Disgruntled Donors Get Refunds From Newly Co-Ed College
Relatively few supporters of Wheaton College, New England’s oldest women’s college, have taken up the school’s offer to refund the contributions of anyone who is unhappy about its decision to admit men.
As of Wednesday, 54 donors had been refunded $126,000, Lisa Byrnes, a Wheaton spokeswoman, said. She said that six of them had gone to court claiming they had been deceived into giving to a 150th anniversary fund drive to a college they thought would remain for women only. The campaign raised $16 million.
In a settlement approved in June in Bristol Probate Court, Wheaton agreed to refund $120,000 to the donors who went to court, and to write the 3,800 other contributors and offer refunds. The offer expires next Wednesday.
The liberal arts college, founded in 1834, has about 1,100 students.
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