The all-women's Hollins University on Wednesday stood firm in its commitment to single-sex education, a day after news surfaced that its sister institution, Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, would vote next month on whether to admit men.

In a letter to Hollins alumnae and friends, President Nancy Gray and board of trustees Chairwoman Nancy Valk Long wrote that the Roanoke County university remains firmly committed to its mission as a women's college.

"We are sorry for the difficulties that led our sister institution to this recommendation," they wrote. "While we are realistic about the challenges that face all small liberal arts colleges in the 21st century, we have many reasons to be confident about our future."

The letter went on to emphasize the benefits of an all-women's college experience, in part, citing a study by Indiana University's Center for Postsecondary Research that found women at single-sex colleges are more engaged than women at coeducational institutions in active and collaborative learning.

"In the days and weeks ahead, please help us spread the word that Hollins is the place for women who are going places," Gray and Long wrote. "We believe there are many young women out there who want, need and thrive in a women's college environment. Let us assure you that Hollins is and will be here for them."

Randolph-Macon's board of trustees will vote next month on whether to admit men for the first time in the institution's 115-year history.

"That is the direction that we're now headed in," Jolley Bruce Christman, president of the board of trustees, said Tuesday.

The vote came after a year of study and a recommendation by a strategic planning committee of trustees, faculty and staff that the school move toward becoming a coeducational institution with a global honors emphasis.

"What the trustees and the Strategic Planning Steering Committee feel is at stake is the future of the college," said Christman, a 1969 R-MWC graduate.

If Randolph-Macon's 30-member board of trustees votes to open enrollment, men would be allowed to attend as soon as fall 2007.

Interest in single-sex education has declined in recent years, but Virginia still has, in addition to Hollins, two other private women's undergraduate colleges: Mary Baldwin College in Staunton and Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar. Hollins and Mary Baldwin admit men to some programs.

Hampden-Sydney College, near Farmville, is one of a handful of men's colleges in the nation.

Gray said in a phone interview Wednesday that she still believes there is a market for single-sex education. At the 800-student Hollins, Gray said she sees women becoming empowered and finding their voices, interests and beliefs.

In addition, the number of freshmen coming in the fall is up 10 percent -- the largest first-year class in seven years. Graduate enrollment is also up 26 percent.

Should Randolph-Macon go coed, Gray said, it's hard to predict whether the change would bring more women to the Hollins campus. She said many Hollins students and staff have friends at the campus and are saddened by the news.

"We would certainly welcome any students from Randolph-Macon," Gray said. "They've just got to sort through things."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.