Hanover College - History

History

Originally founded in 1827 by Rev. John Finley Crowe, Hanover College experienced a turbulent early period, but has become an institution of liberal arts education. In 2002, the College celebrated its 175 anniversary.

In the early 19th century missionaries went to Hanover. Rev. John Finley Crowe served as pastor of the Hanover Presbyterian Church. He opened the Hanover Academy January 1, 1827, in a small log cabin near his home. Two years later, the State of Indiana granted a charter to the Academy. On November 9, 1829, the Academy’s Board of Trustees accepted a proposal by the Presbyterian Synod of Indiana to adopt the school provided a theological department was established.

A two-story brick building was built to house both the Academy and the new Indiana Seminary. The State of Indiana issued a new charter to the Academy, creating Hanover College effective January 1, 1833. Under this charter, the College’s Board of Trustees is independent of ecclesiastical control, but has formally adopted for Hanover the standards for Presbyterian colleges, an association that continues to this day.

In the 1830s, the College Edifice (now the Hanover Presbyterian Church) was the center of a bustling, 3-acre (12,000 m2) campus. In 1834, 119 students attended Hanover Preparatory School (formerly Hanover Academy) and 101 students attended Hanover College, astonishing growth from the six students of only seven years earlier.

In 1843 both the College’s president and its trustees accepted a proposal from Madison city leaders to move Hanover College. The trustees dissolved the Hanover charter and established Madison University. However, John Finley Crowe purchased the College property and established the Hanover Classical and Mathematical School. Only four months after Madison University was founded, its president had resigned and its students began to return to Crowe’s school. By May 1844, all of Madison’s students and faculty had made the trip five miles (8 km) to the west.

Hanover College was officially restored when Indiana’s legislature granted a new charter to the College Christmas Day. Thus, Crowe, a man who served the College for more than 30 years as a faculty member and who refused to ever allow his name to be placed in nomination for its presidency, is quite accurately described as "twice the founder of Hanover College."

The Board of Trustees voted in 1849 to purchase a 200-acre (0.8 km2) farm one-half mile to the east of Hanover’s campus. This land, overlooking the Ohio River, serves as the centerpiece of the College campus today. By the mid-1850s, Classic Hall was constructed on a bluff known as the Point, and College classes were moved to that location. "Old Classic" would be Hanover’s signature building for more than 90 years.

The Civil War, especially the Confederate maneuvers known as Morgan's Raid, came close to campus; faculty and students were alerted that the troops might try to burn Classic Hall.

In 1870, Presbyterian Church officials proposed that Hanover College be merged with Wabash College, with Hanover becoming a women's school. The Hanover Board of Trustees rejected that proposal, as well as one from businessmen in 1873 that would have moved the College to Indianapolis and renamed it Johnson University.

During the first 50 years of Hanover College’s existence, only nine presidents served, none for longer than nine years; five served three years or less. Daniel Webster Fisher would lead Hanover until his retirement in 1907. He was followed in the presidency by William A. Millis (1908–1929), Albert G. Parker Jr. (1929–1958), John E. Horner (1959–1987) and Russell Nichols (1987–2007), Sue DeWine (2007-). Remarkably, the College has had only five presidents in the last 102 years.

This stability of leadership ushered in a new era of growth and success. Fisher oversaw the construction of five buildings, including Hendricks Library. Named for Thomas Hendricks, an alumnus who had served as U.S. vice president and now called Hendricks Hall, it remains the oldest classroom building on Hanover’s campus.

Albert G. Parker Jr. was inaugurated as Hanover’s 12th president November 27, 1929, less than one month after the stock market crash that precipitated the Great Depression. The economic hard times cut investment revenues and operational expenses had to be closely monitored. But this challenge provided the College with one of its greatest rewards.

On December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II. In just two years, Hanover’s enrollment would plummet to 164 students, only 20 of them men. To make matters worse, in the early morning of December 19, a huge fire destroyed most of Classic Hall. By 1946, the postwar enrollment at Hanover had more than rebounded. It had ballooned to 679 students and the first great construction period of the College’s history was under way.

In 1947, Hanover began to admit women through its coordinate college, Long College for Women. Until the 1960s, all women who graduated from Hanover had their degree officially conferred by Long instead of Hanover. Long College existed until the two colleges fully merged in 1978, making Hanover officially coeducational.

Parker had announced that he would retire as Hanover’s president September 1, 1958 before he died suddenly in March. Hanover was temporarily without a president, but John E. Horner replaced him. There is a popular urban legend among Hanover students that Parker's ghost still haunts Parker auditorium. No one has commented how this belief works within the framework of their Presbyterian religious beliefs.

Under Horner’s 29-year leadership, Hanover enjoyed unprecedented growth in its academic program, financial standing and student enrollment. Soon after his arrival, he encouraged faculty members to reform their curriculum. Eventually Hanover divided its academic year into two 14-week terms, in which students took three classes, and a five-week Spring Term, in which students took one course of specialized, intensive study. With some modifications, it still serves as Hanover’s curricular model today.

By the mid-1960s, the campus expanded to more than 500 acres (2 km²) of land, enrollment topped 1,000 students, and Hanover’s assets approached $15 million.

In the late afternoon of April 3, 1974, a tornado roared through campus with devastating results. This tornado was part of the Super Outbreak of tornadoes that struck 13 states and one Canadian province that day. No one was killed or seriously injured, but 32 of the College’s 33 buildings were damaged, including two that were completely destroyed and six that sustained major structural damage. Hundreds of trees were down, completely blocking every campus road. All utilities were knocked out and communication with those off campus was nearly impossible.

Government officials estimated the damage at $10 million. Some wondered if Hanover College could survive. The Hanoverians, led by Horner, sprung into action. Winter Term ended one week early and students were dismissed, but many of them stayed to help faculty, staff and others clear the debris. The Board of Trustees met April 5 in emergency session and vowed to lead the efforts in rebuilding and improving Hanover College – and to do so without any federal disaster assistance, continuing Hanover’s tradition of financial independence.

Within a week, roads were passable and major services restored. Contributions poured in to cover Hanover’s $1 million in uninsurable losses, a figure that would be raised in just three months. Spring Term opened April 22 with full enrollment, only 19 days after the tornado. An editorial in The Indianapolis Star described the effort as "a private miracle." By spring 1975, replanting efforts completed Hanover’s recovery.

When Horner retired in 1987, Hanover’s endowment was more than $40 million. Russell Nichols was inaugurated as Hanover’s 14th president September 26, 1987. He quickly began a series of initiatives to improve the Hanover experience for students both inside and outside the classroom.

The number of full-time faculty was increased over a five-year period from 72 to 94, lowering the student-teacher ratio and allowing for more independent research and study. Six new academic majors were added. Each room in every living unit was equipped with a direct-dial telephone, ending years of having a campus operator direct all calls. Academic scholarships for incoming and returning students were increased.

The last few years brought several new triumphs. They include the 1995 opening of the $11 million Horner Health and Recreation Center, named for the president emeritus and his wife, and the 2000 dedication of a $23 million Science Center, which enabled all of the College’s five natural sciences to be housed in the same facility.

In May 2006, Nichols announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2007 academic year. His accomplishments include the revision of the curriculum which expanded study abroad offerings. Additionally, he oversaw implementation of the Center for Business Preparation, an innovation program designed to link liberal arts education with business. In 2004, Hanover was awarded $11.4 million to start the Rivers Institute, a multidisciplinary center to study all aspects of rivers throughout the world.

In the fall of 2008, Dr. Sue DeWine succeeded Nichols as president of Hanover College, inaugurated by the Board of Trustees. Dr. DeWine, formerly the provost at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, is the 15th president of Hanover College.