Our Work

In the few short weeks between the announcement of the recommendation of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee on August 8, 2006 and the vote on September 9, 2006, PEC was able to solicit pledges from close to 200 individuals to fund the monumental task of researching and evaluating numerous legal issues, even though the Board of Trustees refused to share publicly the document upon which it was scheduled to vote (draft of the strategic plan). Our initial work culminated in a letter from our counsel, Wyatt B. Durrette, Jr., Esq., which was presented to the Board of Trustees, and which was made publicly available to all interested parties prior to the vote.

We had hoped that our efforts to raise the general awareness of the legal issues confronting the Board, combined with the compelling evidence presented by the Alumnae Association of overwhelming Alumnae opposition to the strategic plan and the efforts of the student's Coalition to Preserve Women's Education to provide alternatives to coeducation, would have caused the Board of Trustees to delay the vote on the strategic plan. They did not. Accordingly, our work continues.

PEC is presently litigating two lawsuits: (1) a suit to enforce the 4-year contract that Randolph-Macon Woman’s College made with present students and require the college to delay implementation of any coed vote until after the class of 2010 graduates (i.e., temporary relief); and (2) a "Charitable Trust" suit to require R-MWC to use the charitable assets of the college to advance the purposes for which those assets were donated – to operate a college under the name of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College to educate primarily women in the liberal arts (i.e., more permanent relief). Both suits were heard in the Lynchburg Circuit Court on January 23, 2007. The proceedings and all filings can be found in the Legal Pleadings section of this website. "Plain English" explanations of the lawsuits, the arguments, and the basis for appeal can be found here.

Our work is not confined to the lawsuits. We produced two research documents prior to the October 2006 Board of Trustees meeting: "20 Reasons Why You Should Change Your Vote" and "What Every Trustee Should Know". As funding and volunteer assistance allows, we have begun to investigate in much greater depth the operational issues identified in these documents that have led to the current state of the college’s finances and the move toward coeducation. This investigation is proceeding on many different fronts; however, PEC’s ability to pursue any of these issues depends upon our ability to either pay for the expertise necessary to undertake the projects, or to find volunteers among our supporters who have the qualifications to do this on a pro bono basis.

As information comes to light, we have been seeking the assistance of various professionals including forensic accountants, financial analysts, curriculum planners, admissions and tuition discounting experts, and more (both alumnae and non-alumnae) to help us find the most effective ways to continue to fight the actions of the Board of Trustees and to reverse the September 9 vote. If you have such expertise and have not already volunteered to help, please consider volunteering today.

We continue to hope that the Board of Trustees will enter into discussions with us and others who are challenging the merits of the strategic plan. As we continue the fight, our ability to maximize our legal leverage depends upon the level of funding and pro bono counsel we receive. PEC never wants to doubt that one more dollar, or one more hour's work, might have turned the tide. We will not give up this fight and we hope that you will join us by funding our work.

Please click here to donate to PEC today.