Elmhurst College - Elms Yearbook (Elmhurst, IL)

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of the growth of the college in 1922. The ' Junior College was ac- jl ' credited by the North Central Association, and students were being en- rolled for a four year college course leading to the A.B. degree, when Dr. Schick retired from the presidency in 1924 to become pastor of Immanuel Church in Chicago. The faculty had now increased to ten. Among the prof essors starting work at Elmhurst during Dr. Schick ' s presidency were Dean Mueller and professors H. Helmick and K. Carlson. Dr. H. Richard Niebuhr, of the class of 1912, was elected as the sixth president in 1924 and remained at Elmhurst for three years. During his administration, enrollment remained ap- proximately the same as it had been for the past ten years at 150, but the college was increasing while the academy was declining. Because of the increased curriculum to a full four-year college program, the faculty was enlarged. The years 1924 to 1927 were largely given over to the difficult tasks of changing a college on paper to a college in fact. Much time and effort was spent on the internal organization of the college, the addition of the school of music, and the building up of the library and the equipment of the laboratories. Interest in the building of a gymnasium was aroused by the alumni in 1926; the structure was com- pleted in 1928. During the year 1927-28, Elmhurst was without a president, and the responsibilities for the institution were turned over to a faculty committee. It was a difficult period in the life of the still-growing college. In 1928 Elmhurst College came under the new leadership of Dr. Timothy Lehmann. The first few years of his administration brought important advancements for the college. A drive was begun in 1930 to obtain funds amounting to $1,800,000 for an adequate endowment. The same year Elmhurst College became a co-educational liberal arts college, opening its doors to young women. Elmhurst College came into its own in April, 1934. It was then that the institution was placed on the accredited list of colleges by the North Central Association. Thus, years after the institution was first established, the founders ' purpose was finally realized. From this time on the college grew more rapidly until in 1940 the enrollment reached the all time high of 386. The war years resulted in a temporary set-back in enrollment, but in this jubilee year the enrollment again approaches that of the peak in 1940. The faculty through the years has increased in number until now in the seventy-fifth year it is composed of thirty-one instructors. The enrollment stands at three hundred fifty-five. The Diamond Jubilee Year also sees plans well under way for obtaining funds to make Elmhurst College an institution of greater usefulness by increasing the endowment and erecting new buildings. With gratitude toward God, Elmhurst Col- lege looks back upon seventy-five years of Christian service, and with the prayer that it might be of even greater usefulness in the years to come, faces the future with faith. 13

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The pioneer days were over with these additions, and when Presi- dent Kranz retired from office to take a church in Louis- ville in 1874, the enrollment stood at 52. Of Rev. Kranz, a young man of thirty-one and unmarried when he took office, we learn from historical records that he was a good teacher and administrator who carried the college through the difficult early years with great devotion and skill. The second president, Rev. Philip F. Meusch, was thirty-nine years old when he took over the direction of the college in 1875. Of him, the Anniversary History of 1921 says that he was a man of deep piety who understood the spiritual problems of young men and exerted an extraordinary influence on his students. He died in July, 1880, after only five and a half years in office. During his administration the enroll- ment grew until it reached nearly a hun- dred. Also two additional teachers were added to the faculty in 1876, one of them as instructor in music. The faculty then con- sisted of six instructors including the president and one assistant. To meet this increase in students and ex- pansion in curriculum, Old Main was begun and completed in 1878. During the next decade, though facilities had been expanded, the Proseminar at Elm- hurst showed no growth. The enrollment stood at the same figure, about one hundred, from 1878 to 1889. However, in 1882 Pro- fessor Brodt began his term of more than thirty years of service and the depart- ment of education was set up under his direction. Rev. Peter Goe- bel,a man respect- ed by all who knew him for his faithful self-effacing performance of duty, served during this period from 1880 to 1887. The fourth president was Dr. Daniel Irion, the first alumnus appointed to the office, who directed the affairs of the school from 1887 to 1919, and remained on the faculty as professor of Greek until the last year of his life. During his time the curriculum was expanded, and the institution received formal recognition from the University of Illinois and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for four years of high school work and additional credit in Latin, Greek, and German. Plans were under way to reorganize the Pro- seminar as an Academy and Junior College, as the first step in the expansion toward full college work, when Dr. Irion resigned the presidency in 1919. During his administration the enrollment, after decreasing slightly, steadily increased until in 1914 one hundred sixty-nine students enrolled. Because of this, it became necessary to build Irion Hall in 1912. The Commons building had been built some years earlier in 1896. Professor Carl Bauer began his work at Elmhurst as the seventh member of the faculty in 1890. He served forty-nine years until in 1939 he died as the result of a fall. An eighth member was added to the faculty as a second instructor in music in 1892. In 1896 Professor Stanger came to Elmhurst. He has achieved the longest term of service and is completing his fiftieth year of teaching with his retirement in 1946. A new era begins under the fifth president, Dr. Herman J. Schick, like Dr. Irion a graduate of Elmhurst and Eden. The social sciences and the natural and physical sciences were now given a more prominent place in the cur- riculum and Old Main was remodeled to provide adequate labor- atories. The Library was built as a memorial to more than 900 Evan- gelical men who died in the service of their coun- try during the First World War. South Hall was erected to take care 12

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Upper Left: L. M. Hammerschmidt, Diamond Jubilee Committee Chairman. Upper Right: Erwin J. Goebel, Jubilee Committee Treasurer. Lower Left: Dr. L. W. Goebel, Speaker at Jubilee Convocation. Lower Right: Rev. E. H. Plassman, President of Northern Illinois Synod.