Tufts University: 175 Years of Innovation

Cornelia Maria Jackson was a lifelong supporter of women’s rights. An active suffragist and advocate for women’s education, in 1892 Jackson bequeathed $70,000 and half of the remainder of her estate to Tufts in support of the institution’s move toward co-education. Her will stated that the funds were to be used towards “remov[ing] the disabilities of women.” Though Jackson had donated these resources in response to Tufts’ supposed embrace of co-education, they were used in 1910 to establish a separate college for women, Jackson College. Although it merged again with Tufts in 1980, Jackson remained a cultural touchstone for women at Tufts decades after it had been dissolved.