Shannon Faulkner was the first female cadet to The Citadel. Faulkner enrolled after a successful lawsuit against the military academy. Despite her winning in court after four years of battle, she chose to drop out after less than a week because of exhaustion and allegations of abuse from other male cadets.

As of 2004, The Citadel's College of Graduate and Professional Studies is 60.4% female (588 women of a total of 973 graduate students). The Citadel itself does not mention Faulkner's name in its history. Her "Knob" history is at http://citadel.edu/library/Knob/knob_f.htm#faul

For further information on Shannon Faulkner, see: In Glory's Shadow : The Citadel, Shannon Faulkner, and a Changing America (Vintage:2001) by Catherine S. Manegold . For further information about women in The Citadel, see: In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel (Simon Pulse:Reprint edition 2002) by Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel.