About Us

Preserve Educational Choice was founded September 1, 2006 as a not-for-profit corporation to pursue all reasonable avenues to preserve the 115-year tradition of Randolph-Macon Woman's College. The R-MWC Board of Trustees is a self-perpetuating body. With the single exception of one voting seat reserved for the President of the Alumnae Association, all members of the Board of Trustees are elected by existing Trustees. Accordingly, there is no ready mechanism to challenge the actions of the Board of Trustees, unless we as alumnae, donors, parents, students, faculty, staff, or other interested parties join together to give voice to our collective concerns. It is for this reason that we have formed this nonprofit corporation, and are asking you to join us in this fight.

The Board of Trustees has dismissed the evidence presented to it by the Alumnae Association that large numbers of Alumnae will cease their support for the College as a result of the vote to approve coeducation, and has indicated by their vote that they do not value the input of Alumnae. The Board of Trustees likewise has dismissed the pleas of current students to honor their contracts, and to delay implementation of any coeducational option at least until this First Year class graduates. The Board of Trustees has dismissed the well-reasoned and impassioned letters of a number of senior and retired faculty and a number of Trustee Emeriti in opposition to their plan. And, it appears that the Board of Trustees has blindly accepted the results of one group's study (Arts & Science Group) without obtaining a second opinion, and without giving any consideration to significant numbers of alumnae, students, faculty, and parents who question the methodology of the surveys as well as the conclusions drawn from those surveys. Most importantly, the Board of Trustees has refused to share with any group the majority of the information upon which the Board of Trustees based its decision, and its financial models for remaining a women's college appear to be based on overly pessimistic projections. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has left no other option for those opposed to its vote except for legal action. In this, we need your support.

Those who have formed this corporation, and those who have pledged support to our cause thus far, are firmly committed to the mission of educating women in a single-sex environment, not because we wish to exclude men, but because studies have repeatedly shown that women's colleges produce stronger, better educated, and more successful women. We know that women's colleges are not for every woman, but we also feel very strongly that women's colleges continue to be relevant and necessary in today's educational environment, and we feel strongly that R-MWC in particular can succeed and thrive as a woman's college. We believe that the Board of Trustees has embarked upon a predetermined course, and has steadfastly refused to see that it is forsaking the 115-year-old mission of R-MWC for an unsupported, four-page plan that contains no substance, the funding for which appears to depend upon selling the precious art treasures of the Maier Museum.

PEC is developing a recovery program for the college that consists of alumnae support, a business plan, and implementation resources. But, without the backdrop of legal challenge, we believe that the trustees will have no reason to consider alternatives. If you believe, as we do, that R-MWC is worth saving, make your pledge to our cause, and help us fund the lawsuits. The more supporters PEC has, the surer our success. We can reverse the Board of Trustee's decision with your help.