Carroll University Chronology

Many fascinating institutional facts and figures can be found in the official college archives; housed on the second floor of the library.  Below is a timeline of Carroll University trivia put together by James Van Ess, a 1962 graduate of Carroll who spent his career here as a librarian.

1846:
Carroll College was chartered by the Territorial Legislature on January 31, 1846 advancing the work of Prairieville Academy, founded in 1841. The college opened with an enrollment of 5 students and 2 faculty, Eleazur Root and John W. Sterling. 

1850:
Reverend John Adams Savage becomes the first President of Carroll College and also starts the college's affiliation with the Presbyterian Church. 

1853:
January 4, the first college building was ready for classes.  It was a two-story limestone structure built on ten acres of land donated to the college by Morris Cutler and Charles Dakin. 
The Philomathean Society, a literary and debating club and Carroll’s first student organization, is created and is founded by the freshman class of 1853-54.

1854:
Carroll College Student, the first campus newspaper, appeared.

1855:
First college catalog is issued.

1857:
College held its first commencement with four graduates.

1858:
The first honorary degree is given to Henry S. McKee, minister of West Meath, Ireland.

1863:
Preparatory courses open to women for the first time.
Board of Trustees appoints two acting presidents, Rensellaer B. Hammond  (1863-64) and William Alexander (1864-65).

1866:
Walter L. Rankin arrives in Waukesha to become Carroll’s next President.  With two short absences, Dr. Rankin would serve Carroll for the next thirty-eight years as President (1866-71, 1873-79, 1881-1904), and continued on as a professor until 1910.    

1874:
Carroll Echo (later, The Perspective) newspaper appeared.

1881:
Carroll College Alumni Association is founded on August 23.

1883:
French, history, geography, and bookkeeping are introduced into the traditionally classical curriculum.  Art, music, and theatre and a normal (teacher’s) department are also introduced in the 1880’s. 

1885:
Original College Building destroyed by fire on January 29.  Classes continued to meet in the basement of the Presbyterian Church where Root and Savage had taught almost 40 years before. 
Cornerstone for the current Main Hall is laid, on September 28.  

1887:
Main Hall is first used for classes on January 11. The building is a Waukesha limestone building designed by Chicago architect, Colonel S. V. Shipman, with a tree-lined circle drive from the street allowing horse-drawn vehicles to enter the campus. 

1894:
In the fall of 1894, the school as six faculty members, 155 students (academy and collegiate courses); with recitation exercise being the chief style of instruction. 
Intercollegiate athletics begin with Carroll winning a football game with Marquette, 8-6.  (First season record: one win, two losses, and one tie.) 

1895:
Carroll’s first endowed chair, the Voorhees Chair of Oratory, established to be filled for the years 1895-1931 by Dr. Rankin’s eldest daughter, May Nickell Rankin.  This chair was the first of many contributions to the college by Ralph and Elizabeth Voorhees over the next 12 years that totaled $254, 300.

1896:
May Nickell Rankin forms the Carroll Players, the oldest student dramatic club in the state. 

1900:
The north wing of Main Hall is constructed.

1902:
Men’s intercollegiate basketball begins.

1904:
Wilbur O. Carrier becomes President. Courses in government, economics, sociology, education, and domestic science added to the curriculum during his term of presidency 1904-1917.

1906:
Cornerstones for Rankin Hall of Science, Elizabeth Voorhees Dormitory, and Ralph Voorhees Cottage are laid on June 13.
Beta Pi Epsilon, the first campus fraternity, is chartered. 
The first forward pass in football history thrown against Carroll by St. Louis University, which resulted in a final score of (St. Louis, 22; Carroll, 0).

1907:
Intercollegiate women’s basketball team started competition.

1908:
Men’s Glee and Mandolin Club, including member Alfred Lunt, toured the state.

1909:
The college received full accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities.
 A four-year experiment in medical education began with the establishment of the Carroll Medical College and affiliation with the Wisconsin College of Dentistry. 
Frame Field is dedicated on June 16, on the site of a former limestone quarry and the present site of Schneider Stadium Field. 
The first Hinakaga yearbook is published. 

1910:
The first of many Washington Day Banquets is held with class skits and orations. 

1913:
The May Day Festival began as a yearly ritual that would last for over two decades.    

1917:
The Student Senate is formally established with a constitution.

1918:
Delta Sigma Nu, a scholastic honorary, is established.
The Student Army Training Corps program is added to aid the war effort.
Herbert Pierpont Houghton becomes President. 

1919:
Eighteen separate subject departments are created on campus, each with stipulated requirements for graduation and each are teaching a set sequence of courses on a rotating basis.  Faculty members total 23 full-time and 11 part-time. 

1920:
First college sponsored dance is held in May, the Junior-Senior Prom.

1921:
William Arthur Ganfield becomes President.

1922:
President Ganfield ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat the Progressive Robert La Follette in the U.S. Senate.

1923:
Pi Kappa Delta (forensics) and Theta Alpha Phi (drama) greek letter honor societies are founded.  There are the first of many honorary societies to be formed in the 1920’s.
The college band also organizes.

1924:
First Mom’s and Dad’s Day (later, Parents Weekend) is held.
The gymnasium, later to be named for William Arthur Ganfield, is opened.

1926:
Women and alumni were actively recruited to serve on the Board of Trustees.

1927:
The Wilbur home on the southeast corner of East & College Avenues acquired for use as the Lydia Morgan Library (now, Mac Allister Hall). 

1928:
The Andrew J. Frame Chair in Economics is established. 

1929:
A south wing is added to Voorhees Dormitory. 

1935:
Two cooperative programs began:  faculty from Milwaukee’s Layton School of Art came to campus a half day each week to teach, and students from Nashotah House Seminary came to Carroll for classes as part of their divinity degrees. 
A campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors is organized.
In 1935 there is a student body of 502, with 15 full-time and 8 part-time faculty.

1936:
First All-school Sing held, May 4. E. Ben Weinke hired as the first admissions counselor.

1940:
Gerrit T. Vander Lugt becomes President. Students required to attend only two of the originally required five chapel services each week.

1941:
Evening courses for adults began.

1942:
Campus became the home of Army Air Corps.  Two hundred men are housed in the Voorhees Dormitory. The Carrier Memorial Library is dedicated on May 17.

1943:
The college purchases the old Caples Sanatorium at the corner of East College and Racine Avenues for men’s housing.

1946:
The college holds its Centennial Celebration. Nelson Vance Russell becomes President.
Waukesha Symphony Orchestra founded with Carroll sponsorship.

1948:
The Century, a student literary publication, first appears. 

1949:
Lowry Hall, named in honor of trustee James K. Lowry, opens. 

1951:
The First Founders Day Convocation is observed and members of the faculty Twenty-Five Year Club are recognized. 

1952:
Robert D. Steele becomes President. 

1956:
College Union opens (now the Campus Center). 
Swarthout Dormitory opens, named for trustee Susan B. Swarthout. 

1960:
South Bergstrom Hall opens.

1961:
Maxon Hall, named for Howard L. Maxon of the Class of 1886, opens.

1964:
A dormitory, later to be named for Robert D. Steele, opens.

1965:
Frank G. James addition to the library is built.
Construction of Van Male Fieldhouse begins, funded as a gift of Mr. & Mrs. Olive J. Van Male in memory of their son James R. Van Male of the class of 1954. 

1966:
The 4-1-4 academic calendar begins.
Voorhees Dormitory renovated to house administrative and faculty offices.
North Bergstrom Hall opens. 

1967:
John T. Middaugh becomes President. 
The first January Term program is held.
Shattuck Chapel-Music Center, named for trustee and college architect S. Frank Shattuck, opens.

1968:
A dormitory, later to be named for Jean W. Kilgour, a member of the Carroll faculty for 43 years, opens.

1970:
The Howard T. Greene Scientific Study and Conservancy Area is presented to the college.
The college Art Studios are constructed.

1971:
Robert V. Cramer becomes President.

1972:
Main Hall is renovated.

1973:
The Distinguished Alumni Award and the Athletic Hall of Fame are established.

1974:
Evening session program begins.

1975:
Rankin Hall is renovated; and there is an expansion of the Frank G. James addition to the library.

1976:
Van Male Fieldhouse opens and tennis courts constructed.
New Cultural Experiences Program begins.

1977:
The Mary Robertson Williams Chair in English is established.

1979:
The Otteson Theatre opens.

1980:
Ganfield Gymnasium undergoes renovation.

1981:
A Computer Center is constructed in Main Hall.

1983:
The Nursing Program begins.

1988:
Dan C. West becomes president.

1990:
Phi Theta Pi house burns.  The New Hall dorm opens.

1993:
Frank S. Falcone becomes president.
The Master in Education program begins.

1996:
Carroll celebrates its sesquicentennial.
The Physical Therapy graduate program begins.
Humphrey Chapel/Art Building opens.

1998:
The Library is renovated with the help of a grant from the Todd Wehr Foundation.

2002:
Main Hall undergoes renovation.

2006:
Douglas N. Hastad becomes the 14th President of Carroll College.
Lady Pioneer Women's Basketball Team wins the first Midwest Conference Championship in school history.

2008:
July 1st of 2008, Carroll College is renamed Carroll University.

For additional information on Carroll’s history, see:
Carroll College:  the First Century, 1846-1946, by Ellen Langill (Carroll College Press, 1980)