How Clinton Hill Has Been Supporting Ambitious Women For Over 100 Years

In 1916, women in the US and much of the world had no voting rights. But thanks to an important institution in Clinton Hill, women in Brooklyn gained the opportunity to access higher education for the first time.

When it opened its doors in 1916, St. Joseph’s College for Women welcomed 12 young students to St. Angela Hall at 286 Washington Avenue. These pioneers studied in a time of great hardship. Within one year of enrollment, the US entered World War One. And the initial students of St. Joseph’s College for Women were keen to show their support. Much like students today, they participated in charitable activities that helped people that the conflict had negatively affected, such as by sewing clothes for babies from poor families who had a parent serving overseas.

The initial cohort of students also had to adapt to the teething troubles that any new academic institution faces. The college community soon realized that the building in which they studied was too small. And so in 1918, the college moved a short distance to 245 Clinton Avenue, where its primary campus remains to this day.

In 1920, the initial students graduated, going on to have fulfilling careers, despite the overt sexism of the age. They saw their institution continue to admit ambitious young women year after year. And many of the founders of the college’s community remained actively involved in equality-related efforts for decades into the future. In fact, some members of the founding congregation of the college even went to Selma, Alabama in the 1960s to show their support for the Civil Rights Movement. In 2020, the college stated that it had over 42,000 alumni, many of whom have gone on to enjoy successful careers.

In the present day, St. Joseph’s University, as St. Joseph’s College for Women is now called, accepts people of any gender. But it still remains an important institution for empowering women. A strong recent example is the fact that one of the college’s executive deans, Eileen White Jahn, was named a Power Woman of Long Island in late 2021.

Gender inequality still affects women across the world. The most recent American Community Survey discovered that median annual earnings for US women were still over $10,000 less than the median earnings for US men. But a number of institutions are working to advance women’s equality and have been doing so for decades. St. Joseph’s University is a fine example.

Places like St. Joseph’s University highlight what makes Clinton Hill so special. It always has been and always will be a place where trendsetters learn, teach and practice their craft in a supportive environment.