THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, May 19, 1995                   TAG: 9505190539
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: SPARTANBURG, S.C.                  LENGTH: Short :   33 lines

WOMEN'S COLLEGE OKS PLAN TO HELP CITADEL REMAIN A MALE SCHOOL

A private women's college voted Thursday to go along with a plan to keep women out of the all-male Citadel, agreeing to sponsor an alternative program for women seeking to become cadets.

Converse College trustees approved on a voice vote the state's proposal to create a women's leadership program, president Sandra Thomas said. About 25 trustees were present, and only one dissented.

The $10 million program could begin by August, the deadline the courts have set for The Citadel to admit Shannon Faulkner as a cadet or provide her with an alternative.

A federal appeals court has ruled the military school's all-male admissions policy is unconstitutional.

The court said the state must create a similar women's program by August or admit Faulkner, whose lawsuit could make her the school's first female cadet.

The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute are the only state-supported, all-male military colleges in the nation.

Courts ruled that VMI could set up a military-style program for women at nearby Mary Baldwin College.

KEYWORDS: WOMEN IN THE MILITARY by CNB