LDS Business College Adopts New Name

The Board of Trustees of LDS Business College announced that the non-profit institution will become Ensign College, effective in September 2020. LDS Business College, affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is located in Salt Lake City, UT and serves just under 2,000 students.

Founded in 1886 as Salt Lake Academy, the name changed in 1888 to Salt Lake Stake Academy. The name changed again in 1889 to Latter Day Saints University, then in 1927 to LDS College and later in 1931, to LDS Business College.

Read more about the name change in "LDS Business College renamed Ensign College on ‘another day never to be forgotten’" published by the Deseret News on February 25, 2020 with reporting by Tad Walch.

You can also access copies of the History of LDS Business College and its Parent Institutions, 1886-1993, written by Lynn M. Hilton, on the Internet Archive.

1906 image of LDS Business College Source: Wyoming State Archives Digital Collection

College of Charleston Celebrates 250th Anniversary

The Charleston Chronicle posted, "College of Charleston Prepares to Celebrate 250th Anniversary in 2020," with a summary of activities planned to commemorate the institution's founding in 1770 as the College of Charles Town.

You can visit the 250th anniversary web pages for upcoming events, a timeline of key dates and other historical information.

The History and Traditions web page includes links to a brief history of the college, information on institutional traditions, notable alumni, and presidents who have served the college.

A 1935 sesquicentennial history written by J.H. Easterby, A History of the College of Charleston, is available in various formats through the Internet Archive.

You can also find copies of more recent histories through Abe Books:

• College of Charleston Voices: Campus and Community Through the Centuries by Katherine E. Chaddock and Carolyn B. Matalener and published by The History Press in 2006.
• College of Charleston with authors Lleana and Katina Strauch published by Arcadia Publishing in 2000.
  

The University of Massachusetts Lowell Celebrates 125th Anniversary

The University of Massachusetts Lowell is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its founding. The 125th anniversary web pages offer a timeline, histories, galleries of photographs, a short video, and other resources.

The history of the university reflects the history of two institutions founded one year apart in the late 1800s.

One, Lowell State Normal School was founded in 1894. The name change to Lowell State Teachers School in 1932 and then to Lowell State Teachers College in 1960 and Lowell State College in 1968.

Another institution, Lowell Textile School was founded in 1895. It became Lowell Textile Institute in 1928 and Lowell Technological Institute in 1953.

Lowell State College and Lowell Technological Institute then merged in 1975 to become the University of Lowell. The latest name change to University of Massachusetts Lowell occurred in 1991.

An institutional history published for the 100th anniversary, To Enrich and To Serve: The Centennial History of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, written by Mary H. Blewett and Christine McKenna and published in 1995, is available at no charge through the Internet Archive or used copies can be purchased through Abe Books.

A more recent book was published in 2012 by Arcadia Publishing, University of Massachusetts Lowell as part of its College History Series. You can read reflections of the author, Marie Frank, PhD, "Our 125 Years: Mergers, Murals and Modern Dance," posted by the university.

The Center for Lowell History offers an extensive array of historical resources for the university and surrounding region.

University of Tennessee at Knoxville Begins 225th Anniversary Celebration

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville is beginning a yearlong celebration of its founding in 1794 as Blount College.  Blount College received a grant of public lands from the state in 1807 and the name was changed to East Tennessee College. It closed in 1809 for a decade, reopening in 1820. ETC was designated in 1869 as the land-grant institution in the state and in 1879 the name was changed to the University of Tennessee.

The 225th anniversary web pages offer many stories of students and faculty that shaped the institution. You can find an extensive timeline and information on planned 225th anniversary activities.

The University Archives offers an entry point for accessing institutional records and fascinating digital collections.

YouTube offers a short video by Katherine Woods, "The History of the University of Tennessee's Campus."

The university published Blount College and the University of Tennessee written by Edward T. Sanford in 1894. Digital versions are available through the Internet Archive in a variety of formats.

Archiving History at Lafayette College

The Lafayette, newspaper of Lafayette College, posted an interesting article this past week, "A historic legacy: archivist Diane Shaw retires after three decades of growing college’s collections." 

Reporter Morgan Sturm provides details of Shaw's efforts to expand collections after joining the campus community in 1985. 

Shaw preserved the history of the college and focused attention on the collection of artist’s books, rare books, manuscripts and anti-slavery works.  Shaw is also praised for her work on the Marquis de Lafayette Collection.

Consider visiting Lafayette's Special Collections & Archives web pages that contain an extensive array of resources and digital exhibits. The College Archives documents and familiarizes visitors with the history of Lafayette College from its founding in 1824 to the present day.  Lafayette also partners with Archive-It to provide public access to resources through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

Arkansas's Southland College Featured: First Higher Education Institution for Blacks west of Mississippi River

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette published an interesting article on Southland College, "Little left of school in Delta," with reporting by Bill Bowdin.  Southland was supported by Quakers and opened in 1925 as Helena Orphan Asylum.  Initially schooling was provided for the children and a normal program was added to prepare teachers after 1869.  The Southland College name was adopted after 1873 and the institution was the first higher education for blacks west of the Mississippi River.  Southland College ultimately closed in 1925.

Bowdin notes that the University of Arkansas archives offer an extensive digital exhibit, "Lives Transformed: the People of Southland College," featuring photographs and first-person accounts documenting the impact of the institution.

A History of Southland College published in 1906 by the Indiana Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends is available at the Internet Archive.  The booklet includes a number of historic images of buildings and people associated with the institution.

Sweet Briar College: Resources at the Internet Archive

A large number of items from the Sweet Briar College Archives are available through the Internet Archive.  Sweet Briar College: Seven Decades, 1901-1971 by Martha Vonbriesen and Dorothy S. Vickery is an interesting place to start if you are unfamiliar with the history of the institution.

Other items include Almnae News, beginning with 1931, and a number of Bulletins of Sweet Briar College with announcements and names of students, college catalogues, student handbooks, and many other documents.

  

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.

Historical Sketches of Ohio Higher Education Institutions

The Internet Archive offers Historical Sketches of the Higher Education Institutions and also of Benevolent and Reformatory Institutions of the State of Ohio in .pdf and other formats.  The book was published in 1876 for the state's centennial.

Higher education institutions included in the book include: Antioch College, Baldwin University, Cleveland Academy, Cleveland Female Seminary, Clermont Academy, Cincinnati Wesleyan College, Dennison University, Grand River Institute, Heidelberg College, Hillsboro Female College, Hiram College, Kenyon College, Lake Erie Female Seminary, Marietta College, Mt. Union College, North-western Ohio Normal School, Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, Oberlin College, Ohio Central Normal School, Ohio University, Ohio Wesleyan Female College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein University, Steubenville Female Seminary, St. Xavier College, Twinsburgh Institute, Western Reserve College, Wittenberg College, Wilberforce University, Van Sickle's Business College.

A History of West Virginia Wesleyan College Available at the Internet Archive

A History of West Virginia Wesleyan College 1890-1965 is available at the Internet Archive in a variety of formats.  The author is Kenneth M. Plummer and the book was published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the institution.  West Virginia Wesleyan was founded by the West Virginia Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

I certainly encourage those who are able to consider making a donation to help support the access to many wonderful historical resources at the Internet Archive.

Used copies of Plummer's book are also available for purchase through Abe Books at minimal cost.

U.S. Department of Education Circulars, 1887-1903

Frederick Rudolph's section on "history by historians" from his bibliography in The American College & University: A History begins with comments on Circulars of Information, published between 1887 and 1903 by the U.S. Bureau of Education.  The series was edited by Herbert Baxter Adams, who Rudolph recognizes as, "...early master of the research seminar.."

Most of the volumes are available through Google Books or other sites like Hathi Trust Digital Library or the Internet Archive.  The table below includes links to the separate volumes.

History of Hanover College (IN)

The History of Hanover College written by A.Y Moore was published in 1900 and is available in a variety of formats through the Internet Archive.  Hanover was founded in 1827 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The Vision Revisited: A History of Meredith College 1971-1998

The Vision Revisited: A History of Meredith College 1971-1998 by Carolyn C. Robinson is available through the Internet Archive in a variety of formats.  Copies are also available for purchase through AbeBooks.com.

Robinson's book builds on an earlier work by Mary Lynch Johnson, A History of Meredith College, 2nd edition that was published in 1972. 

San Francisco College for Women (CA)

The Internet Archive offers a wonderful 12+ minute video from the Prelinger Archives of students involved in various campus activities during the mid-1940's.

The institution was founded in 1898 as Sacred Heart Academcy in Menlo Park, CA. It became the College of the Sacred Heart in 1921.  After a move to San Francisco, CA in the 1930's, the name was changed to San Francisco College for Women.  The name was changed again to Lone Mountain College in 1969 and the institution became co-educational.  It was acquired by the University of San Francisco to become USF's Lone Mountain Campus in 1978.

Philanthropy in the History of American Higher Education

I was recently fortunate to find a copy of Philanthropy in the History of American Higher Education by Jesse Brundage Sears with an introduction by Roger Geiger.  You can find copies in a variety of formats at the Internet Archive.  New copies of the book can still be acquired through the website of Transaction Publishers or you can find used copies.

Rating Colleges in 1911

Libby Nelson authored a Vox article this week on an effort by Kendric Babcock in 1911 to classify institutions by the quality of their undergraduate program. 

The article includes links to the original document at the Internet Archive and to a 1984 article by David S. Webster for History of Education Quarterly.

                      

Bulletins of Charles City College (IA) and Catalogue for German-English College (IL)

The Internet Archive offers a couple of College Bulletins published by Charles City College (IA) in a variety of formats...the Bulletin from 1911 and a later one from October, 1912 is focused on the business department and provides an interesting view of the curriculum and faculty.

Charles City College was initially founded as the German-English College in 1868 in Galena, Il.  It moved to Charles City, IA, in 1891 and merged with Morningside College in 1914.  The Internet Archive also has an 1889-1890 Catalogue from this predecessor institution.

Hardin College and Conservatory of Music, #2 (MO)

Several publications from Hardin College and Conservatory of Music are available in variety of formats through the Internet Archive.  The institution was located in Mexico, MO and operated from 1858-1931.

 One volume includes programs of study for the 1909, 1910, and 1911 academic years.

 A second volume includes six programs of study for the 1912 through 1917 academic years.

 A third volume [vol. 3, no. 3 from 1919] was called a newsletter, though it includes over 90 pages of text and photographs and is a cross between the programs of study published earlier and a yearbook.

Finally, The Ion...a yearbook from 1920 is also available.

Mount Carroll Seminary (IL)

The Internet Archive offers three circulars from Mount Carroll Seminary [1855, 1856, and 1862] in Mount Carroll, IL.  The documents include complete lists of students and other information on the institution.

Mount Carroll Seminary was founded in 1853 by Frances Wood Shimer.  The institution later affiliated with the University of Chicago as the Frances Shimer Academy in 1896.  The name was changed to Shimer College in 1950.  The college then moved to Waukegan, IL in 1978 and back to Chicago in 2006.  It is currently located on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology and is recognized for the focus on Great Books.

UPDATE:  Shimer was acquired by North Central College in Naperville, IL in mid-2017. 

Meredith College (NC)

A History of Meredith College, by Mary Lynch Johnson, is available through the Internet Archive in a variety of formats.  Used copies are also available for purchase through AbeBooks.com.

Baptist Female University was chartered by the legislature of North Carolina in 1891 and the institution opened in Raleigh on September 27, 1899.  The institution enrolled 220 students in preparatory, baccalaureate and master’s programs during the first year. Its first graduating class of ten women in 1902 [one was awarded a M.A. degree and nine received B.A. degrees], who became known as “The Immortal Ten.”

In 1905, the name of the institution was changed to Baptist University for Women and in 1909, to Meredith College.