WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — North Carolina is home to many colleges and universities, especially ones that pioneered for women’s education. 

Salem College and Academy is the oldest school for women in the country, founded in 1772

UNC-Greensboro, once the State Normal and Industrial School, was the first public school for women, founded in 1891

Bennett College in Greensboro and Meredith College in Raleigh are other all-female schools in the state

Salem College and Academy was founded in 1772 by the Moravian community, before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Nearly 250 years later, the nation’s oldest educational institution for girls and women continues its tradition. Professor of Design Rosa Otero has worked at the college for 15 years. 

“I’m one of four, so I have three younger brothers, and it never occurred to me growing up that I’d end up at an all-women institution,” Otero said. 

Salem College has been a place to grow and learn for Otero, and her daughter too. Dania Shoaf watched her mother teach at the all-women’s college from the time she was 6 years old. She chose to attend Salem Academy for her high school years and continued on to Salem College to study exercise science. 

“For me, it allowed me to focus more and have a better relationship with other people and develop understanding of myself and others,” Shoaf said. “For me, it allowed me to focus more and have a better relationship with other people and develop understanding of myself and others,” Shoaf said. 

Another school that blazed the trail for women’s education is UNC-Greensboro. Founded in 1891, it was known as the State Normal and Industrial School, the first public school for women in North Carolina. Classes were categorized in commercial, pedagogy and domestic science departments.

Domestic science transformed into the consumer apparel retail studies department found at UNCG, where Micahiah Raye Marion is finishing her studies. She’s had a passion for fashion since she was young, but says UNCG helped her blossom in her work. 

“It’s so rewarding to see that physical copy of something that was just a thought or idea,” Marion said. 

The senior is president of Threads, a student-run program focused on fashion and design initiatives, including biannual fashion shows. She believes the roots of empowering women through education can still be felt today. 

"It’s just an example for me, how far women have come and how far even the university has come to create that space of ‘you can do anything,’” Marion said. 

North Carolina is home to a few more all-women’s educational institutions. Bennett College in Greensboro is the state’s only all-women’s historically Black college. William Peace University in Raleigh was an all-women’s institution until 2009. Meredith College in Raleigh is another all-women’s institution in the state.