Clarks Summit University Announces Closure

 Clarks Summit University in Pennsylvania announced on July 1, 2024 that it will be closing.

The institution was founded as Baptist Bible College and Seminary in 1932 in Johnson City, New York. It moved to Pennsylvania in 1968 and changed its name to Clarks Summit University in 2015.

You can read more in "Grief, gratitude at Clarks Summit University as school announces closure," posted by West Virginia's public radio affiliate WVIA.

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.

Hussian College No Longer Enrolling Students

Hussian College with locations in Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and California has announced that it will no longer enroll students.

Hussian College was founded by John Hussian as the Hussian School of Art in 1946 in Philadelphia.

In September 2014, Hussian first offered the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art. Also in the same year, a branch campus was opened a Los Angeles, California as the Studio School with programs in art, acting, contemporary musical theatre, digital content, commercial dance, and entrepreneurship.

In January 2015, the institutional name was changed from Hussian School of Art to Hussian College.

Then in November 2018, Hussian added the five campuses of Daymar College. With the acquisition of Daymar College, Hussian College became the successor institution for Draughons Business Colleges and for Southwestern Business College/Samuel Stephen College.

Daymar College was founded in 1963 as Owensboro Business College, offering courses in general business at its original campus location at 1126 Triplett Street in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1973, Owensboro Business College was authorized to award associate degrees and in 1980, it earned accreditation as a junior college and changed its name to Owensboro Junior College of Business.

In 1995, Owensboro Junior College of Business was acquired by Daymar Learning, Inc. In July 1999, the college moved to a new campus located at 3361 Buckland Square. Then in 2001 the institutional name was changed to Daymar College. 

The Owensboro campus closed in June 2018 leaving Daymar College with 5 campuses located in Columbus, OH; Bowling Green, KY; and Clarksville, Nashville and Murfreesboro, TN. 

In November 2018, the Daymar campuses became branch campuses of Hussian College. In March 2022 the Bowling Green, KY campus ceased operations.

Historical Roots of Various Campuses

Draughons Junior College with campuses located in Clarksville, Nashville and Murfreesboro, TN had originally been founded around 1879 by John F. Draughon as Draughon’s Traveling Business College. After opening a permanent location in Nashville, the institution operated widely for many years as Draughons Practical Business College with 38 business schools bearing his name at the time of his death in 1921. After his death, many of the schools bearing his name merged with other schools or closed. 

The Draughons Business College in Nashville survived and was located on 8th Avenue North for more than 100 years. In August 1981, the college moved 6 miles southeast of downtown Nashville to Plus Park Blvd. It remained on Plus Park Blvd until September 2015 when it moved to the 560 Royal Parkway. In October 2020, the campus relocated to 750 Envious Lane.

In September 1987, Draughons Junior College established a branch campus in Clarksville, Tennessee located at 1860 Guthrie Highway. In 1994, Guthrie Highway was renamed Wilma Rudolph Boulevard. April 2013, the college moved to 2691 Trenton Rd.

In 1988, Draughons Junior College established a branch campus in Bowling Green, Kentucky located at 2424 Airway Ct. January 2004, the college moved to its current location at 2421 Fitzgerald Industrial Dr.

In September 2003, Draughons Junior College established a branch campus in Murfreesboro, Tennessee located at 1237 Commerce Park Drive. In January 2005, the college moved to 415 Golden Bear Court and in 2022 it relocated to 855 W. College Street.

January 1, 2010, Daymar College purchased Draughons Junior College. The Bowling Green campus changed its name to Daymar College and the Draughons Junior Colleges located in Tennessee changed their name to Daymar Institute. Along with the name change, the campuses expanded their educational offerings to include bachelor degree programs. On January 1, 2015, the Daymar Institute colleges changed their name to Daymar College.

On July 19, 2021, Daymar College in Clarksville, TN changed its name to Hussian College. On October 3, 2022 Daymar College in Murfreesboro, TN and Nashville, TN changed its name to Hussian College.

Southeastern Business College campus in Columbus, OH opened as a branch campus of the Southeastern Business College Chillicothe campus in 1994. The original Columbus campus location was 1522 Sheridan Dr., Lancaster, OH 43130.

In 2006, Southeastern Business College changed its name to Samuel Stephen College. 

On May 12, 2008, Daymar College purchased Samuel Stephen College and changed its name to Daymar College. The campus moved to 1579 Victor Road, Lancaster, OH 43130 in 2009. September 1, 2015, the campus moved to 2745 Winchester Pike, Columbus, OH 43232. On October 3, 2022 the college changed its name to Hussian College.

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.

75th Anniversary for Manor College

 Manor College in Jenkintown, PA has been celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022. A post this week on the college website explores the history through stories and artifacts, "The Manor College Foxes? As evidenced by a small glass, Manor College once went by the Foxes."

The institution was founded in 1947 as St. Macrina College by the Ukrainian Sisters of St. Basil the Great. The name changed to Manor College in 1959.

You can visit the 75th Anniversary webpage for more information or view a short YouTube video, "Celebrating 75 Years: The History of Manor College."

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Manor College is related to the Ukrainian Catholic Church and works to increase awareness and appreciation of Ukrainian heritage and culture through the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center located on campus.

Remembering Impact of Hurricane Agnes at Wilkes University

Wilkes University has a campus on the Susquehanna River and suffered substantial damage when Hurricane Agnes triggered a flood in 1972.

A new interactive website, an audio walking tour and an artifact exhibit, “Remembering Agnes: 50 Years Later,” offers a retrospective overview of the period. It is a collaboration of the E.S. Farley Library , the Sordoni Art Gallery, the Wilkes University History department, Integrative Media department, WCLH radio station, and web services.

“The walking tour consists of 12 designated stops featuring panels that showcase pre- and post-flood photographs and an opportunity to listen to recordings on some of our building history.

You can read more in "Wilkes University launches audio walking tour, retrospective on Agnes," posted by the Wilkes Barre Time Leader with reporting by Mark Guydish.

Saint Joseph's University and University of the Sciences Complete Merger

Inside Higher Ed posted reporting by Josh Moody, "A Crosstown Merger in Philadelphia: Saint Joseph’s University and the struggling University of the Sciences merged on June 1," on June 10, 2022.

Saint Joseph's College was founded in 1851 and the name changed to St. Joseph's University in 1978.

The University of the Sciences was founded as Philadelphia College of Apothecaries in 1821. The name changed to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1822 and to Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1921. The latest name change to University of the Sciences in Philadelphia occurred in 1998.

You can read more on the Saint Joseph's website, "Saint Joseph’s University Completes Transformative Merger, Acquiring University of the Sciences Academic Programs and University City Campus."

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.

Reading Area Community College 50th Anniversary

Reading Area Community College is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1971. 

The institution was initially sponsored by the Reading School District and enrollment was 265 students. The college operated from several buildings throughout Reading during its early years until it acquired the Holiday Inn (the current Berks Hall building) in 1978. On July 1, 1991, the Berks County Board of Commissioners assumed sponsorship of the college and five years later the college completed a campus expansion plan that transformed it into an attractive city-based campus.

  

RACC currently enrolls 3,924 students and employs 53 full time and 187 part time students.

Sesquicentennial Celebration Planned for West Chester University

West Chester University is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The institution was founded as West Chester Academy in 1812 in West Chester, PA. It became West Chester State Normal School in 1871. The name changed to West Chester State Teacher's College in 1927, to West Chester State College in 1960, and then to West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 1983.

The 150th Anniversary web page offers links to anniversary videos, upcoming events, a timeline of key institutional dates, historic photographs, and other resources.

The Special Collections department of the FH Green Library also offers a variety of digital collections and other resources.

Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Launch New TriCollege Libraries Digital Collections Site

 Natalie Shilstut authored an interesting post for Bryn Mawr's Special Collections Blog on February 5, 2021, "TriCollege Libraries Digital Collections : a powerful new tool for research and exploration of the College’s history." 

Shilstut announces the launch of our new TriCollege Libraries Digital Collections site developed by staff of Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore. 

The site serves as a new home for both digitized materials and born-digital content. She also provides a number of examples of collections and items available.

Moravian College Transitioning to become Moravian University

Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA announced that is is transitioning to become Moravian University.

A boys' school was established in Bethlehem in July 1742, and another in nearby Nazareth in 1743. These schools merged in 1759 to form Nazareth Hall, an institution which survived until 1929. In 1807 a men's college and theological seminary was established as an extension of Nazareth Hall. That institution, Moravian College and Theological Seminary, moved to Bethlehem in 1858 and was chartered to grant baccalaureate degrees in 1863,

A school for girls was also established in 1742 in Germantown, PA and soon moved to Bethlehem. It was moved to Nazareth in 1745 before returning to Bethlehem again in 1749. The Bethlehem Female Seminary was chartered to grant baccalaureate degrees in 1863, and in 1913 became Moravian Seminary and College for Women.  

In 1954, after two centuries of separate development and growth, the women's and the men's institutions were combined to form a single coeducational college.

You can also visit the web pages of the Moravian archives to view an online exhibit, "Moravian Through the Mail," to see a number of different view of the campus and buildings.

Centennial Approaches for Bryn Mawr's Summer School for Working Women

 Kimberly Haas authored a fascinating article "Bryn Mawr College Marks Centennial of its Summer School for Working Women" for Hidden City. Haas describes a controversial and inspired educational experiment known as the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers. The institution recruited working women for an eight-week session from 1921 until 1939 "...when the school was transferred to the Hudson Shore Labor School and continued at that location until 1951."

You can also learn more by visiting "The Summer School for Women Workers: Diversity, Class, and Education," a digital exhibit offered by The Albert M. Greenfield Digital Center for the History of Women's Education. Haas notes that a new curated exhibit is also scheduled for March 2021.

Haas also includes a link to "The Women of Summer" a documentary film available from The Internet Archive that provides the story of the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers as seen through the eyes of its alumnae fifty years later at a planned reunion.

Immaculata University Celebrates Centennial

Main Line Today published "Immaculata University Celebrates its Centennial Anniversary with Plans for the Future," with reporting by Michael Bradley.

Bradley interviewed Barbara Lettiere, Immaculata’s first-ever lay president and a graduate of the school, for an overview of institutional plans to continue serving students and maintain the traditions of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Immaculata University was founded in 1914 as Villa Maria Academy for Girls in Immaculata, PA near Philadelphia. It became Villa Maria College in 1920, the first Catholic college for women in the Philadelphia area. The name was changed to Immaculata College in 1928 and then to Immaculata University in 2002.

You can visit the centennial web pages for planned events and a timeline of key dates and photographs from Immaculata's past.

Web pages for the institutional archives in the Gabriele Library offer more information including links to a photo archive with several hundred images.

25th Anniversary for Pennsylvania Highlands Community College

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Johnstown, PA is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its founding in 1994. Visit the 25th anniversary web page for more information including a timeline of key institutional milestones.

The institution was initially founded as Cambria County Area Community College. The name changed to Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in 1994. The college History web page offers historical information.

Life at Penn in the early 1900s...Videos from the Archives

The University of Pennsylvania Archives posts a number of historical videos on YouTube.  One particularly interesting video of just under six minutes, "Interiors & Exteriors of Professional School Buildings (1916)," includes scenes from the Dental School, Medical School, Veterinary School, the Wharton School, the Clinic Chapel exercises, and the dormitories.  These were filmed under the direction of W.M. Cramer (W'17) and H.C. Churchill (W'17) to be used by Horace Lippincott (C1897), secretary of the General Alumni Society, in his talks at meetings of Pennsylvania Alumni societies around the country.

You can also find "Penn's 250th Anniversary (1990)" commemorating the milestone anniversary.

Visit the Archives homepage for access to other documents, maps, digital image collection, and yearbooks.

85th Anniversary Celebration Planned for Penn State Schuylkill

Penn State Schuylkill is celebrating the 85th anniversary of its founding in 1934 as Penn State College Undergraduate Center in Pottsville, PA.  The name changed in 1953 to Penn State University Pottsville Center.  The institution relocated to Schuylkill Haven, PA in 1966.

Penn State Skuylkill merged with Penn State Harrisburg to operate as Capital College from 1996 until 2005.  It became part of University College after the merger was dissolved.

Penn State Skuylkill currently enrolls 732 undergraduate students.

You can visit the anniversary web page to find more information of scheduled events.

Or, you can learn more by visiting the "History of Penn State Schuylkill" page.

La Roche College Becomes La Roche University

La Roche College in Pittsburgh, PA is now La Roche University. The institution was initially founded in 1963 as a school for women by the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence and currently enrolls over 1,500 students.

The "Becoming La Roche University" web page includes a statement by Sister Candace Introcaso, CDP, Ph.D., President and additional information about the name change.

You can read more about the change in an article by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "What's in a name change? For La Roche University, recognition and a hopeful future."

150th Anniversary at Chatham University

Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1869.  The institution was initially known as the Pennsylvania Female College.  The name changed to Pennsylvania College for Women in 1890.  Then in 1955 the name was changed to Chatham College and to Chatham University in 2007.

Visit the 150th anniversary web page for information on special events, a timeline, interactive then & now photos, and features highlighting key elements of Chatham's culture and identity.

The Chatham University Archives and Special Collections also offer an extensive array of digital resources that include historic images, yearbooks, catalogs, and a variety of student publications. 

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.

Messiah College Announces Name Change

Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA announced this week that it will seek university status and become Messiah University in July 2020.

The institution was founded as Messiah Bible School and Missionary Training Home in 1909. The name changed to Messiah Bible College in 1924 and to Messiah College in 1951.  Messiah merged with Upland College of Upland, CA in 1965.

You can read more about the history of Messiah and its foundation with the Brethren in Christ Church or follow links to an institutional timeline by visiting the college website.

There are also several histories of Messiah that will be of interest.  Evangel Press published E. Morris Sider's Messiah College: A History.

More recently, Paul W. Nisly authored Shared Faith, Bold Vision, Enduring Promise: The Maturing Years of Messiah College.  You can read a interesting review by Devin Manzullo-Thomas published on The Search for Piety & Obedience blog.    

           

Keystone College Celebrates 150th Anniversary

Keystone College in La Plume, PA, near Scranton, is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1868.  It was founded as Keystone Academy and then rechartered as Scranton-Keystone Junior College in 1934. The name changed to Keystone Junior College in 1944 and to Keystone College in 1995.

The 150th Anniversary web pages offer an extensive array of resources including a schedule of events, historical images and information, and an excellent short YouTube video, "Keystone College Past and Present."


The Times-Tribune of Scranton also published "Keystone College celebrates 150 years of changes," by Sarah Hofius Hall that includes an historical sketch of institutional changes.

York College of Pennsylvania Recognized for Passing Milestone

The York (PA) Daily Record published a brief historical sketch, "First freshman class seeking four-year degrees entered York College of Pa. 50 years ago," on August 8, 2018.  The article coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of baccalaureate programs at the institution and highlights the impact on the community.

York College of Pennsylvania traces its roots to the York County Academy founded in 1787 and York Collegiate Institute founded in 1870.  The name of York Junior College was adopted in 1941 and then changed to York College of Pennsylvania in 1968.

The webpage of the college Archives and Special Collections offers links to many historical photographs, college catalogs from 1856 to the present, yearbooks from 1901-2005, and other interesting resources.