After deciding to change the school’s name and become a coeducational university in the Fall of 2012, William Peace University is beginning to see how beneficial change can be.
Peace College had been teaching women for over 150 years. There has been, and still is, upset feelings about the name change and allowing men to join the student body, although it may be for the best.
Only after a semester, WPU is able to preview the positives the new makeover has contributed. Jennifer Peacock, the Director of Administration at WPU, was able to give some insight on where WPU stands with applicants.
There are more than 800 students currently enrolled at WPU and 35 percent of them are males.
The gender breakdown at North Carolina universities averages 60 percent female and 40 percent male.
WPU wants to eventually meet this average, and the school is not far from it.
Applications have increased to 85 percent for both males and females since the Fall 2012 semester.
The media does not just cover the Meredith and Peace games anymore. The very first men’s basketball game was covered by NBC 17 news in November.
WPU has also implemented a Simulation and Game Design major which may bring in more potential male students.
The WPU Athletic Department will too be able to draft more athletes for the Peace Pacer teams.
Another good aspect of coeducation has been made known amongst some of the staff and faculty at Peace.
Peacock says she hears more “yes ma’am” from students and personally sees that “the student body has more respect.”
“School spirit is greater, students are much more interested in theatre, sports, and facility usage,” Peacock says. “The students feel at home here.”
The Peace students are making WPU their home and helping to create a university they can be proud of.
Adam Hanchette, a third year student at WPU, said, “I heard that Peace was going coed and so I decided I would go for a tour,” he says, “I really liked the campus and the size of the classes.”
When asked what made him decide to go WPU, Hanchette says, “they make suggestions and seem to care what happens to me.”
A familiar feeling students have at WPU is the close connection with his or her classmates and teachers. Students are able to form networks with these people and realize that everyone is here to help further the WPU students as far as they can for his or her future.
“I would recommend Peace,” Hanchette says, “to other males and females alike.”
