Here to Stay: The Story of the Class of Women Who Coeducated the University of Virginia

by Gail Burrell Gerry

Reflecting on the legacy of the first undergraduate women at UVA 

The campaign to secure unfettered access to higher education for women took decades of activism and advocacy, and mainstream skepticism over the viability of coeducation persisted until shockingly recently. Many august institutions dragged their feet until the passage of Title IX codified equal access to higher education. The University of Virginia was the last public university in the United States to admit women; the first class of female undergraduates at Jefferson’s University received their diplomas only in 1974. Written by a member of that historic class and rich with vivid details and anecdotes, Here to Stay describes the challenges they faced and the trail they blazed at a university that proudly advertised itself as a school for “Virginia gentlemen.” Drawing on a wide array of sources, Gail Burrell Gerry documents how UVA prepared for the women’s arrival and explores what their status as trailblazers meant at the time, what it has meant to them since, and their legacy at UVA today. In addition to Gerry’s experiences as part of the class of ‘74, Here to Stay is a compelling account of all the 367 women who found themselves on the front lines of landmark institutional and social change — and the thousands more like them throughout the country — relating how they made their mark on a bastion of tradition and entrenched male privilege.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

228 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 2025

Reviews

[Stephen Fallert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I attended my 40th UVA reunion earlier this month (class of 1985) and enjoyed my time back in Charlottesville thoroughly. One of the highlights was making friends with a group of three women (and their husbands) who were attending their 50th golden reunion. Graduating in 1975 and starting their UVA experiences in 1971, they were part of the second class of female undergraduates that helped to coeducate UVA. I was so impressed by their accomplishments and enthralled by their stories about their UVA experiences that I sought out Gail Burrell Gerry’s book to get a better understanding of the historical context of that moment in UVA history. Seek out the book and you’ll read about the kind of grit these women had that enabled them to be the pioneers that paved the way for female undergraduates at UVA. I was lucky enough to meet some of these gritty women at my reunion. Congratulations on your past, present, and future accomplishments.

[Alarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I confess that I am one of the women from the Pioneer Class of Coeds (1970-1974) at the University of Virginia. When Editor Gail Burrell Gerry sent out a call to her classmates to share their experiences and memories, she said it would only take a few minutes of our time. However, I am a poet, so I couldn’t help but go on and on about what those years meant to me. The flip side of the best times was learning to cope with post traumatic stress, too. Just imagine being a small, shy girl attending a welcoming party at your new college. Tall, older men walk straight up to you and announce, 
“We don’t want you here. We voted against your coming.”

Funny, my male high school friends were never that rude. But my mother had enlisted in the Waves in WWII, so she’d told me some of the #%$?! she had to endure. I was fortunate to have 12 guys from my high school also at UVa, reminding me that most men were supportive.

I was grateful to complete my BA in English and receive my Phi Beta Kappa key. I also like to joke that I got a black belt in Feminism. Despite the beautiful scenery, Thomas Jefferson’s architecture, and many, many wonderful classes, we experienced our share, or rather more than our share, of fear, violence, sexism, insults, and other problems that most of us likely did not share with our parents. We were determined to finish what we started. The memories came rushing back as I read.

This was not all about our personal lives, but about our perseverance. Ignore or debate the naysayers. Do your best and stand up for yourself. That is why so much of this book came as a big surprise to me. Gerry’s detective work showed me how many people were working behind the scenes to pave our way and help us break through the glass ceiling. Oh, happy day! We graduated. Then we moved into the work force and discovered that our work had just begun. Last May’s 50th Class Reunion was the delayed celebration of how we stepped into our best lives.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a graduate student at UVA during the 1970/71 academic year, and an instructor on the faculty in 1971/72. Gail Burrell Gerry's book took me back. As a young women not much older than the entering female students, I experienced many of the same pressures and attitudes she describes. Standing and teaching in front of men close to my age who did not want me to be there was a challenge, but it was not the totality of my experience. My husband of almost 54 years, was in the class of 1971 -- so the experience had its redeeming factors. Gerry reports with a balanced perspective, and bought back a lot of memories.