William Paterson's Past to the Present - A Look at the First 143 Years 1855: Institution 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. 1910: After several location changes, the Normal School moves to the brand-new School No. 24 (shown at left). 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.(photo: the 1926 men's basketball team). 1933: Skull and Poniard, the school's first fraternity, is formed.   1936: The Beacon, the student newspaper, published its first issue on November 2. 1937: Name is changed to the New Jersey State Teachers College at Paterson. Dr. Clair S. Wightman, director of placement, assumes the presidency (shown at left). 1940s: The College adapts its educational program to the war effort, offering a summer session for the first time in 1942. The institution also adds a child care center for working mothers and organizes a college unit of the Red Cross. 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. 1952: Hunziker Hall, the first new classroom building, is dedicated. (shown at right: Hunziker Hall Classroom - 1952) 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. (photo below). 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. 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 the 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. (At right: Pioneer Baseball Team wins the NCAA Division III trophy in 1996). 1997: Governor Christine Todd Whitman is the speaker for the institution's final commencement as William Paterson College.   June 27, 1997: The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education grants the institution university status. The name is now The William Paterson University of New Jersey.