20 
SE Biology, Vol. 61, No. 1, January, 2014 
requirements made it easier to double or even triple major. Students also 
were permitted to arrange interdisciplinary majors in the humanities or 
intercultural studies. 
In the 1960s, Wofford also confronted its need to become a more inclusive 
community. This process has been evolutionary and remains ongoing. 
However, it is useful to recall how and why the college determined to 
transform itself from a campus devoted exclusively to the education of white 
males. 
After observing a token but troubled period of racial desegregation at flagship 
universities across the South, the Wofford Board of Trustees in the spring of 
1964 announced that applicants for admission henceforth would be 
considered without regard to race. Wofford thus became one of the first 
independent colleges across the “Cotton Belt” to take such a step voluntarily. 
Although it eventually became impossible to receive tax dollars for student 
aid and other purposes in the absence of such a policy statement, it was not 
clear at the time that income from public sources ever would be significant. 
Moreover, Wofford’s church and other supporting constituencies were 
sharply divided on the issue. Good-faith gestures like this one by private 
institutions were vitally important as South Carolina struggled to steer a 
steady, progressive course through its Second Reconstruction. 
Albert W. Gray of Spartanburg was one of several African-American men 
admitted to Wofford after the trustees’ announcement, and he enrolled 
without incident in the fall of 1964. In general, while there were 
unquestionably some awkward and unpleasant moments, black students in 
those early years of desegregation found the atmosphere at Wofford to be 
better than the climate at large public universities. This positive beginning 
made Wofford a college of choice for many African-Americans as the process 
of desegregating public schools across the region picked up momentum. 
There were a significant number of single-gender liberal arts colleges across 
the South in the 1960s. The men’s colleges generally regarded their mission 
as producing professional and civic leaders of good character; many of the 
women’s colleges focused on teacher education and the arts. In a rapidly 
changing world, such stereotyping was no longer appropriate, and the 
number of bright students willing to consider such options was naturally 
shrinking. Davidson, Washington & Lee, the University of the South and 
Wofford cautiously moved to admit women. Residential coeducation at 
Wofford became a reality with the Class of 1980, and by mid 90s, women 
made up more than 45 percent of the student body. From the first, Wofford 
women were high achievers, winning more than their proportional share of 
academic honors and exercising effective leadership in campus 
organizations of every kind. 
