college opened a graduate school. The college became fully coeducational in the 1969-1970 academic year. In 1970, 10 laypersons were added to the board of trustees, and the college became an independent college that was sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet but was no longer under the Sisters' control. Campus housing was made available to male students in the 1970s.
=== Financial challenges ===
Between 1999 and 2015, the college purchased 68 properties, tripling the size of its campus. These purchases cost $12 million. During the same period, the college spent an additional $100 million upgrading and improving the properties it acquired, taking on significant debt. Between 2008 and 2015, enrollment at the college decreased by 16 percent.
In December 2015, the college announced plans to eliminate 27 academic programs and 23 faculty positions. Two months later, the faculty of the college passed a "no confidence" motion in regard to college president Carolyn J. Stefanco. Also in 2016, the college …
