History of Washington & Jefferson College

rdf:langString History of Washington & Jefferson College

rdf:langString Trustees of Jefferson College

rdf:langString College Centennial, 1902.

rdf:langString Responding to Synod of Pittsburgh's offer to supervise Jefferson College

rdf:langString This result was necessarily an intense disappointment to Canonsburg, and the Jefferson Alumni. The bitter feeling of regret at Canonsburg, and among the Jefferson alumni, over the loss of the college, only a little assuaged by the provision at once made for establishing an academy in the college buildings, speaks eloquently for the loyalty of that community and of the alumni to their college, and even forbids condemnation of utterances and actions which for some time hindered the progress of the new college.

rdf:langString It is true that the Institution has always been predominantly Presbyterian in its character, from the fact that it was originally planted in the midst of a population almost exclusively Presbyterian, and has always been dependent chiefly on Presbyterian patronage. This character it is expected still to maintain. Its Presbyterianism, however, has never been exclusive or sectarian. At least three branches of the great Presbyterian family, all holding "the like precious faith" have always been united in its support. For one of these denominations, largely in the majority, to usurp the exclusive control of an institution in which the others are alike interested, in proportion to their numbers, would be a gross violation of good faith and Christian courtesy.

rdf:langString The history of Washington & Jefferson College begins with three log cabin colleges established by three frontier clergymen in the 1780s: John McMillan, Thaddeus Dod, and Joseph Smith. The three men, all graduates from the College of New Jersey, came to present-day Washington County to plant churches and spread Presbyterianism to what was then the American frontier beyond the Appalachian Mountains. John McMillan, the most prominent of the three founders because of his strong personality and longevity, came to the area in 1775 and built his log cabin college in 1780 near his church in Chartiers. Thaddeus Dod, known as a keen scholar, built his log cabin college in Lower Ten Mile in 1781. Joseph Smith taught classical studies in his college, called "The Study" at Buffalo. Washington Academy was chartered by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on September 24, 1787. The first members of the board of trustees included Reverends Dod and Smith. After a difficult search for a headmaster, in which the trustees consulted Benjamin Franklin, the trustees unanimously selected Thaddeus Dod, considered to be the best scholar in western Pennsylvania. Amid financial difficulties and unrest from the Whiskey Rebellion, the academy held no classes from 1791 to 1796. In 1792, the academy secured four lots at Wheeling and Lincoln street from William Hoge and began construction on the stone Academy Building. During the Whiskey Rebellion, portions of David Bradford's militia camped on a hillside that would later become home to the unified Washington & Jefferson College. In October 1792, after a year's delay from its official incorporation resulting from "trouble with Indians," McMillan was chosen as the headmaster and Canonsburg was chosen as the location for the "Canonsburg Academy." At a subsequent unknown date, McMillan transferred his students from the log cabin to Canonsburg Academy. Canonsburg Academy was chartered by the General Assembly on March 11, 1794, thus placing it firmly ahead of its sister school, Washington Academy, which was without a faculty, students, or facilities. On January 15, 1802, with McMillan as president of the board, the General Assembly finally granted a charter for "a college at Canonsburgh." In 1802, Canonsburg Academy was reconstituted as Jefferson College, with John McMillan serving as the first President of the board of trustees. In 1806, Matthew Brown petitioned the Pennsylvania General Assembly to grant Washington Academy a charter, allowing it to be re-christened as Washington College. At various times over the next 60 years, the various parties within the two colleges pursued unification with each other, but the question of where the unified college would be located thwarted those efforts. In 1817, a disagreement over a perceived agreement for unification erupted into "The College War" and threatened the existence of both colleges. In the ensuing years, both colleges began to undertake risky financial moves, especially over-selling scholarships. Thanks to the leadership of Matthew Brown, Jefferson College was in a stronger position to weather the financial storm for a longer period. Desperate for funds, Washington College accepted an offer from the Synod of Wheeling to take control of the college, a move that was supposed stabilized the finances for a period of time. However, Washington College then undertook another series of risk financial moves that crippled its finances. Following the Civil War, both colleges were short on students and short on funds, causing them to join as Washington & Jefferson College in 1865. The charter provided for the college to operate at both Canonsburg and Washington, a position that caused significant difficulty to the administration trying to rescue the college amid ill feelings over the unification. In 1869, the two-campus arrangement was declared a failure and all operations were moved to Washington. However, a lawsuit from Canonsburg residents and Jefferson College partisans seeking to overturn the consolidation was filed and eventually made its way to the United States Supreme Court. By 1871, the Supreme Court upheld the consolidation, allowing the newly configured college to proceed. Under James D. Moffat, the college experienced a period of growth. The tenure of Simon Strousse Baker between 1922 and 1931 saw a large amount of construction, as well as student unrest that led to his resignation. During World War II, the college opened its doors to the United States Army as a training facility and subsequently admitted a large number of veterans, which swelled the student body to record levels. In 1970, the Board of Trustees voted to admit women for the first time in the college's history. Under Brian C. Mitchell, who served as president from 1998 to 2004, the college again a growth in construction and an effort to improve relations with the neighboring communities. In 2004, Tori Haring-Smith became the first woman to serve as president of Washington & Jefferson. She focused on internationalizing the campus by recruiting more international students and creating the Magellan program, which sends students abroad to pursue independent study during the summer. She also built the Swanson Science Center and the Ross Family Athletic Center. During her tenure, she raised more than $250 million for endowment, faculty, scholarships, athletics, academic programs, and the physical plant. She retired in 2017.