History
Monmouth College was founded on April 18, 1853, by the Second Presbytery of Illinois, a frontier arm of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The college celebrates this date annually as "Founders Day," cancelling classes for a day of celebration and an honors convocation. Founded as "Monmouth Academy," the school became Monmouth College after receiving a charter from the state legislature on September 3, 1856. The college remains affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, a consortium of small, private liberal arts colleges. The college's motto "Sit Lux" ("Let there be Light") appears on its seal, but the college likes to describe itself as "What College Was Meant to Be."
The college's endowment as of June 30, 2011 was $78,624,000
Monmouth was one of the first institutions in the country to admit women from its inception. This increased the college's early popularity and logically made it the home of the women's sorority movement. Pi Beta Phi was founded on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis. Pi Beta Phi was the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men. Kappa Kappa Gamma, founded in 1870, is another national sorority founded at Monmouth College.
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“As History stands, it is a sort of Chinese Play, without end and without lesson.”
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“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
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