Radcliffe College

Radcliffe College
TypePrivate liberal arts college
Women's college
Active1879; 145 years ago (1879)
–1999; 25 years ago (1999)
(became Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study)
PresidentMary Maples Dunn
DeanLizabeth Cohen
Location, ,
U.S.
CampusUrban
Websiteradcliffe.edu

Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard College. The college was named for the early Harvard benefactor Anne Mowlson (née Radcliffe) and was one of the Seven Sisters colleges.[1]

For the first 70 years of its existence, Radcliffe conferred undergraduate and graduate degrees. Beginning in 1963, it awarded joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas to undergraduates. In 1977, Radcliffe signed a formal "non-merger merger" agreement with Harvard, and completed a full integration with Harvard in 1999.

Within Harvard University, Radcliffe's former administrative campus, Radcliffe Yard, is home to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Former Radcliffe housing at the Radcliffe Quadrangle, including Pforzheimer House, Cabot House, and Currier House, has been incorporated into Harvard College's house system. Under the terms of the 1999 consolidation, Radcliffe Yard and the Radcliffe Quadrangle retain the "Radcliffe" designation in perpetuity.

  1. ^ Horn, Miriam, quoting The Boston Globe, in Rebels in White Gloves: Coming of Age with Hillary Clinton's Class—Wellesley '68, p. 8, co. 2000, Anchor. See also McCarthy, Mary, How I Grew, pp. 119–120, 1987, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. See Berman, Susan, The Underground Guide to the College of Your Choice, pp. 234, 242, 246 and 404, 1971, Signet. See also Yale Daily News, "The Insiders Guide to the Colleges," 1975–76, co. 1975, G.P. Putnam and Sons. Finally, see Kendall, Elaine, Peculiar Institutions: An Informal History of the Seven Sister Colleges, p. 30, 1975, G.P. Putnam and Sons, NY