The History of National Park Seminary Featured in The Washington Post

The Washington Post published, "Answer Man visits the National Park Seminary in Forest Glen, Md.," by John Kelly earlier this week.  Kelly provides an interesting historical sketch of the property that became home to National Park Seminary for young women after1894 in Forest Glen, MD.  The seminary occupied the former Forest Inn Hotel that previously operated from 1887-1894.  The seminary name changed to National Park College in 1937 and it then closed in 1942 when the U.S. Army invoked the War Powers Act and condemned the property.

An earlier post on the College History Garden, "National Park Seminary (MD)," includes links to several fascinating web sites devoted to the history of the site.

Salem International University Changes Its Name

The State Journal of Clarksburg, West Virginia posted "Honoring history, heritage was reason for university name change," indicating that Salem International University recently changed its name to Salem University.  Salem University is a small, for-profit institution and enrolls roughly 850 students.

The institution, located in Salem, WV, was founded as Salem College in 1888.  It joined with Teikyo University Foundation to form Salem-Teikyo University in 1989. The name was changed to Salem International University in 2000 and to Salem University in 2018

Campus History Trail of Emory University Campus

Emory University offers a mobile tour of the campus using historical materials from the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.  The web interface provides an overview of Emory's history by linking text, videos, and photographs with a map.

The online tour allows users to toggle between the map view and the text of each tour stop.

Users can also access an expanded menu to learn more about the tour and other campus history resources.

Emory College was established by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1836.  After 1915, Emory College would move from its original campus to a new university in Druid Hills. 

Tour stops include:

• Haygood-Hopkins Memorial Gateway was built in 1937. 
• The Quadrangle
• Old Theology Building
• Cannon Chapel
• Michael C. Carlos Hall & Museum
• Bowden Hall
• Candler Library
• Woodruff Library
• Cox Hall
• Dobbs University Center
• Woodruff Physical Education Center
• Residence Halls
• Goizueta Business School
• Schwartz Center for Performing Arts

60th Anniversary for North Central Michigan College

North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, Michigan is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding in 1958.  You can visit the 60th anniversary web page for more information.  NCMC's main campus remains in Petoskey and it also now operates centers in Cheboygan and Gaylord.

The institution was initially known as Emmet Community College and adopted its present name in 1959.

WCMU public radio station offers a post, "A Petoskey Based College Celebrates its 60th Year," that includes a short audio clip highlighting the institution's mission and commitment over the years to the community it serves. 

Walking Tour of Princeton

A self guided Walking Tour of Princeton has been created by the Princeton Regional Conventionand Visitors Bureau.

Some of the sites on the tour include:

1. Albert Einstein House
2. Princeton Theological Seminary, founded in 1811.
3. Palmer Square
4. Nassau Presbyterian Church
5. MacLean House, built in 1756. The official residence of college presidents until 1878.
6. Nassau Hall, the largest stone building in America when completed.
7. University Chapel, one of the most beautiful buildings on campus. It was built between 1925 and 1928.
8. University Art Museum, erected in 1889.
9. Prospect House and Garden given to the College in 1878 for use as a residence for the presidents. In 1968 the Lowrie House became the official presidential home and Prospect House is now the faculty club.
10. Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, founded in 1930.
11. Bainbridge House, headquarters of the Historical Society of Princeton with a museum and changing exhibits.
12. Princeton Cemetery, most of the College presidents are buried in President’s Row, including Reverend Aaron Burr, the second president, and his son, Colonel Aaron Burr, who is buried at his father’s feet next to his grandfather, Jonathan Edwards. Also resting here are U.S. President Grover Cleveland, Dr. John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Paul Tulane, along with many other notable dignitaries. 
13. McCarter Theatre, built in 1929
14. Princeton Railroad Station
15. Einstein Statue, dedicated on April 18, 2005 marking the 50 anniversary of Einstein's death and 100th anniversary of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity.

Heritage Walking Tour of The Claremont Colleges

Claremont Heritage offers guided and self-guided walking tours featuring the historic and architectural sites associated with The Claremont Colleges.  The web site also includes representative photographs of tour sites from Pomona College, Claremont Graduate University, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, and Pitzer College.

Campus Landmark Tour: Walking to Reflect on African-American History

The University of Maryland is offering an African-American History and the University of Maryland: A Campus Landmark Tour.  The self-guided walking tour of the campus commissioned by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion highlights landmarks associated with the impact of African Americans at the university and throughout history.  

The landing page for the tour notes, "From its antebellum founding through the present day, Terp life has been shaped by more than just those who wrote the official version of history. There was a time when students and visitors of color were outsiders here, but through the sacrifices of earlier pioneers—reflected in our campus fabric—each brick and blade of glass belongs to them as well."

The materials used in developing the tour and related website were drawn from campus reports and the university libraries and archives.

Consider leaving a note and link in the comment section below this post if you know of other campus walking tours.

Concordia College Alabama will Close

The Selma Times-Journal published this week that, "Concordia College Alabama to close at the end of spring semester."  Reporter Blake Deshazo visited with Dr. James Lyons, chief transition officer and interim president for the college, who had shared the news with faculty, staff, and students on Wednesday.  Concordia is a historically black Lutheran College with approximately 400 students.

Deshazo of The Times-Journal previously reported the institution was facing financial pressure on February 6, 2018 that "Concordia College in need of investors to remain open."

The institution was founded as Alabama Lutheran Academy & College in 1922.  Alabama Luther College graduated its first class of four women in 1926, but discontinued the college program for a time during the Depression and it was renamed Alabama Lutheran Academy.  College coursework was added back and the name changed to Alabama Lutheran Academy and College.   Then in 1981, the name was changed to Concordia College.

Concordia received accreditation as an associate-degree granting institution by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 1983. In 1994, SACS granted Concordia accreditation as a bachelor’s degree granting institution. Concordia continued to grow and in 2010 it acquired the property of the United Methodist Children’s Home, expanded the size of the campus from 22 acres to 57, as well as adding additional housing and historic buildings.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions.  Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Atlantic Union College Closing

Two Massachusetts newspapers reported earlier today that Atlantic Union College in Lancaster, MA will close.  Atlantic Union had previously closed in spring 2011 before reopening again for the fall semester 2015.  It was unable to regain accreditation or provide a stable stream of revenue.  The Fitchburg, MA Sentinel and Enterprise published reporting by Peter Jasinski, "Atlantic Union College announces it is closing after 140 years of operation."

"Atlantic Union College in Lancaster will close," appeared in the Worchester, MA Telegram and Gazette with reporting by Scott O'Connell.

Atlantic Union, affiliated with Seventh-day Adventists, was initially founded as the South Lancaster Academy in 1882.  It became Lancaster Junior College in 1918 and the name changed to Atlantic Union College in 1922. 

Two previous College History Garden posts can also be found: 

• Atlantic Union College (MA) from January 25, 2012
• Atlantic Union College Returns from June 30, 2015

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions.  Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Belmont University Acquires O'More College of Design

The Tennessean reports today that Belmont University and will acquire O'More College of Design of Franklin, TN and move O'More's programs to Nashville, TN by fall 2018.  You can read an announcement on the Belmont web site, "Belmont University Acquires O’More College of Design, Move to Nashville Effective Fall 2018."

O'More was founded as O'More School of Interior Architecture and Design in 1970.  It is a non-profit institution with enrollment of 170 students.

Belmont traces its roots to Belmont Junior College that was founded in 1890.  It was known as Ward-Belmont after a merger with Ward Seminary in 1913.  Assets of the institution were then acquired by the Tennessee Baptist Convention which opened Belmont College in 1951.  Belmont became independent after 2005.  You can visit the Belmont website for an historical timeline.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions.  Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Kendall College Acquired by National Louis University

The Chicago Tribune reported on January 18, 2018 "Kendall College sells programs and name to National Louis University for $1."  Kendall has been operating since 2005 as a for-profit institution and was owned by Laureate Education, Inc.

National Louis University posted a statement on its website, "National Louis University announcesagreement with Kendall College and Laureate Education, Inc. to transferKendall's current programs to NLU, contingent on regulatory approvals."

Kendall College was founded in 1934 when a Swedish seminary and a Danish-Norwegian seminary located in downtown Evanston, IL agreed to merge their assets and form the Evanston Collegiate Institute.  The name changed to Kendall College in 1950.  Kendall initially offered two year degrees and baccalaureate programs were added after 1977.  It was known for its School of Culinary Arts which was started in 1985.  Kendall moved to downtown Chicago in 2005 from Evanston and also became part of Laureate International Universities.

Ashley A. Smith of Inside Higher Ed covered the sale of Kendall and other recent changes by Laureate in "Laureate Shifts Focus" that was published on January 31, 2018.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions.  Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Highland Community College Celebrates 160th Anniversary

Highland Community College in Highland, KS is celebrating the 160th anniversary of its founding in 1858 with a charter granted by the Kansas Territorial Legislature.  Highland Presbyterian Academy founded the previous year served as a foundation for the new institution.  The academy and small community that grew up around it served as a mission to Native Americans in the area. 

There have been a number of changes in name during the institution's history:

• 1857 - Highland Presbyterian Academy
• 1858 - Highland University
• 1910 - Highland College
• 1921 - Highland Junior College
• 1929 - Northeast Kansas Junior College
• 1937 - Highland Public Junior College
• 1959 - Doniphan County Junior College
• 1965 - Highland Community Junior College
• 1980 - Highland Community College 

Napa Valley College is Celebrating its 75th Anniversary

Napa Valley College, located in Napa and St. Helena, California, is currently in its 75th academic year and is now preparing for a 75th Anniversary Founders Day scheduled for April 14, 2018.  You can visit the institution's web site for more details.  

The college includes an infographic timeline with key dates and interesting information on milestones.  The institution was founded as Napa Junior College in 1942.  The name changed to Napa College in 1962 and to Napa Valley College in 1982.  

Articles from Indiana Magazine of History Available Online

100 years of articles from The Indiana Magazine of History are available online an no charge.  The magazine is one of the nation's oldest historical journals and issues from 1905-2015 are now easily accessible.  Researchers can browse individual issues or search all the issues by topic.  The respective articles are then available for viewing online or they can be downloaded as .pdf files.

A sample of articles related to college history follows with links to the corresponding .pdf file:

• Volume 11, Issue 1, March 1915; "The Academies of Indiana" author: John Hardin Thomas.
• Volume 47, Issue 3, September 1951; "A College Freshman in 1858" author: Lawrence Wheeler.
• Volume 53, Issue 1, March 1957; "Smithson College Circular, 1871" editor: Donald F. Carmony.
• Volume 56, Issue 2, June 1960; "The Indiana Central Medical College,1849-1852" author: George B. Manhart.
• Volume 90, Issue 1, March 1994; "'The Diploma Pedler': Dr. John Cook Bennett and the Christian College, New Albany, Indiana" author: Andrew F. Smith.

Oregon State University Celebrates 150th Anniversary

Oregon State University is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1868 as Oregon State Agricultural College.  At the time, an existing private institution founded by Methodists ten years earlier, Corvallis College, was designated as Oregon's land grant institution.  

KLCC public radio's web site offers a short audio clip and corresponding transcript, "Oregon State University: 150 Years of Growth and Change," of an interview by Tiffany Eckert as she walks around the OSU campus with Larry Landis, archivist and author of A School for the People: A Photographic History of Oregon State University.

The Peoples School: A History of Oregon State University, written by William G. Robbins, was published in 2017 and is also available from Oregon State University Press.

Focus on Campus Architecture at Oregon State University

The Corvallis (OR) Gazette-Times published a feature article highlighting Oregon State University campus architecture, "John Bennes played key role in building design at OSU."  The article by James Day is accompanied by links that include a gallery with photos of building designed by Bennes and an article with details of a Bennes Walking Tour.

Bennes, who lived from 1867-1943, designed more than 35 campus buildings.  Twenty-four of these buildings are in the OSU National Historic District.  The web page for the historic district includes photographs and descriptions of buildings.

Westeryears: Sketches Drawn from Westminster College (MO) Past

"Early Spiritual Life at Westminster College," is the latest post in a Westeryears series published on the Fulton, MO institution's website.  Posts typically offer an historical sketch accompanied by one or more photographs.

Westminster's Office of Marketing and Strategic Communications also posts links on Twitter using the #Westeryears hashtag.

There is also a "Westeryears: Memories of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri" group page on Facebook.