Margaret Burke started a trend when she walked into her physics course in the year 1901. As the first female part-time student to enroll in the University, Burke initiated a change in what had been the traditional all-male population of N.C. State. But the change was not swift. After 49 years, the female population was 1.9 percent of 4,036 students.
According to Tom Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs and 38-year employee of the University, the addition of a college spurred the change in gender proportions on campus.
“The female population of the University has increased dramatically since the 1960s, partially because N.C. State started the College of Liberal Studies,” he said.
Today, the gap between the male and female population is closing. According to the University Planning and Analysis Web site, 44.1 percent of NCSU’s 31,130 students in fall 2006 were female.
However, University Planning and Analysis numbers from the fall 2006 enrollment reports show the female population is not evenly distributed throughout the University. The College of Veterinary Medicine contains the highest percentage of female students — 79.8 percent. The College of Education is a close second as 71.7 percent of the students are women. In contrast, the Agricultural Institute is made up of 12.2 percent women. In the College of Engineering, 16 percent of the students are women.
One support system found on campus is the Women in Science and Engineering program, which the University started in 2003, according to the WISE Web site. Female students enrolled in engineering, mathematics, statistics or science majors apply for the program and, if accepted, reside in the WISE Village, the Web site said.
“We focus on a way of connecting the few females within the engineering, mathematics, statistics and science majors by offering tutoring and speaker series and partnering with the Scholars program, the Society of Women Engineers and other programs,” Christina Gilroy, a WISE graduate assistant, said.
Gilroy said the success of the program is apparent.
“Our research has shown that women in the WISE program are more likely to stay in the stem sciences as opposed to those out of the WISE program,” she said.
Taylor Dillon, a freshman in nutrition science, said he doesn’t notice a lack of women in his science courses.
“There are a lot more girls in the nutrition major,” he said.
But Dillon said he doesn’t realize the proportions on a day-to-day basis.
“You don’t really notice the difference in the ratio between males and females just walking around on campus,” he said.
Sam Reynolds, a sophomore in business management, said his classes seem to have an even distribution of males and females.
According to Stafford, fields of study no longer target one gender.
“N.C. State has changed and become a more complete university,” Stafford said. “As the campus population quickly approaches the 50-50 mark, the need for male or female specific majors seems to have diminished, and the bottom line is that N.C. State has become an outstanding academic university for all students.”
