A brief history of Chatham University...
Chatham University was chartered on December 11, 1869, under the name Pennsylvania Female College. The College was founded to provide women with an education comparable to that which men could receive at the time at “colleges of the first class.” Chatham is one of the earliest extant liberal arts colleges for women established originally as a college rather than as a seminary. It is one of four original eastern colleges founded for women that still limit the granting of baccalaureate degrees to women. Throughout its history, Chatham has been a pioneer in curricular progress, adapting its educational programs to meet society’s changing needs while maintaining the intellectual integrity of liberal arts.
The Reverend William Trimble Beatty, pastor of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church, led a group of Pittsburghers in making the dream of solid academic training for women a reality. The founders were somewhat ahead of their time: 1869 was the year that the National Association of Women’s Suffrage was established, and the year John Stuart Mill published The Subjection of Women. Pennsylvania Female College occupied what was then the largest private residence in Allegheny County - the George Berry mansion atop Fifth Avenue in Shadyside. Fifteen faculty and just more than 100 students occupied the 11-acre campus.
The College’s first curriculum required proficiency of all students in Latin, French, or German; higher mathematics; history; English; natural sciences; systematic Bible history; and Anglo-Saxon. In succeeding years, electives ranging from modern literature to family living were added, and the number of required courses was reduced.
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