today. Douglass College is the reason I have succeeded in a field primarily dominated by men and seek challenges and hurdles I might otherwise have not if I attended an ordinary "campus."

I would be sadden to know future generations would not have the same opportunity afforded to them as I did. The elimination of Douglass College would, no doubt, be a serious detriment to our community.
--Monica Biskup Class of 1998

The Douglass Difference is not merely a slogan: it tells of the distinct education those who attend Douglass receive, both in and out of the classroom. It is imperative that Douglass remains a college, and not just become the name of a campus. In this way women, such as those I have sponsored in our Extern Program, will continue to receive the same motivation and inspiration as those who have come before them. This in turn will allow Douglass to continue to turn out female leaders with a sense of purpose and confidence unmatched.
--Mary Bishop Class of 1995

Douglass helped me find my voice and my future. At Douglass, I discovered my friends, my mentors, and my path. I will never forget this and will defend Douglass to the end.
--Katherine L. Muller Class of 1996

Douglass College offers a singular experience at Rutgers and has a singular history. Douglass was the place for women at Rutgers when there was no other place. And when Rutgers began to admit women, it made the "Douglass Difference" all the more powerful through the women-only opportunities for leadership and excellence in non-traditional subjects.
--Jan Oosting Kaminsky Class of 2001

The Douglass experience is unique and should endure for generations of young women.
--Leonora Smith McCoy Class of 1963

Douglass changed my world, my vision of myself as the agent of my destiny. It is my strong belief that only a woman's could do that for me - and perhaps only a woman's college, such as Douglass, where many of the students were what might be called "strivers" today - women who did not come from a background of privilege and in many cases were the first generation in their families to attend college.
--Jeanette Wildgrube deRichmond Class of 1977

I had the pleasure of meeting you at a reception planned in your honor early in your presidency. The only question I had for you concerned the continued existence of Douglass College as an independent women's school. You assured me that it was your intention that it's status quo would be maintained.

I have listened to many Rutgers Administrator's speeches glorifying accomplishments at Rutgers, but Douglass is never mentioned. It is as though it doesn't exist. Yet we both know Douglass has had amazing growth and support from its Alumnae because we are so proud of the innovative programs now in place that serve as models for colleges across the country, and we know there are more ambitious plans for the future.
--Anita Hahn Wolfson Class of 1943

We feel betrayed by your endorsement of the plan to change Douglass from a college to a campus. On two separate occasions, ..., you emphasized the importance of Douglass College to Rutgers University. In each case, in response to questions about Douglass, you said that this women's college is, and would continue to be, a vital part of the university. On listening to you on those two occasions, we were reassured that the value of Douglass as a women's college would continue to be recognized. Now, however, the reorganization plan proposed by the Task Force on Undergraduate Education would eliminate Douglass College entirely. This would not only be a severe loss for Douglass students and Douglass alumnae, but would also, in our view, diminish Rutgers University. Homogenization of the undergraduate students in a College of Arts and Sciences may make teaching easier and simpler to administer, but it will deny Douglass students the important opportunities for expanding their professional horizons. Douglass is unique. Its special programs for women have received wide recognition for the college and the university. These programs do not stand alone within Rutgers. They are part of a challenging and nurturing environment at Douglass that prepares women for leadership.
--Irene Dale Goldfarb Class of 1950 Samuel Goldfarb RSE Class of 1945

The big box store may work well for merchandise but not for higher education. If the proposed changes regarding Douglass are enacted, Rutgers will suffer major losses in quality and distinction. Moreover, the university will be forced to drastically cut its budget when our 35,000 otherwise active and generous Douglass graduates cease their support as expected.
--Kathryn Mills Roettger Class of 1970

Of the schools I have attended during my lifetime, only two stand out. One was Harbourton School, a two-room schoolhouse in Hopewell Township, where I was a student for the second, third, and fourth grades. The other was Douglass College. Though vastly different in many ways, they were both led by strong women, and at both schools, there was an educational nurturing that I consider unmatchable.

I ask you to consider the Douglass College Proposal, which is a wise alternative that can do as much or more to strengthen Rutgers University than the one submitted by the Task Force. By the way, if you drive on Route 579 in Hopewell Township, you can see the Harbourton School. It has stood empty now for several years. The building is there, a shell of its past vibrancy and essence. The same will happen to Douglass College if the Task Force's proposal is accepted.
--Sheila Smith Noonan Class of 1984

Your Task Force's "bold vision for a unified Rutgers College of Arts And Sciences that removes educational roadblocks for students, deepens faculty engagement in campus life, and enriches the learning experience for all New Brunswick/Piscataway undergraduates" is in my opinion, more about the consolidation of power at the top and less about quality undergraduate education at the bottom.
--Florence Pittman Matusky Class of 1960

As I understand it, the unique and vibrant institution that is Douglass is in danger of becoming simply an empty moniker within the massive Rutgers University machine. Please do not let the proud, innovative, and principled tradition of Douglass College be extinguished. I feel strongly that my experience of the Douglass Difference made my college career more significant, more challenging, and more satisfying. As a Douglass graduate, I have felt privileged to count myself among an elite coterie of successful, interesting, powerful women who have a great love of learning and a great connection to the Douglass community.
--Cecelia E. Haney Class of 1992

I am a proud Rutgers College graduate, and the only one who is currently a dean at Douglass College. When I entered Rutgers College in 1982, reorganization had already occurred. I had contact with the (Rutgers) College administration and faculty advisors in ways that very few of my fellow graduates were able to experience.

One of the things that is striking about Douglass College is that so many students get to experience this personalized connection with its administrators. A natural response is that it has to do with size differences. However, this phenomenon goes beyond sheer numbers. It is due to linkages between programs and staff members, who routinely collaborate on academic and complementary student life initiatives. It is due to the special Douglass College events like Yule Log and Sacred Path which reflect the past and present history of the College. It is due to the generosity of Douglass College alumnae. It is due to a Dean who regularly welcomes students and staff into her home.

If one of the goals of the (Task Force) Report is to increase undergraduate student satisfaction, then Douglass College should be looked to as the benchmark.
-Dr. Michelle J. Shostack RC '86, GSEd '88, '95
Assistant-Dean/Director Douglass College EOF Program

As the son of an alumna who felt enormous loyalty to her alma mater, I feel compelled to write in opposition to the abolition of Douglass College and its absorption into some lumbering, bureaucratic Rutgers behemoth. My mother graduated from Douglass in 1923 with a major in chemistry and a minor in math. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry at Columbia University and had a very successful career as a research chemist. She always felt that Douglass provided an excellent basis for her subsequent education and her achievements in the workforce. My mother always valued Douglass' smaller size, more personal environment and its emphasis on female leadership, all of which would be lost under the proposed merger.
-The Honorable Richard F. Plechner