THIS DAY IN VIRGINIA HISTORY
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March 06, 1942
Madison College Published a Pamphlet for Women Matriculating During WWII
Madison College, in Harrisonburg, was founded as a state normal and industrial school in 1908 to prepare white women for careers in teaching. It was renamed Madison College (in honor of President James Madison) in 1938 and James Madison University in 1977. The school became fully coeducational in 1966. This pamphlet instructed women who were entering college during World War II to finish their studies quickly in order to fill the jobs left open by the men who were off fighting. It also emphasized that college educations would help women to compete for jobs when the war ended and the men returned to the workforce.