WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28: COED COLLEGE

Profile America — Saturday, September 28th.  This month in 1837, the Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Ohio became the first college in the U.S. to grant equal status to men and women in degree programs.  Now known as Oberlin College, its leadership reasoned that many mothers and sisters often served as the only teachers available on the nation's frontier — so better educated women would make superior teachers.  During its history, Oberlin was the first to routinely admit African-Americans, granted the first degree to a black woman, and was one of the first to have coeducational dormitories.  Today, coeducational schools are the norm, and of the 42 percent of the population age 18 to 24 enrolled in college, more than 12 million are women, compared to about 9 million men.  You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Kane's Famous First Facts, 2943 http://new.oberlin.edu/about/history.dot U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB13-FF.17

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

RELATED LINKShttp://www.census.gov