New Jersey State Federation of Women's honored for 100 years of founding of Douglas College

Thirteen members of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC attended the
New Brunswick City Council Meeting on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 where they were
presented with a resolution in recognition of the 100 th Anniversary of their founding of The New
Jersey College for Women, now known as Douglass Residential College.

Starting in 1911, the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC (NJSFWC) was
determined to create an opportunity for women to receive a college degree because no public
colleges in the state admitted women. They appointed Mabel Smith Douglass a member of the
NJSFWC-Jersey City Woman’s Club to chair the committee to establish an opportunity for
women’s public higher education in New Jersey. Mrs. Douglass asked Rutgers College if they
would admit women. When they refused, Mabel decided to raise enough funds to open a
women’s college. She walked around New Brunswick, asking for just $1 from each household.
The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs aided her in the dollar drive, gathering $1
donations from women around the state. Mabel also enlisted the help of a few generous donors.
Due to her determination and ability to procure a strong team of benefactors and trustees, Mabel
Smith Douglass opened the New Jersey College for Women on September 18, 1918 to 54
students. It was the first public institution of higher education in the state open to women and it
offered two curricula: liberal arts and home economics. Mabel Smith Douglass served as the college’s first Dean and in 1955, NJC was renamed Douglass College in her honor. When it was founded, Douglass was the smallest college for women in the nation. It later grew to be the largest in the US, with approx. 3,100 undergraduate students. After the merging of the undergraduate schools in 2007, Douglass Residential College (DRC) stands as the only campus community at Rutgers focused on women’s leadership. Now there are roughly 2,400 DRC students at any given time. New Jersey is only one of three states supportive of public women’s colleges in the nation (the other two are in Missouri and Texas. Throughout the years NJSFWC donated several buildings to the College as well as having awarded over a million dollars in scholarships to students of the College. Today the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC is proud of their continued close relationship with the College as well as with the Associate Alumnae of Douglass College.
They continue to support Douglass Residential College through the awarding of Scholarship and
Fellowships.