Stephens College

Stephens College
Former names	Columbia Female Academy (1833–1856); Columbia Female Baptist Academy (1856–1870)
Type	Private women's college
Established	1833; 191 years ago
President	Dianne Lynch
Students	593 (Fall 2021)
Location	Columbia, Missouri, U.S.; 38°57′00″N 92°19′21″W / 38.9500°N 92.3225°W
Campus	Urban, 86-acre (35 ha)
Colors	Maroon and gold;
Nickname	Stars
Sporting affiliations	NAIA – American Midwest
Website	www.stephens.edu

Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Academy.

In 1856, David H. Hickman helped secure the college's charter under the name The Columbia Female Baptist Academy. In the late 19th century it was renamed Stephens College after James L. Stephens endowed the college with $20,000. From 1937 to 1943, its Drama Department became renowned under its chairman and teacher, the actress Maude Adams, James M. Barrie's first American Peter Pan. The Warehouse Theater is the major performance venue for the college. The campus includes a National Historic District: Stephens College South Campus Historic District.

The college enrolled 593 students in Fall 2021.^[1]

Location

Situated in the center of Missouri, Stephens is approximately 120 miles (193 km) from both Kansas City and St. Louis. The Stephens campus is near downtown Columbia.^[2]

Academics

The college follows a liberal arts curriculum and prior to 2024 had three schools: School of Health Sciences, Conservatory for the Performing Arts, and School of Integrative Studies.^[3] The school is now transitioning to two schools: The Women’s College and the Conservatory for the Performing Arts.

In addition to undergraduate programs, Stephens offers the following graduate degrees: Master of Education in Counseling (emphasis in school counseling or clinical mental health counseling), Master of Fine Arts in Television and Screenwriting, and Master in Physician Assistant Studies.

Admissions

Stephens College has an acceptance rate of 67% for first time applicants.^[4]

Campus life

Before 2024, Stephens was one of four women's colleges, along with Bennett College, Spelman College, and Brenau University, to have sororities on its campus. Both sororities were part of the National Panhellenic Conference. Kappa Delta is inactive as of 2024. The Eta Alpha chapter of Sigma Sigma Sigma is inactive as of 2020. The sororities were governed by the Panhellenic Council and the Junior Panhellenic Council. Before the national sororities, there were four local sororities on campus, which closed in 1997: Zeta Phi Delta, Alpha Phi, Heta Epsilon Gamma, and Omega Psi. Currently, Stephens students can join historically Black or Asian sororities at the nearby University of Missouri campus.

There are a few academic honor societies on campus: Mortar Board (inactive), Psi Chi, Alpha Lambda Delta (inactive), Sigma Tau Delta, Tri-Beta, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Alpha Delta (inactive), and Sigma Eta Rho. Although Stephens College is no longer a two-year institution, it is the location of the Alpha chapter of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society of the Two-Year College.

The student newspaper, Stephens Life, is online with a magazine printed once a semester. The college's literary magazine, Harbinger, is released each spring.^[5]

Stephens opened pet-friendly residence halls in 2004.^[6] The college also allows students to foster shelter animals in exchange for scholarships.^[7]

The Warehouse Theatre Company is a student-run playhouse on campus which stages an average of four different productions per academic season.

Citizen Jane Film Festival

The Citizen Jane Film Festival was an annual film festival established at Stephens College. The festival was first held October 17–19, 2008. Films were chosen that showcased women behind and in front of the camera.^[8] Though the festival has been discontinued, Citizen Jane continues in the form of a lecture series hosted by the Stephens College digital filmmaking program.

Athletics

The Stephens athletic teams are called the Stars. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) since the 2008–09 academic year. The Stars previously competed as an NAIA Independent from 2004–05 to 2007–08. Prior joining the NAIA, Stephens was also a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA): in the Division III ranks from 1994 to 1995 (when the school re-instated back its athletics program) to 2003–04; and in the Division II ranks from about 1982–83 to 1986–87, before transitioning to club status until discontinuing the athletics program after the 1988–89 school year.^[9]

Stephens competes in four intercollegiate varsity sports: basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. Former sports included cross country. Club sports include competitive dance and esports, which is the first varsity esports team at an all-women's college.^[10]

People

The Stephens College Alumnae Association has more than 20,000 members internationally. Alumnae are found in every state.

Notable alumnae

Patricia Barry, stage, film, and television actress (1921–2016)
Stephanie Beatriz, actress
Paddy Bowden, psychotherapist (d. 2020), wife of Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson
Nancy Elizabeth Brown, Vice Admiral, United States Navy
Shirley Clarke, filmmaker (1919–1997)
Nancy Cozean, former journalist and politician
Joan Crawford, actress (did not complete first year)
Frances Crowe, peace activist
Leslie Easterbrook, actress; best known for her role as Debbie Callahan in the Police Academy series
Shirley Adele Field, Oregon legislator and judge
Susan Flannery, soap actress on CBS The Bold & the Beautiful, retired December 2012 after 25 years
Karith Foster, stand-up comedian and radio personality
Wally Funk, aviator and astronaut
Tammy Grimes, actress and singer
Anne Gwynne, actress
Corky Hale, jazz musician
Joan Robinson Hill, equestrienne and socialite
Eva Johnston, classical scholar; first American woman to receive a doctoral degree from the University of Königsberg; second female professor and first Dean of Women at the University of Missouri
Jeane Kirkpatrick, first female U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
Ashley Litton, former Miss Missouri USA
Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, businesswoman and former U.S. Ambassador to Finland
Ginny McSwain, casting director and voice director
Marjie Millar, actress
Leslie Adrienne Miller, poet
Elizabeth Mitchell, actress
Martha Beall Mitchell, wife of former U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell
Jean Muir, actress, first performer added to the Hollywood Blacklist^[11]
Alanna Nash, journalist
Carrie Nye, actress
Lyndsey Olson, Saint Paul City Attorney
Annie Potts, television and film actress
Emily J. Reynolds, Secretary of the U.S. Senate
Virginia Shehee, first woman to serve in the Louisiana State Senate
Sarah Stalker, politician
Julie Suk, poet
Jennifer Tilly, actress
Virginia Welles, actress
Dawn Wells, actress
Glad Robinson Youse, composer; namesake of college's Glad Robinson Youse Scholarship
Paula Zahn, journalist
Paula Zima, artist

Presidents of the college

President	Term	Notes
William R. Rothwell	February 1857 – June 1857
X. X. Buckner	1858 – 1859
G. W. Pendleton	1859 – 1860
J. T. Williams	1860 – 1865
J. A. Hollis	1865 – 1869
E. S. Dulin	1870 – 1876
R. P. Rider	1877 – 1883
T. W. Barrett	1883 – 1894
Sam F. Taylor	1894 – 1904
J. R. Pentuff	1904 – 1905
W. B. Peeler	1905 – 1910
H. N. Quisenberry	1910 – March 1, 1912
G. W. Hatcher	March 1, 1912 – June 1, 1912	Acting president
James M. Wood	June 1, 1912 – June 3, 1947
Homer P. Rainey	June 3, 1947 – June 30, 1952
Nell Hutchinson	June 30, 1952 – December 1, 1952	Acting president
Thomas A. Spragens	December 1, 1952 – November 11, 1957
James G. Rice	November 11, 1957 – 1958	Acting president
Seymour Smith	1958 – 1975
Arland F. Christ-Janer	1975 – 1983
Patsy Sampson	1983 – 1994	First non-acting female president
Marcia Kierscht	1994 – 2003
Wendy Libby	July 2003 – June 1, 2009
Dianne Lynch	June 2, 2009 – present	Has announced her retirement

Historic buildings

Firestone Baars Chapel

The Firestone Baars Chapel was designed by world-famous Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who also designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The chapel symbolizes commitment to individual spiritual development and worship. The chapel is used for meditation, religious services, vespers, weddings, memorials and campus programs.

Historic Senior Hall

Historic Senior Hall dates back to 1841, when Oliver Parker bought the 8-acre (3.2 ha) tract of land on which the college was first located. In 1857, the Columbia Baptist Female College, which later became Stephens College, acquired the building. Until 1918, Historic Senior Hall was the only dormitory at the college. It was the tradition for the President of the Civic Association (now the Student Government Association) to occupy the first floor room just north of the Waugh Street entrance. Many generations of students feel this building is their tie to the past. A complete restoration of Historic Senior Hall began in the spring of 1987, and the building was rededicated in the spring of 1990. Senior Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.^[12]

The South Quadrangle