1. History of College of Emporia
Emporia State University Special Collections and Archives, 2016
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The need for education, especially with religious emphasis, in the west was a driving factor in the institutionalization of the College
of Emporia. With the help of a $2,000 gift from Senator Preston B. Plumb and the work of Reverend Robert M. Overstreet proposing
Emporia as the location for the Presbyterian college to the Synod of Kansas, C of E was formed. Classes began on November 1st, 1883
in the old Emporia State Bank building under the first President, Reverend J. F. Hendy with 30 students in attendance. Construction
commenced on Stuart Hall, the first building on campus, in 1885 with classes being moved there a year later. Due to lack of Synod
involvement and donations in the early 1900s the school struggled to pay the faculty. This is thought to be because of the institution’s
Populist foundation. 1917 saw more troubles for the college. President Culbertson, after a very successful presidency, was pushed
out by false accusations after he backed the teaching of evolution. This diminished C of E’s reputation, and caused even less funds to
be donated during the Great Depression, and they lost partial accreditation. The school was saved from being turned into an Army
Veteran’s hospital or merging with another institution by newly elected President Daniel Hirschler in 1942. C of E was out of debt by
the time he left in 1947. He did this by offering summer school and night extension courses to returning GIs. On March 29th, 1951
accreditation was fully restored.
1961 saw a new C of E President, Joseph R. Laughlin. His main focus was on saving the college at all cost, and threw all funds into
building projects and a recruitment plan focused on the east coast. His plan was seemingly successful. Enrollment jumped from 204
in 1961 to about 900 in 1963! The plan backfired when the local students did not get along with the “Eastern sophistication” of the
transplants. Local C of E supporter J. J. Morris tried to save the college by launching a drive for $150,000, but Emporia citizens balked
because they didn’t like the “Easterners.” The Synod also declined to help due to the current mixed religion of the school. Ronald
Ebberts was the last President of the College of Emporia starting in 1970. With only 400 students enrolled, he urged the school and
community to raise $50,000 to just pay the faculty - only $40,000 was raised. This did not put a dent in the almost a million dollars
in loans and past due accounts. These fundraising efforts were impeded due to alumni having no idea of how dire the need was
for donations to save the school. December 10, 1973 was the last official C of E event, the Christmas Vespers. It was announced on
Christmas Eve 1973 that the doors of the College of Emporia would not be opening for the spring semester.
C of E thrived musically. This was due to its strong Bachelors in Music
and Music Education that was created. Daniel Hirschler became the
Dean of Music under President Culbertson. Under his tutelage, the
music programs excelled and brought in many outside ensembles.
Even with the struggles in the early 1900s, the
college thrived educationally due to the work
of President Henry Coe Culbertson, whom
was elected into office in 1907. With him in
charge, C of E expanded to include Mason
Gymnasium, the women’s dorm Emporia Hall,
and Lewis Hall of Science. In 1909 the North
Central Association of Colleges and Universi-
ties awarded C of E the honor of being the first
institution fully accredited.
In 1927, the C of E campus
included buildings such
as theAnderson Memorial
Library (still standing),
Emporia Hall, Gwinn
Henry Cemetery, Mason
Gymnasium, Keynon
Hall (still standing),
Lewis Science Hall, Lake
Mergendahl, and Dunlap
Hall.
On December 2nd, 1915 a fire burned down Stuart Hall, but
classes resumed the next day with a mantra of “C of E Fights!”
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Background: Allah Rah, 1940.
Most in attendance at the final Christmas Vespers in the basement
of Kenyon Hall had no idea that the school was closing.
By 1970 only 12% of the population was from Kansas, and 83% of students
were from the bottom half of eastern high school graduates. The once entirely
Presbyterian college was now 1/3 Catholic 1/3 Jewish and 1/3 Protestant
Andersen Collection, 1918.
www.ripon.edu/library/archives/ripon-college-presidents/,circa1918.
Andersen Collection, 1909.
Andersen Collection, 1927.
Allah Rah, 1973. Andersen Collection, 1964.