Five Women at Duke

Women at Duke through time: After a Board of Trustees vote in 1892, women were formally admitted to Trinity College, which later became Duke University. And while women were initially admitted as day students, it was Washington Duke’s letter from December, 1896 — pledging $100,000 to Trinity College with the condition that it “will open its doors to women placing them on an equal footing with men” — that led to the creation of a new residential dormitory and women being admitted on the same level as male students.

Here are groups of women at Duke from 1946, 1976, 2007 and 2023. The five women featured in the most recent photo represent current leadership at the Duke University Union.