WOMEN
From Knob Knowledge
1968 Coeducational graduate program established. There have always been more women than men in this program.
1993 Shannon Faulkner admitted then rejected by The Citadel after they discovered she was a female.
1993 Multi-million dollar lawsuit instituted by ACLU against The Citadel on behalf of Shannon Faulkner. Their attorney was Robert Black, a former Citadel English professor. They were asking $5.2 million.
1994 Lu Parker, Citadel MAT, 1992, becomes Miss U.S.A.
1994 The Citadel's co-educational graduate program renamed College of Graduate and Professional Studies.
1995 Shannon Faulkner admitted as the first female cadet but she withdrew shortly.
1996 Four women enter The Citadel as cadets: Mace, Lovetinska, Messer, and Mentavlos.
1997 Messer and Mentavlos sue The Citadel because of alleged harassment.
1997 Messer settles out of court for $34,000.
1999 Mentavlos sues The Citadel for $4 million.
1999 Mace, having transferred credits from Trident Tech becomes the first female graduate of the Corps of Cadets.
2000 Lovetinska becomes the second female graduate from the Corps of Cadets. She entered as a foreign student but became a U.S. citizen before she graduated.
2002 First seven female African American cadets graduate.
(For a concise survey of the history of women in the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, see: Brian Hicks, "Coed Corps: 10 Years of Change," Post and Courier, September 5, 2005, pp. 1A, 9A. See also: Marcia G. Synnott," Surviving the Company of Men--In the Company of Women: Lessons from the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech, The Citadel, and the Virginia Military Institute," Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association, 2003, pp. 63-80) (HN & DH)
