News Sources: College Gender Gap

Colleges are increasingly worried about the fact that their applicant pools and student bodies are becoming lopsidedly female. A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests this shift in college enrollment patterns results from some long-term societal shifts. For example, more women are choosing to spend more of their lifetimes working, and the wage differential between college-educated and non-college educated woman has always been greater than for men. Another factor, the authors say, is that women do better in high school. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Cecilia A. Conrad - Associate Professor of Economics, Pomona College - Conrad's primary research is on impact of race and gender on economic status in the United States and the economics of the family. A member of the economics board of Black Enterprise Magazine and a past president of the National Economic Association, she was selected the 2002 California Professor or the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and CASE.

Rick Pringle - Professor of Psychology, Goucher College – Pringle’s research is focused on understanding how males and females learn, develop, work and communicate. His areas of expertise include relational psychology, gender issues, education equity issues, critical pedagogy, and coeducation. He was one of two principal researchers who investigated classroom dynamics during Goucher's transition from single-sex to coeducational college.

Carey Thompson - Dean of Admission and Financial Planning, Centre College - With 17 years experience in admissions, Thompson has been a leader in professional organizations including the Southern Association of College Admissions Counselors. He chaired the Southern Consortium of Colleges and Universities from 1994 to 1996 and was a member of the Southern Regional College Board Council from 1992 to 1995.