Wheaton College - Nike Yearbook (Norton, MA)

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school approximately $60,000, of which only the interest was to be spent. Under President Cole a massive building program was begun that would, by 1912, add seven buildings to the campus. This death of Eliza Baylies Chapin Wheaton at age 95 in 1905 made this construction pos- sible because she left most of her estate to the school she had helped to nurture for over seventy years. As President of the school one of Rev. Cole’s major influences came in the change of administration. Previously there was no separation between faculty and ad- ministrators; the faculty ran the school as well as taught. President Cole began to change this policy by hiring the first Regis- trar-Librarian who did no teaching. The tran- sitory period of the school was academically chaotic with students at all different levels, often needing individual attention and sche- dulinug of lessons. By having the first two years of the seminary move to the “House in the Pines” school across the street, and re- structuring Wheaton’s program to be strictly collegiate, the school was ready to end its’ seminary years and become Wheaton College. On February 12, 1912 Wheaton was granted its’ college charter and the first freshman class was admitted in the fall. Five years later . Mg me Ee aa enrollment had risen to approximately two a ee ff FROM MAINE TO ICELAND | hundred students, a steep climb from the one | : | i i OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREE hundred enrolled in 1905. World War | had ae. @ for Ine Boys IN ICELAND apparently little effect on enrollment which was more than four hundred in 1925, compel- ling the school to add more housing. During these early years as a college, many traditions developed, a student government was formed, and more social events planned. President Cole’s death in 1925 suddenly end- ed his twenty-eight years of leadership and guidance of Wheaton, transforming it from seminary to college. Unlike previous years, the loss of the school’s leader did not result in a crisis. President Cole had created a sys- tem at Wheaton that served both the present and the future. With a stable administration and faculty established, there was less oppor- tunity for problems to develop that could threaten the school’s future. In 1926 Rev. John Edgar Park became Whea- ton’s second President. President Park worked toward continuing and modernizing

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fe ag aed weet eae a fees ig eee Pt Tp ae a tage ee hi a came principal in 1847 and began to turn things around. Laban Wheaton provided des- perately needed financial support during these difficult years and had a gymnasium built. This small building, located between Seminary Hall and the dormatory, may well have been the first separate building con- structed for the sole purpose of use as a gym. Because of the upturn Elizabeth Cate was able to create, more modern facilities were soon needed. Laban Wheaton donated $10,000 in 1848 towards the building of a new Semi- nary Hall, which, dedicated in 1849, served the school well until 1879. This ten year period began shakily for Wheaton Seminary but end- ed in growth made possible only because of the Wheaton family’s commitment to the Seminary. A. Ellen Stanton was a strong and effective principal of the seminary from 1880 to 1897 and was able to boost enrollment to 100 stu- dents in I89I-92. Major changes in women’s education began to occur in the late 1890's, such as the opening of women’s colleges, led to the drop in enrollment at Wheaton to 38 students in the 1896-97 academic year. Semi- naries were quickly becoming stepping stones to college, changing to colleges, or vanishing. In order for Wheaton to stay com- petitive, a college preparatory program was developed upon the recommendation of the trustees. When A. Ellen Stanton resigned in 1896 a replacement could not be found and she was asked to stay on for the following year. It was not until the winter of 1897 that the Rev. Sammuel Cole agreed to become the next leader of the school. In his acceptance speech at his inauguration, President Cole made it clear that Wheaton Seminary would soon be Wheaton College. Mrs. Eliza Baylies Chapin Wheaton, who had remained in the background yet keenly interested in the school’s welfare since her husband’s death, had prompted the trustees to ask Rev. Cole to become the new principal, she named him “president”, and she supported the transi- tion from seminary to college. Both the Rev. Cole and Mrs. Wheaton realized that not only would enrollment increase, and the curricu- lum expand in the change from seminary to college, but the facilities would have to be increased as well. Mrs. Wheaton sold nearly half her property to create the beginnings of Wheaton’s endowment fund, giving the

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the school President Cole had worked so hard to develop. Faculty increased under President Park, as did enrollment and funds, even during the Depression. World War Il, however, did slow the building of additional facilities and created a drain on employees. Students organized themselves and filled in the gaps left open around the campus. In 1944 President Park retired and was suc- ceeded by A. Howard Meneely. Under this President, salaries for faculty were increased and the administration expanded. President Meneely was sharply aware that the Baby Boom of the 1950s would put great strains on the present facilities as the number of stu- dents rose. Several additions to existing buildings were made and new dorms were built. Dr. William C. H. Prentice became Whea- ton’s next leader after President Meneely died in 196]. The expansion of the campus continued and included the building of the Watson Fine Arts Center, a building desired by the community for many years. In the early 1970s students became politically active and vocal regarding the conflict in Vietnam and in 197! the decision to remain an all wom- en’s school was made by the trustees. The first female President of Wheaton was inaugurated in 1975, and Alice F. Emerson has continued to lead the College in a progressive manner. As under her predecessors, Presi- dent Emerson has increased the campus fa- cilities and enrollment of students. Mary Lyon was renovated and the Balfour-Hood Center was opened recently, as well as many other inprovements being made. The most recent and controversial change to occur since 1912 was the decision in 1987 by the trustees to begin to admit men as candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree beginning with the class of 199. Wheaton, thus, has not remained a strictly traditional school, but has changed according to the needs of its students and society. The continuous changes Wheaton has experi- enced over the last 153 years have been to insure the survival of the school and consis- tantly provide an excellent education to the students. We should look at this latest change as part of this “Tradition of Change” which was begun with the founders of the school.