Rutgers University to Propose the Elimination of Largest Public Women's College; Alumnae Announce Campaign to ``Save Douglass College''

Business Wire, July 14, 2005

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- The Associate Alumnae of Douglass College (AADC) today released a statement expressing their commitment to fight a proposed plan by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, to eliminate Douglass College, the nation's largest public women's college. The AADC is launching a campaign to "Save Douglass College." This campaign will mobilize the college's more than 34,000 alumnae and many friends to demonstrate to the Rutgers University leadership the intrinsic value of Douglass College.

"We believe that launching this campaign will bring an outpouring of support from the alumnae and the public for the important role Douglass College plays in educating young women. Rutgers University, our state and our nation, would lose a valuable asset with the elimination of Douglass College," said Rachel Ingber, Executive Director of the AADC. "Douglass College is at the forefront of educating women as tomorrow's leaders in all areas, including the worlds of research, education, business, public policy, communication and community service."

A "Save Douglass College" website at www.savedouglasscollege.org has been launched to support the campaign. On the website, supporters can send messages to the Rutgers leadership and elected officials, learn about upcoming events, sign an online petition to save Douglass College, and more.

The AADC, established by the first graduating class in 1922, provides critical and ongoing financial, programming and communications support to Douglass College, her students and her alumnae. This Association is instrumental in creating the 'Douglass Difference'.

"The proposal to transform Douglass College into a mere residential campus effectively signals the demise of the four year women's college experience at Rutgers," said Associate Alumnae of Douglass College President Sheila Kelly Hampton. "We of the AADC encourage and promote the educational experience and leadership opportunities at Douglass College which are uniquely inherent in a women's college. We are prepared to fight to ensure that the supportive learning environment of Douglass College remains an opportunity for the young women of today and tomorrow."

Douglass College has a strong sense of tradition, a global vision, and a history of supporting women who choose to lead in fields in which women have traditionally been underrepresented. Douglass College is a first-choice women's institution with approximately 3,000 students.

For more information on the "Save Douglass College" campaign, visit: www.savedouglasscollege.org