University of Louisiana at Monroe History Featured

The history of the University of Louisiana at Monroe is featured in a five-minute video segment from KNOE-TV that aired January 29, 2015.  The video features an number of interesting historical photographs and highlights six name changes for the institution following the founding in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College.

Northern New Mexico College Changes Name

Northern New Mexico College announced a name change on January 27, 2015.  The institution located in Española, NM will now be Northern New Mexico University.

The institution has a complex history of changes in mission and names.  It was founded in El Rito, NM as the Spanish American Normal School in 1909.  The name was changed to Northern New Mexico State School in 1953 and to Northern New Mexico College in 1959.  It became New Mexico Technical-Vocational School in 1969 and development of a new campus at Española began.  The name was changed to Northern New Mexico Community College in 1976 and Northern New Mexico College in 2005.

AIB College of Business joins with University of Iowa

AIB College of Business and the University of Iowa announced that AIB will become the Des Moines campus for the University of Iowa.  AIB was founded in 1921 and was known as the American Institute of Business.  The institution was reorganized as a nonprofit in 1941 and moved from downtown Des Moines to the current location in 1972.

The Des Moines Register offers a number of historical images documenting AIB's history.

Catholic Higher Education in the American South, 1830-1930

Kathryn Mary Wrightson's 2003 Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Georgia, Toward a History of Catholic Higher Education in the American South:  Essays on Sources and Context, is available for those interested in the history of southern colleges.  The author identified fifty-five Catholic institutions that opened during the period between 1830-1930.  Ten of these are still operating and the others tended to close after brief periods due to the isolation and poverty of the areas served.

Wrightson begins with an overview of 19th century religious life in the region.  The third chapter provides brief historical sketches of the Catholic colleges founded in nine states.  The fourth and fifth chapters focus respectively on the structures and "souls" of Catholic colleges.  She concludes by analyzing institutional success and closure in a variety of ways.  Wrightson also includes comments on the state of available sources for information and offers useful suggestions for additional research.

College of Saint Mary Magdalen Changes Name to Northeast Catholic College

The College of Saint Mary Magdalen changed it's name to Northeast Catholic College. Susan Doucet authored an interesting article for the Concord Monitor on January 24, 2015 placing the change in the context of recent name changes at other New Hampshire colleges.

The institution was initially founded as Magdalen College in 1973 in Bedford, NH. It relocated to Warner, NH in 1991. The name was changed to College of Saint Mary Magdalen in 2010.  The curriculum of Northeast Catholic College is based on the Great Books and enrolls less than 100 students.

Preserving The Sponsoring Tradition...A Dissertation

John M. Pressimone's dissertation, Preserving the Sponsoring Tradition: A Study of Catholic Colleges and Universities Founded by Religious Orders, is available on the Benedictine University web site.  Completed in 2013, the study seeks to identify best practices in preserving identity of the religious community sponsor.  Pressimone's first chapter includes a good historical overview of Catholic higher education in the U.S. The conclusions he draws from his study are certainly applicable to a wider audience across the higher education community.

King's College London Discontinues Rebranding Campaign

King's College London is no longer planning a name change as part of a larger rebranding effort.  Tom Bawden reports on the decision for The Independent on January 19, 2015.

You can find links to other reporting on the controversial rebranding campaign in an earlier blog post from early January.

Caribbean Faith-Based Institutions Facing Enrollment Stuggles

Nadine Wilson-Harris reports for The Gleaner in an article published January 18, 2015 on enrollment struggles of faith-based institutions of higher education in the Caribbean.  Changing institutional names is one of the strategies academic leaders are considering and Wilson-Harris notes that Jamaica Bible College adopted the name of Regent College of the Caribbean in 2012.

Reporter focuses on Grand Canyon University's effort to become Non-Profit

Grand Canyon University (GCU) is one of several for-profit institutions that have either achieved or are working to become a non-profits.  Ronald J. Hansen explores the status of GCU's situation in the January 17, 2015 issue of The Republic.

Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles Adopts New Name

Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles, CA changed it's name to Mount Saint Mary's University in January 2015.  The institution was founded in 1925 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

History of the University of North Georgia Featured in Article

Joanna Toso focuses on the history of the University of North Georgia in an article for the Vanguard, the student newspaper.  Her article includes over a dozen historic photographs.  The institution began offering classes in 1873 as North Georgia Agricultural College.

Wharton County Junior College (TX) History Featured

A documentary film focusing on the history of Wharton County Junior College is featured in January 16, 2015 issue of The Rancher.   A short segment of the film is available for preview.  A screening of the film is scheduled for January 29th and contact information is provided in the article.

Wharton County Junior College was founded in 1946 in Wharton, TX and will soon be celebrating a 70th anniversary.  

Florida Normal and Collegiate Institute

The St. Augustine Record's "Remember When" column on January 5, 2015 featured a photograph of the 1926 Florida Normal and Collegiate Institute football team.

The paper had another article by Karen Neff on January 12, 2015 that provides more information on the institution. It was founded as Florida Baptist Academy in Jacksonville, FL and moved to Saint Augustine, FL in 1918. It was known as Florida Normal and Collegiate Institute and Florida Normal and Industrial College. The name was changed in 1963 became Florida Memorial College and it moved in 1968 to Miami, FL. It then adopted the name of Florida Memorial University in 2006 and is the only HBCU institution in Miami..

Records of Kansas City National Training School / National College for Christian Workers

The Saint Paul School of Theology web site offers information on holdings of records for a Methodist institution intended to better prepare women for roles providing education and social services to immigrant and other urban residents.  The site includes a helpful bibliography on the deaconess movement and a number of photographs.

The institution was initially founded in 1899 in Kansas City, KS.  It moved to Kansas City, MO in 1904 as the Kansas City National Training School for Deaconeses and Missionaries.  The name was changed to the National Training School for Christian Workers in 1933, the National College for Christian Workers in 1945, and to National College in 1958.  The institution explored a cooperative merger with Saint Paul before closing in 1964.

King's College London Will Explore Rebranding Effort Further

While we don't really know if rebranding and renaming ever brings much in the way of tangible results, we can't seem to stop trying.  Often the process unfolds rather quietly, but occasionally the reaction can be swift [even with three years of study and planning]....and, I certainly missed this dust-up in mid-December.

I noticed this morning that King's College London announced it will be holding open meetings this next week on rebranding.

This follows the announcement several weeks ago that it would become King's London in a rebranding effort that led to an outpouring of opposition to the decision and a quick change of plans. The institution stressed that even with a name change, it would continue to use King's College London on legal documents.

Merger of Georgia Perimeter College with Georgia State University

Inside Higher Ed has a couple of posts this week by Ry Rivard [January 6, 2015; January 7, 2015] placing the recently approved consolidation of Georgia Perimeter College with Georgia State University within the context of other recent change in the University System of Georgia.  

• Waycross College and South Georgia College merged to become South Georgia State College in 2013.
• Macon State College and Middle Georgia College merged to become Middle Georgia State College in 2013.
• Gainesville State College and North Georgia College & State University merged to become the new University of North Georgia in 2013.
• Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University merged to become Georgia Regents University in 2013.
• Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University will merge this year and retain the name of Kennesaw State University 

Andy Thomason also explored the Georgia mergers for The Chronicle of Higher Education.  His article includes an infographic by Ron Coddington that summarizes the situation very nicely.

AY1853 and AY1854 Catalogues of Fort Wayne Female College (IN)

The Internet Archive offers copies of Fort Wayne Female College Catalogues in a variety of formats for the 1853-1854 and 1854-1855 academic years.  The catalogues include the names of trustees, faculty and students.  There are also courses of study and schedules of fees.  Name of students enrolled in a coeducational Fort Wayne Collegiate Institute are also included.

Fort Wayne Female College was founded in 1846 and was affiliated with the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  The institution changed it's name to Taylor University in 1890 and moved to Upland, IN after 1893.

Higher Education Institutions on the National Register of Historic Places

I downloaded a file earlier today with 90,000+ sites on the National Register of Historic Places.  The National Park Service includes urls in the file for the .pdfs of applications and photographs for those that have been scanned.

After a quick sort to identify 444 sites with "college" in their names, I opened the data as a Fusion table for geocoding and creation of the map below.  Some of the sites are for institutions that have closed, like the one for Gooding College in Idaho.  Click on a red icon to see a card with information for the site.  As always, your comments and suggestions are appreciated!!

Wyoming Colleges that have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names

This table below includes institutions that have closed, merged, or changed their names.  If you note a need for changing or updating information, please notify ray01brown@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

An index with links to separate pages for other states and countries is available.

There is a College History Garden Facebook group or you can view and follow multiple College History Garden boards on Pinterest or there is a board specifically devoted to Wyoming colleges.

Thanks for your interest and suggestions!

Richmond College (OH), 1843-1903

The Richmond Community Historical Society in Ohio highlights the history of Richmond College.  The institution was founded as Richmond Classical Institute in 1843 and became Richmond College in 1847.  The web page includes quite a few details and a number of images, including an 1882 newspaper with faculty names and a 1890 catalogue.

Green River Community College (WA) Adopts New Name

Stephan Kinholt, faculty member at Green River Community College, comments for the Auburn Reporter on the institution's decision to become Green River College.  Kinholt argues that people should embrace the "community" focus of the institution.  Green River Community College was founded in 1964 in Auburn, WA.

Jesse Torres reported on the decision in mid-December for the campus student newspaper, The Current.