 Cornell was among the first universities in the United States to admit women alongside men . The first woman was admitted to Cornell in 1870 , although the university did not yet have a women 's dormitory . On February 13 , 1872 , Cornell 's Board of Trustees accepted an offer of $ 250 @,@ 000 from Henry W. Sage to build such a dormitory . During the construction of Sage College ( now home to the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management as Sage Hall ) and after its opening in 1875 , the admittance of women to Cornell continued to increase . 
