Virginia Court, Rejecting Lawsuits, Says Randolph College Can Admit Men

The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled in favor of Randolph College in two lawsuits brought by students and alumnae donors upset that the institution, formerly Randolph-Macon Woman's College, went coed last fall. In one case, the court ruled against a group of students who argued that the decision to enroll men was a breach of contract. The plaintiffs contended that when they were admitted to Randolph-Macon and paid tuition, they were essentially promised four years of education at a women's college. A majority of the justices ruled that no such specific and definite contract existed. In the second case, the court ruled unanimously against donors and students who argued that all gifts to Randolph-Macon had been intended to support an all-female institution. The court ruled that the college was not a trust but a nonstock charitable corporation, and that plaintiffs were wrong to argue that the college was a charitable trust to which they were beneficiaries. According to the college president, the rulings affirm that the college's Board of Trustees has the right and fiduciary duty to make decisions it believes are in the best interests of the institution, and that those decisions cannot be challenged in court by people who disagree with them.