to the P.E.O. Sisterhood (Philanthropic Educational Organization), an international organization based in Des Moines, Iowa, that supports women's education. She made a condition that they raise a $200,000 endowment for the college (about $2.9 million in 2018 dollars), in order to maintain and operate it for the long term. The P.E.O. accepted, and has since owned and operated the private Cottey College.
=== Enrollment ===
Enrollment grew from 28 to 72 students during the first year, and by 1910 there were 250 students. Attendance dropped during the 1930s and '40s, but rose to maximum capacity of 350 by the 1970s.
With more two-year local community colleges opening in the later 20th century, Cottey had a slow decline in enrollment during the 1990s and into the 2000s. It was also a period when some young women preferred co-ed institutions in larger communities. The college worked to restore enrollment and to expand its offerings to a full, four-year curriculum, which it achieved in 2011. By 2017, the number of …
