1980-Present - Medical University of South Carolina

Women Become the Majority

Although the Medical College appeared reluctant at times to admit female students, faculty, and administrators in the early twentieth century, women have since become better represented on campus. This growth was in large part influenced by the feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the passage of Title IX, and reflects larger national trends.

In 2018, women became the majority of the student body for the first time, making up 62% of full-time and part-time students. Whereas nationwide, it was a year later, in 2019, that women made up the majority of medical students enrolled. The numbers at MUSC have remained consistent since; the class of 2026, for example, is 60 percent female.

Women still remain underrepresented among faculty and administrators, which matches national trends. In the United States, women account for only 16% of all deans and department chairs at medical schools. Joanne Conroy, M.D., became the first woman department head in the College of Medicine’s history in 1997 and Etta Pisano its first woman dean in 2010. The University appointed Rosalie Crouch in 2000 as its first woman provost and vice president for academic affairs, and in 2001 Deborah Deas became the first Black woman to receive tenure at MUSC, and Shannon Jones was appointed the Director of Libraries in 2015, the first African American woman to serve in the position.

While women have made notable gains on campus, and in the health sciences generally, a substantial gender gaps remain. Recent studies that suggest women physicians provide better clinical care, greater healthcare savings, and a more collaborative approach than their male counterparts and across all healthcare fields women are central to medical treatment, innovation, and advancements. By celebrating the accomplishments of the many women who made their mark on the institution, the exhibit demonstrates how equalizing gender disparities benefit the health sciences as well MUSC.

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