|
|
|
| William Paterson University:
An Evolution |
| 1855: |
| Founded as Paterson City Normal
School, in response to the growing demand for professional preparation
of teachers-in-service in the emerging free public schools of Paterson.
|
| |
| 1903: |
| Now offering a two-year teacher-training curriculum for high school
graduates, Normal School enrollment surged. |
| |
| 1910: |
| After several location changes, the Normal School moves to the brand-new
School No. 24 on 19th Avenue and East 22nd Street in Paterson. |
| |
| 1923: |
| Incorporated by the State Board of Education, the school is designated
as the New Jersey State Normal School at Paterson. |
| |
| 1926: |
| Student activities become more prominent with the addition of men’s
and women’s basketball teams as club sports. |
| |
| 1933: |
| Skull and Poniard, the school’s first fraternity, is formed. |
| |
| 1936: |
| The Beacon, the student newspaper, published its first
issue on November 2. Front page coverage included articles on the
general college course plan, the Halloween dance and upcoming field
trips. |
| |
| 1937: |
| Name is changed to the New Jersey State Teacher’s College at Paterson.
For the first time, the institution offers a curriculum to students
not planning a teaching career. Dr. Clair S. Wightman, director of
placement, assumes the presidency. |
| |
| 1951: |
| The college relocates to its present site in Wayne, "Ailsa Farms,"
the former estate of the family of Garret A. Hobart, vice president
of the United States under William McKinley. The turn-of-the-century
manor house becomes the focal point of the campus. |
| |
| 1952: |
| Hunziker Hall, the first new classroom building, is dedicated. |
| |
| 1954: |
| Dr. Marion Shea succeeds Dr. Wightman as president. She is the first
woman to be named the president of a New Jersey state teachers college.
|
| |
| 1958: |
| The institution is now Paterson State College and for the first
time receives accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges
and Secondary Schools. |
| |
| 1959: |
| The Pioneer Baseball Team becomes the first sports team to reach
a national championship, playing in the NAIA baseball championship. |
| |
| 1960s: |
| Campus traditions include special rules for freshmen. "Freshmen
must wear their beanies and pins on campus at all times," said the
freshman handbook, The Flashlight. "When requested they must
hold their beanies on their hearts and recite the Alma Mater." |
| |
| 1962: |
| The first student residence hall, Pioneer Hall (now Matelson Hall),
opens on campus. |
| |
| 1967: |
| The state colleges are mandated by statute to transform from teachers’
colleges to multipurpose liberal arts institutions. It is a time of
explosive growth on campus, with the addition of another dormitory,
Shea Center for Performing Arts, Wightman Gym, Hobart Hall, Sarah
Byrd Askew Library, and Raubinger Hall. |
| |
| 1970: |
| Student protests of the Vietnam War reach their peak on campus with
marches, speeches and suspension of classes following the deaths of
four students at Kent State. |
| |
| 1971: |
| The name is changed to The William Paterson College of New Jersey,
to honor the state’s first senator, second elected governor, and U.S.
Supreme Court justice, and to reflect the institution’s own proud
beginnings in the city that also bears Paterson’s name. |
| |
| 1974: |
| The new Student Center is dedicated. |
| |
| 1978: |
| The WPC Alumni Association purchases and donates to the college
a portion of William Paterson’s personal papers. The collection constitutes
a quarter of his documents and rivals that of the Library of Congress.
|
| |
| 1980: |
| The college celebrates its 125th anniversary by launching the Distinguished
Lecturer Series, featuring guest speakers of national and international
prominence. William Proxmire, joined here by President Seymour Hyman,
is the first lecturer. |
| |
| 1986: |
| Arnold Speert is inaugurated as the college’s sixth president. The
Wayne Chamber Orchestra, a 40-piece ensemble in residence and dedicated
to performances of works by American composers, presents its premiere
concert. |
| |
| 1987: |
| The College is awarded a $4.3 million Governor’s Challenge Grant
to enhance science and communication programs. |
| |
| 1992: |
| The Pioneer Baseball Team wins the first NCAA Division III National
Championship in the college’s history, followed by a second title
in 1996. Hobart Manor, designated a national historic landmark in
1976, is rededicated |
| |
| 1994: |
| The College undertakes a detailed comprehensive analysis of its
academic and administrative units, commending programs in five areas:
biology, communication disorders, history, music, and nursing. |
| |
| 1996: |
| Governor Christine Todd Whitman is the speaker for the institution’s
final commencement as William Paterson College. |
| |
| 1997: |
| The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education grants the institution
university status. The name is now The William Paterson University
of New Jersey. |
| |
| 2002: |
| The University dedicates its new 150,000-square-foot building located
on 50 acres at 1600 Valley Road, increasing its academic and academic
support facilities by 25 percent. The building is the new home for
the Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business, the College of Education,
the Center for Continuing Education and Distance Learning, and the
E*TRADE Financial Learning Center, a simulated trading and financial
center. The University campus grows to 370 acres. |
| |
| 2002: |
| The University announces the establishment of the Russ Berrie Institute
for Professional Sales, which is the first program of its kind in
the Northeast. The Institute, to develop programs for undergraduate
students and sales professionals, represents a unique partnership
between the private sector and higher education designed to advance
the field of professional selling. |
| |
| 2003: |
| The University dedicates the Allan and Michele Gorab Alumni House
at Oldham Pond in Haledon. The building houses the Alumni Relations
Office, as well as the John Rosengren Laboratories, named after the
late John Rosengren, University professor emeritus of biology. The
26.5 acre site, including the house, a pond, and wetlands, was donated
to the University in 1998 by the Bayer Corporation. |
| |
| |
