Stephens College in a Nutshell

In 1833 the Columbia Female Academy, later known as Stephens College, was established.  In 1856, David H. Hickman helped transform the academy into a full-scale college, renaming it the Columbia Female Baptist Academy.  Finally, James L. Stephens endowed the college with 20,000 dollars and it was renamed Stephens College.  The purpose for creating this academy was for the leading men of Columbia to have a place for their daughters to receive an education ("Stephens College: About Stephens – History”).  Many notable alumnae have graduated from Stephens College, including women who can be seen as role models, being the first of their gender to accomplish something, such as Jeane Kirkpatrick, United State’s first female ambassador to the UN.  Stephens College’s first female president was Patsy H. Sampson, elected in 1983 ("Stephens College: News and Events-For the Media").  Not only does Stephens offer various majors and minors in the more traditional areas such as: business, education, psychology, etc., but Stephens also has strong programs for more unconventional majors.  These include an equestrian program and various programs in the arts.  The arts are very important at Stephens College, which offers programs for filmmaking, dance, theatre, and fashion and design.  Evidence that these programs are important to Stephens is shown in their participation with off-campus programs such as the Okoboji Summer Theatre in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and their involvement in the Citizen Jane Film Festival and the True/False Film Festival (Harling).  Theatre and dance programs are also the only departments at Stephens College that admit men (Karstens Columbia Missourian).  As Stephens College's website states by president Dianne Lynch, “For more than 175 years, we have been educating women to become leaders as well as valuable contributors toward the betterment of our society” (Stephens.edu “Welcome to Stephens”).  Since 1833, Stephens College has remained dedicated to the education of women and improving the roles of women in society ("Stephens College : About Stephens – History”). 

Although I do not attend Stephens College, I can relate to Stephens in various ways.  Striving for the education of women and the importance of women to break barriers are both points that are very important to me.  I knew that the ideals for Stephens would relate to my own ideals for women in education, and I can appreciate the fact that Stephens is interested in the improvement of women in society.  I also have a strange connection to Stephens geographically.  I was born and raised in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.  Although Stephens College is located in Columbia, Missouri, there are many connections that Stephens has to Iowa.  For one, Stephens’ first female president, Patsy H. Sampson, was the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of psychology at Drake University, which is located in Iowa ("Stephens College Press Release").  Secondly, Stephens has a summer theatre program in Spirit Lake, Iowa, where I visited often growing up (Harling).  Lastly, one of Stephens’ films that was shown this past year at the True/False Film Festival was about author John Zielinski, who was the most blacklisted author in Iowa (Zielinskifilm.com).
-Kelsey

Male Student at Stephens by Conner O'Brian

I have been dancing my whole life.  I am currently attending Stephens College, and I am in its male apprentice program.  I am pursuing a three-year and two- summer bachelor’s degree in the fine arts.  In high school I was involved in dance and I had never heard about Stephens College or the fact that it accepted men since it does not display it on its website.  Instead I heard about it from one of the performing arts faculty members during one of her recruitment trips.  I was excited at the potential of furthering my dancing career at Stephens College and upon further research decided to attend there.  In order to apply, I had to send in the traditional transcripts and letters of recommendations, but I also had to audition in person for the school.  I was very relieved when I got accepted due to the fact that they only let very dedicated and skilled male dancers into the program because it is very intensive.  Although it was strange to be attending a women’s college, I found it very comforting being on campus where everybody knew me; it made it very easy for me to make friends.  When I questioned why Stephens even admitted men, I realized that as chairwoman of the dance department, Carol Estey, says, “it is important to have male apprentices in the program so that women become comfortable dancing with men, which they no doubt will be required to do when entering a professional dance company” (Karstens Columbia Missourian).  Overall being at Stephens College has prepared me for success in dance, but there are some times that I question whether it was a right choice to attend here.  

Although initially the attention was nice, I have come to realize that it is bothersome at times.  There is a lot of gossip and scandal surrounding me that involves my personal life.  Just because people recognize me, they think that they know me.  I also find it unfair that Stephens believes that its majors are not appealing to males, as stated in the 2007 North Central Association Accreditation Report (Karstens Columbia Missourian).  If that were the case, then what am I doing at Stephens?  And what does that say about my interest in dance?  Am I not “man” enough according to Stephens' standards?  Another thing that I find bothersome at Stephens is their use for the male apprentices in such tasks as moving dance floors.  They do keep it to a minimal with their first priority being our health and making sure we do not get injured, but I find it problematic that they do not feel that woman can help with such tasks (Karstens Columbia Missourian).

-Conner

Stephens' Alumnae by Adele Anderson

     I graduated from Stephens College in 1951.  During my freshman year, I was lucky enough to experience the last year of presidency for James Madison Wood.  Wood, or “Daddy” as we all called him, was president of Stephens College for thirty-five years ("Stephens College: News and Events-For the Media").  While attending Stephens, we were all taught how to wear our hair and to dress appropriately (“Spouse Trap”).  Nothing is more unbecoming than a woman who does not know the proper ways to groom herself.  Thanks to the help of Wood and the groomer he brought to Stephens we were all fortunate enough to learn from a professional (“Spouse Trap”).  While Wood was president, he hired Wernett W. Charters to enhance the curriculum at Stephens ("Stephens College : About Stephens – History”).  Charters was a psychologist who worked with Wood to figure out how women differed from men in learning.  They also worked to figure out how that discovery could help them build the “strongest curriculum found in any women’s college in the world,” which Wood stated on the “History of Stephens” article on Stephens' webpage (“Spouse Trap”).  Like most of the women in my class, I married within five years after I graduated and stuck true to the conspiracy that American Magazine created, dubbing Stephens College a “spouse trap” in which you are prepared for marriage after attending Stephens College so much so that you fulfill that duty soon after you graduate (“Spouse Trap”).  

     Since my graduation from Stephens, there have been many changes at the school.  For one thing, men are now admitted, which is strange to me since the school still considers themselves a woman’s college.  In fact the vice president for public relations and marketing at Stephens, Amy Gipson, said that they have no plan of becoming a coeducational school in the future (Karstens Columbia Missourian).  I hope that Stephens will still prosper in educating women and instilling favorable ideals in the minds of our young women.

-Adele

Female Student at Stephens by Claire Johnson

Stephens College has given me a lot of hands-on experience in filmmaking and theater.  I decided early on in my life that I was going to attend Stephens due to the fact that my mother graduated from there.  I also like the small class size; the student to teacher ratio is 12:1, and the fact that it is a women’s school ("Stephens College: About Stephens - History").  Having graduated from an all-female high school, I was familiar with going to school with all girls.  The most knowledge I gain while attending Stephens College is during the Citizen Jane Film Festival.  This film festival is an annual celebration and recognition of films made by women (CitizenJaneFilmFestival.org).  Due to Stephens’ high interest in women in film, there are a few notable actresses that attended Stephens College, including Joan Crawford, who attended Stephens for only one semester (Jones “America’s Real Sweetheart).  Even though Crawford was only at Stephens for a semester, she improved her confidence of being an actress after meeting James Madison Wood, president of Stephens College, who gave her words of encouragement when he met her on a train leaving Stephens.  Crawford said of Wood, “He was the first person to tell me that my aspirations are all right. He was the first person to speak as though I might realize them."  Like many students at Stephens while Wood was president, Crawford saw Wood as a mentor (Jones The Best of Everything). 

Like filmmaking, Stephens offers great experiences for theater, which I also participate in.  I attend Stephens’ Okoboji Summer Theater in Spirit Lake, Iowa and this summer actress Dawn Welles will be starring in Steel Magnolias on opening night.  Welles is most well known as playing Mary-Ann on the television show Gilligan’s Island (Harling).  Being involved in film and theater, I have gotten the chance to work with some of the men that attend Stephens.  One thing that I have found is that they are raised on a pedestal compared to the females in the same program.  Seeing the attention that is given to them and the work that is expected from the men sometimes makes me feel as though I am not skilled enough to accomplish what my professors want me to accomplish.  I sometimes find myself wondering why a women’s college needs to have men attending.  I understand that it is essential for us to act with men in order to gain the right experience, but I do not see why the male students should be praised for their work more than the women are praised (Karstens Columbia Missourian). 

One thing that I found interesting was the fact that the two films from Stephens College that were shown at the True/False Film Festival were both made my men (Stephens.edu “Stephens at True/False Film Festival”).  The first film shown was Zielinski, which told the story of photographer, author, and conspiracy theorist John Zielinski, who is the most blacklisted author in Iowa.  Zielinski is known for his investigative approach into the lives of taboo America such as drug dealers, pedophiles, and Satanists (Zielinskifilm.com).  The second film that was shown was The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, which was made to dissolve the myth that Pruitt-Igoe, a housing project in St. Louis, was full of destruction and failure (Stephens.edu “Stephens at True/False Film Festival”).  The reason I found the presence of these two films so fascinating was because I couldn’t believe there were no films shown that were filmed by woman especially coming from a school that is dedicated to just that.

-Claire

Works Cited

"About « Citizen Jane." Citizen Jane. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. <http://www.citizenjanefilmfestival.org/?page_id=2>.

"Education: Spouse Trap - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848775,00.html>.

Harling, Robert. "Stephens College : Okoboji Summer Theatre - Performance Schedule." Stephens College - Educating Women since 1833 - Columbia, MO. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.stephens.edu/news/stephensevents/okoboji/>.

Jones, Stephanie. "A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia: W." The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. <http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/w.htm>.

Jones, Stephanie. "Joan Crawford Biography." The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/biography.htm>.

Karstens, Danielle. "Odd Men Out: Why 17 Men Attend Stephens College." Columbia Missourian. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. <http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/01/30/male-apprentices-stephens-dance-program/>.

"Stephens College: About Stephens - History." Stephens College - Educating Women since 1833 - Columbia, MO. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://www.stephens.edu/stephens/history/>.

"Stephens College: News and Events-For the Media." Stephens College - Educating Women since 1833 - Columbia, MO. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://www.stephens.edu/news/media/mediakit/>.

"Stephens College: Stephens at True/False Film Festival." Stephens College - Educating Women since 1833 - Columbia, MO. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. <http://www.stephens.edu/news/spotlight/truefalse_2011.php>.

"Stephens College Press Release." Stephens College - Educating Women since 1833 - Columbia, MO. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.stephens.edu/news/media/releases/2010/04_09_10Sampson.php>.

"Zielinski | About." Zielinski | A Film by Chase Thompson / Ryan Walker. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://zielinskifilm.com/about>.