Carroll College

In 1883, the first bishop of Helena, John Baptist Brondel , [ 8 ] proposed a Catholic college in Montana to help produce future priests for the soon-to-be diocese of Helena. He died before his plans could be realized. Pope Pius X selected John Patrick Carroll , a young priest from Dubuque, Iowa , as Brondel's successor. Bishop John Patrick Carroll, second Bishop of the Diocese of Helena , was able to carve out the funding needed to launch the college while at the same time raising money to construct the Cathedral of St. Helena. In 1909, William Howard Taft , 27th President of the United States, helped lay the cornerstone of St. Charles Hall at the college. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Vol. I, No. 1 (1912) of the Mount Saint Charles Scholastic quarterly shows St. Charles Hall. The inaugural issue of the Mount Saint Charles Scholastic quarterly includes a portrait of founder John P. Carroll . The college was founded on September 27, 1909, by John Patrick Carroll, second Bishop of the Diocese of Helena, Montana. It was originally called "Mount St. Charles College" to honor St. Charles Borromeo . The intent was for it to be an all-men's liberal arts college, with an emphasis on preparing men for careers in the priesthood , law , medicine , teaching , and engineering . In his speech after the laying the cornerstone of St. Charles Hall, President William Howard Taft said, "The college you are building here will be a blessing to Helena and to the whole state of Montana. The only trouble is we have not institutions enough of this kind in the United States." [ 11 ] In September 1910, Mount Saint Charles College opened its doors for classes. The first college student graduated in 1916. In 1932, the school's name was changed to "Carroll College" in honor of its founder. During the 1935 Helena earthquake , Carroll College suffered only minor damage, while many other buildings and schools in the city were greatly affected. Property damage was estimated at half a million dollars.

[ 12 ] The top of the gable wall on the southern portion of St. Charles Hall was damaged and many of the structure's large stones had fallen off. The college decided to replace the roof with a slightly shorter and flatter roof. The fallen stones were repurposed and used to build an observatory on campus. Carroll College's Neuman Observatory, named after former chemistry professor Edward Neuman, is the oldest astronomical observatory in the state of Montana. [ 13 ] During World War II , Carroll College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program ; it offered students a path to a Navy commission. [ 14 ] After the war, the college began a period of expansion [ 15 ] that included enrolling many military veterans under the GI Bill. It later admitted the first female students, [ 16 ] and was transformed by changes resulting from the Second Vatican Council . The 1989 Helena train wreck caused significant damage to Carroll, notably to Guadalupe Hall, the women's dormitory at the time. [ 17 ] On August 1, 2024, Carroll College announced that John Cech , who had served as president of Carroll College since 2018, would retire effective June 30, 2025. [ 18 ] On May 1, 2025, Carroll College announced that William Rudd had been appointed to serve as the 19th president of Carroll College effective July 1, 2025. [ 19 ] On June 25, 2025, Carroll College announced that Rudd would be unable to assume the role of president due to his need to "focus on personal matters" and that Jennifer Glowienka , Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Austin Vetter , Bishop of the Diocese of Helena , would jointly assume the role as interim co-presidents for the 2025-26 academic year. [ 20 ]

Carroll College has a female-to-male student ratio of nearly 3:2 (60%/40%). Montana residents comprise just under half of the total student body (Montana/Out-of-State: 45%/55%). Of students reporting a religious preference, 44% are Catholic. [ 21 ] From an admissions standpoint, U.S. News & World Report indicates Carroll as being "more selective" with an average incoming GPA of 3.46, an ACT of 25, an average SAT (before March 1, 2016) of 1645, and an average SAT (after March 1, 2016) of 1145. [ 22 ] Tuition and fees for the 2023 academic year are $37,828. Out-of-state tuition is the same as the original tuition. Total estimated attendance (with room and board) is approximately $40,220. Carroll has over 35 active student clubs or student groups that host nearly 350 events annually. [ 23 ] Groups include CAMP, or Carroll Adventuring and Mountaineers Program, Carroll Crazies, Up 'Til Dawn, Saints' Swing Dance Society, Engineers Without Borders, Carroll Student Activities (CSA), and Carroll Outreach Team. [ 24 ] CAMP offers mountain biking, kayaking, trail running, hiking, backpacking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, and more. CAMP provides trips for students to explore the outdoors during academic breaks, such as a spring break to Moab, Utah . [ 25 ] The Carroll College newspaper, The Prospector , [ 26 ] is student-run and student-written.

Carroll College offers numerous academic majors in the major liberal arts and life sciences, as well as engineering, education, computer science, nursing, physics, ROTC , and theology. The school offers as well as several medical pre-professional programs including pre-seminary, pre-med, pre-dental, pre-pharmacy and pre-veterinary. The school is known for a higher than average rate of acceptance of its students into medical school. [ 27 ] The national average medical school acceptance rate is approximately 44%. [ 28 ] Carroll College students have an 85% average acceptance into med school and dental school. [ 29 ] Unique to the college is a Human-Animal Bond Program, now anthrozoology . It offered the first such undergraduate degree in the US. [ 30 ] The college was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 Regional College in the West in the 2021 edition of America's Best Colleges. Carroll College held this ranking for 10 consecutive years. [ 31 ]