The College first admitted women in 1969. In March of the same year, the Nursing School announced that it would accept applications from male students. The dean of the School, Sister Rita Marie Bergeron, OSB, cited expanding the supply of professional nurses as the main reason for the change. Three male students graduated in 1976, among them Richard Haas, the first male to enroll. In an interview published in The Washington Post on May 17, 1976, Mr. Haas recounted how, as a volunteer firefighter in Prince George's County, he was nicknamed "Flo" and was continually questioned and teased by his fellow firefighters about his status as a nursing student. However, that changed when "we had an accident where two people were killed and seven were lying in the street. A little girl was pinned under a car. Nobody knew where to start. I kept pressure on the girl's femoral artery for 45 minutes [and saved her life]' Nobody asked me any questions after that."