Elmhurst College - Elms Yearbook (Elmhurst, IL)

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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.

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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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ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Opening with the Convocation on January 20, 1946, Elmhurst College launched its Diamond Jubilee celebration in recognition of its seventy-five years of service and in the hope of making increasingly effective its work as a Christian college. Dr. L. W. Goebel, president of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, ad- dressed the convocation on The Unique Contribution of the Christian College. In order to facilitate appropriate celebration of the Diamond Jubilee Year, an executive committee has been appointed under the chairmanship of Mr. L. M. Hammerschmidt of South Bend, Indiana. He and the co-chair- man, Mr. Anton C. Negri, working in conjunc- tion with President Timothy Lehmann, Dr. V. V. Hackley, field representative of Elm- hurst College, and Mr. Theodore Krohne, executive secretary of the Committee, are now making preparation for special events scheduled later in 1946 and 1947. In addition, eight sub- committees have been appointed and are carrying out the many details of the celebra- tion. Realizing its increasing responsibility and necessary growth as a Christian college, the Diamond Jubilee Committee accepted this anniversary year as a challenge and has dedicated Elmhurst College to even greater usefulness in a 2 2 million dollar project to support its program. This aid is to come from over 3000 Evangelical and Reformed Churches throughout the nation. The first $600,000 of the fund has already been designated for the building of new dormitories, now needed with the ever- increasing enrollment. Other plans include: an adequate endowment, an enlarged faculty, a larger chapel and auditorium, a science hall, a new power plant, a student union building, an addition to the [library, and the comple- tion of the gymnasium. Invitations have been sent out to all Evan- gelical and Reformed Churches to welcome friends of the college to the special observances as they are presented throughout the year. The next event is scheduled for June 2, when a Baccalaureate Service at St. Peter ' s Church will be conducted with Dr. Herman J. Schick, former president of Elmhurst College, as speaker. A special campus festival in the afternoon will bring Arthur C. Lueder to address the gathering. A pageant and musical is planned for the evening. The Diamond Jubilee Commencement on June 7 will also be an occasion for the awarding of honorary degrees; Chairman L. M. Hammerschmidt will be the speaker. The Diamond Jubilee Conference of the women of the Church under the auspices of the Women ' s Guild of North Illinois Synod will be held simultaneously with the Confer- ence and Outing for Evangelical and Reformed pastors and their families at Elmhurst July 31 and August 1-2. An Institute on Religion and the Liberal Arts is scheduled for October, to be led by Dr. Rheinhold Niebuhr, Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. The gala Jubilee Homecoming on October 25 and 26 will bring many reunions. The Jubilee Anniversary Banquet of Recog- nition in November this year will be held in Chicago and the year of activity will close with the Diamond Jubilee Praise Service and Festival in December. Diamond Jubilee events of 1947 will be announced at a later date. IS