Education

Celebrate the rich history with images of the people, the events, and the campus that have defined Seton Hall over nearly 150 years.

Seton Hall College opened its doors in 1856 in Madison, New Jersey, with an entire student body of five young men. Since then, it has grown to become a major Catholic university, focusing on academic excellence and ethical development. Named for St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton and founded by her nephew, the Rt. Rev. James Roosevelt Bayley, the history of Seton Hall has been a mirror of American history from its earliest days. Enrollment went down after the Civil War, and in the 1940s and early '50s, nine out of ten students were World War II veterans. During the 1960s, the school eased into coeducation and the 1970s brought important cultural growth to the campus.

Wells College, founded in 1868 by businessman Henry Wells, boasts a storied history that spans over a century and a half. Using images and ephemera from the Wells College Archive and Special Collections, Tiffany Raymond, MLIS, and Daniel G. Renfrow, PhD, illustrate the college's rich history and the unique traditions that continue to inspire generations of students to pursue knowledge, leadership, and positive change in the world.

Established as a women’s college in Aurora, New York, Wells fulfilled the founder’s dream of making a “College Home” for students while simultaneously pioneering women’s education, providing opportunities for intellectual growth and leadership long before women’s rights were fully recognized. Throughout this history, the college has adapted to the evolving needs of the students and the wider society, including transitioning to coeducation in 2005 to better serve a diverse student body. Wells College’s commitment to academic excellence, social responsibility, and community engagement remains unwavering, making it a beacon of higher education in the picturesque Finger Lakes region.

Tiffany Raymond, MLIS, is director of the Louis Jefferson Long Library at Wells

College and a member of the class of 2010. Daniel G. Renfrow, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology and chair of the Social Science Division at Wells College. 

Penn State University was founded in 1855. Then known as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, the 400-acre campus had only one main building.

With almost 100,000 current students (including students at the Commonwealth Campuses) and having the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world, Penn State continues to be a world leader in education. Since its founding, picture postcards have been published to showcase the buildings and highlight the student activities while documenting the school's narrative.

Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, was founded after the Civil War as a great experiment: a nonsectarian, coeducational institution where any person can find instruction in any study.

In the mid-19th century, there were only a handful of colleges that accepted women and even fewer that were nonsectarian. The university charter specifically states that persons of every religious denomination or of no religious denomination, shall be equally eligible to all offices and appointments. Today, with colleges of hotel management and labor relations added to the more traditional majors in liberal arts, engineering, business, agriculture, and architecture, Cornell - both an Ivy League university and state land-grant college - truly offers a diverse program of study for a diverse collection of students.

Princeton is only the fourth American college to celebrate a 275th anniversary.

Founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, it has long Presbyterian roots. The scene of notable events in the American Revolution, it was a classical college for another century. Then, at its 1896 sesquicentennial, it became Princeton University and in succeeding decades developed into a world-leading research university. Long an institution of males of European descent, its gender and ethnic makeup has changed dramatically in the last half-century. Today’s Princeton combines a robust collegiate culture with a research profile near the top of international league tables—truly a rare combination.

Author W. Bruce Leslie is a New Jersey native and a 1966 alumnus of Princeton University. As the grandson of a Scottish immigrant, studying at an institution with deep Scottish roots was a natural path. The author fell in love with liberal education thanks to Princeton’s wonderful faculty and fellow students. Inspired by them, he taught history for a half-century at the State University of New York at Brockport, seeking to bestow a similar affection for learning, especially about the past, on his students. Returning to his roots in retirement, he is rediscovering the richness of this cultural and intellectual community.

Syracuse University details the beginnings of this historic school, describing its rise to present day prestige.

Syracuse University was founded in 1870 as a private, coeducational university in Syracuse, New York. Classes began the following year in temporary quarters until the university moved to its current location on The Hill in 1873, occupying the Hall of Languages, which is still the iconic center of SU. Syracuse University provides a photographic journey from the late 1800s to the present, highlighting its growth from a small Methodist college to a university of national importance with more than 20,000 students and over 240,000 living alumni. Always committed to diversity, SU has embraced opportunity—be it with the Syracuse-in-China program in the 1920s, the enrollment of thousands of veterans after World War II, or cofounding the Say Yes to Education scholarship program for urban schools. Championship football, basketball, and lacrosse teams have also brought prestige to SU, and fans around the nation and world bleed orange along with those who work, teach, or study at the university.

Explore the history of the education in this cloistered community, both spiritual and cultural, offered at the Chautauqua Institution in NY State for over 125 years.

The Chautauqua Institution, located on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, is both a cloistered community and a world-renowned educational establishment. Founded in 1874 as a summer camp for Methodist Sunday school teachers, Chautauqua is synonymous with the ideas of spiritual growth, educational study, and intellectual stimulation in conjunction with recreation in an outdoor setting. For over 125 years, Chautauqua has remained an educational and cultural mecca for the common man. Chautauqua Institution, 1874–1974 is a compendium of Chautauqua's growth from its inception at Fair Point to its centennial celebrations. Each chapter's brief introduction acquaints the reader with historic highlights followed by  pages of fascinating facts and intriguing images, ranging from rudimentary tents to the grande dame of hotels, from Victorian cottages to Greek-pillared halls. This array of architecture forms the backdrop for countless individuals who were responsible for bringing the founders' vision to fruition and who were the backbone of the Chautauqua Movement.

Begun 5 years rior t the start of the Civil Way, from a "cow college" to an internationally recognized academic, artistic, and athletic powerhouse in the 21st century, this is the story of the University of Maryland.

Only 5 years before the start of the Civil War, the State of Maryland granted a charter for the creation of Maryland Agricultural College in 1856 and opened its doors to 34 eager young men in 1859. The college survived a disastrous fire in 1912, becoming the University of Maryland in 1920. Today the school is a top-ranked, public research land-grant university with over 100 undergraduate majors, 120 graduate programs, and 35,000 students. Campus History Series: University of Maryland honors the history of the university and all who have contributed to its progress: faculty, staff, students, and alumni. From its earliest years, their labors and love for the institution have led to the creation of an intellectually vibrant and culturally diverse university that serves proudly as the flagship campus of the University System of Maryland. Images in this collection have been obtained from the University of Maryland Archives and other campus sources, many never before published.

Join author Nancy Siegel as she recounts the history of Juniata College through the lens of vintage images.

Since its beginning in 1876, Juniata College has remained a rare and distinguished institution. It takes an equally exceptional collection of photographs to illustrate the college's proud history. The following photographs, many of them never before published, tells the story in eloquent detail. Juniata College explores the first fifty years of the history of Juniata, from its simple origin in one room over a printing shop to the 1920s as Juniata emerged into a leading liberal arts college. Juniata College is a campus tour that includes visits to buildings no longer standing, recreations of many forgotten traditions, and a special chapter highlighting the town of Huntingdon. Picture postcards and posed snapshots, together with excerpts from historical documents, reveal an engaging story told in an informative and elegant style.

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh details the often eccentric history of this unforgettable school.

In the early 1920s, a young Pittsburgh artist and designer, Willis Dresdale Shook, recognized the need for a two-year course in commercial art. Within two years, the name changed to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. On October 1, 1921, the Artist's League of Pittsburgh held its first class of nine students in one room of the Fulton Building. Almost 90 years later, Shook's vision has grown to a community of more than 13,000 students and alumni of over 55,000 making their mark on the art, design, advertising, motion picture, entertainment, business, fashion, and culinary industries worldwide. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh inspires pride in the accomplishments of students, faculty, and alumni, along with chuckles at the outrageous memories that define the school's unmistakable essence and personality.

Discover America's first university through a unique collection of images, highlighting centuries of student life on and around campus.

By the time photography was invented in the 1830s, the University of Pennsylvania, America's first university, was nearly a century old. University of Pennsylvania, a unique photographic collection, focuses on the school's history at its present campus in West Philadelphia beginning shortly after the end of the Civil War and provides images of more than a century of student life inside and outside the classroom. In every category, from campus landmarks to the student body to the traditions that bind the community together, these photographs demonstrate the close connections between Penn's present and its past. They also reveal historical aspects of the Penn experience that have since vanished.

Gettysburg College is the oldest Lutheran affiliated college in the United States. At its founding in 1832, college leaders emphasized a liberal arts mission

Pennsylvania College, as it was known until 1919, numbered among its graduates many clergy, lawyers, and physicians, as well as politicians, social advocates, scientists, business executives, and university presidents. Although the college has grown considerably since World War II, its mission has remained consistent: devotion to the pursuit of truth and active citizenship. Through historic photographs, Gettysburg Collegedocuments significant themes in the college's history— an expanding campus, the emergence and influence of athletic teams and fraternities, curricular changes, and key national events that affected the college, none of the latter more important than the Battle of Gettysburg and two world wars. Always respected for its academic program, Gettysburg College has in the past generation diversified its faculty and student body, expanded its interdisciplinary programs, and gained in reputation as a leading national liberal arts college.

First established in 1870 as a teaching college for women, Hunter College of the City of New York has provided exceptional education to all peoples for over a century.

Providing experiential learning opportunities from the very start, the college has successfully fostered many generations of students with its challenging and cutting-edge curriculum. Founder Dr. Thomas Hunter, an Irish immigrant, insisted that the school admit people of all races, religions, and ethnicities, despite segregation laws in the early years. In the 1920s, Hunter College began opening branch campuses in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. During World War II, the Bronx campus was used by the U.S. Navy as a training center for over 95,000 female volunteers for military service as WAVES and SPARS, and in 1946, it was the first site for the United Nations sessions. Over the years, alumni of Hunter have gone on to careers in politics, education, social work, medicine, media, and many other fields. Graduates have included Fulbright and Mellon Fellows and Nobel prizewinners. Here we can see for the first time hundreds of striking and nostalgic photographs that tell the story of Hunter College’s development over its 150 year history.

Vassar College was founded in 1861, two miles from the banks of the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie by Matthew Vassar, a self-made businessman.

The college grew to confirm its founder's precedent-breaking vision that women would profit from intellectual opportunities in the liberal arts similar to those that Ivy League institutions had long offered the other gender. The college has grown and changed with the times, first countering Victorian prejudices that women were not suited for serious study, always leading the way as opportunities to broaden the spectrum of women's education developed. In the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, Vassar College again broke precedent, turning itself from a single-sex institution into one in which true coeducation exists. After 139 years, Vassar is poised for the changes under way and yet to come in the twenty-first century.

The Catholic University of America is the only national university of the Catholic Church in the United States. Discover the university's history, triumphs, and crises.

Founded by U.S. bishops in 1887, the project of a national university was approved by Pope Leo XIII, and after considerable debate it was decided to put the school in the nation's capital on a hilly plot of land in Northeast Washington, D.C. Classes opened on November 13, 1889, with a distinguished faculty of eight professors. Since then the university has grown exponentially, greatly expanding the number of students, teachers, and schools. The Catholic University of America has celebrated educational triumphs, suffered fiscal crises, rejoiced in two papal visits, and earned itself a place as one of the country's leading educational institutions.

For over 100 years, Elizabethtown College has been a source for superior higher education and town pride.

Established in 1899 as an academy with a college preparatory curriculum for high school students of the Church of the Brethren, Elizabethtown College evolved into a fully accredited private liberal arts institution. Located in the heart of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania’s largest community of Amish, Mennonites, and Church of the Brethren, Elizabethtown College is home to the internationally recognized Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Known for its heritage of being founded by one of the Historic Peace Churches, Elizabethtown College hosts the Center for Global Understand and Peacemaking. Today, the college is a private institute for higher learning with dozens of buildings on its campus and a variety of academic concentrations dedicated to representing a wide diversity of religious and philosophical perspectives firmly rooted in its commitment to leadership, peace, and justice.

Illustrated with 200 vintage images, IOA: Princeton University celebrates one of the world's most prestigious schools.

From its humble Colonial beginnings and pivotal role in the Revolution, Princeton rose to become an innovator in science and scholarship, a cradle of modern sports, and a leader in the arts and literature. The book's intriguing images and rich text chronicle times as challenging as the Civil War and Vietnam eras and events as memorable as the making of the award-winning movie A Beautiful Mind. Famous faculty and students from John Witherspoon to Woodrow Wilson, F. Scott Fitzgerald to Toni Morrison, and Jimmy Stewart to Brooke Shields feature prominently. Princeton University celebrates the school's ever-changing face and ever-enduring traditions, revealing why few colleges are as deeply loved by their alumni and surrounding communities.