McPherson College

During their 1887 annual meeting, the Church of the Brethren recognized the need for a college west of the Mississippi River to serve the educational desires of settlers moving westward. The first academic semester opened on 5 September 1888, with 60 students and a faculty of seven. The dormitory, a single building which served as residence hall, college, and library had been constructed before the semester began. By the end of the first school year nearly 200 students had enrolled and the foundation had been laid for the main building. In 1898, Sharp Hall was completed, though it had been used for school purposes for some time while still incomplete. On 12 February 1898, the school was officially christened McPherson College . [ 6 ] View of the college in 1908 In 1926, J Willard Hershey synthesized one of the world's earliest synthetic (man-made) diamonds on the McPherson College campus. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] One of the diamonds is on display at the McPherson Museum in McPherson, Kansas. There is some debate about the success of Hershey's experiments, and whether or not true diamonds were involved. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] In 1962, McPherson College became a charter member of Brethren Colleges Abroad (BCA). [ 11 ] In 1976, local entrepreneur Gaines H. "Smokey" Billue, provided funds for the construction of Templeton Hall along with additional operating capital through the donation of a portion of his classic and antique car collection. This donation provided the spark to launch the Automotive Restoration Technology program at McPherson College. The Tonight Show host Jay Leno has been a financial supporter of the Automotive Restoration Technology program since 1997 and a member of the program's National Advisory Board since 1998. [ 12 ] In November 2022, an anonymous donor promised to deliver $2 for every $1 raised by McPherson College up to a maximum gift of $500 million.

[ 13 ] By June 30th, the final day of the matching period, the college had secured $342 million in outside pledges which enable them to receive the full amount of the initial donation. The anonymous donor then pledged an additional $500 million estate gift to the college. This resulted in the McPherson endowment growing to $1.59 billion, making it one of the largest endowments of a small liberal arts college in the United States. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ] Presidents McPherson College has been led by thirteen presidents and four interim presidents. Soloman Z. Sharp – 1888–1896 Charles E. Arnold – 1896–1902 Edward Frantz – 1902–1910 Samuel J. Miller ( acting ) – 1910–1911 John A. Clement – 1911–1913 Henry Jacob Harnly ( acting ) – 1913–1914 Daniel W. Kurtz - 1914–1927 Vernon F. Schwalm – 1927–1941 Woodford W. Peters – 1941–1950 Desmond W. Bittinger – 1950–1965 J. Jack Melhorn – 1965–1972 Galen R. Snell – 1972–1976 Paul W. Hoffman – 1976–1996 Steven Gustafson ( interim ) – 1996–1997 Gary A. Dill – 1997–2002 Neil Thorburn ( interim ) – 2002–2003 Ronald D. Hovis – 2003–2009 Michael P. Schneider – 2009–present

Three out of four of the faculty hold terminal degrees. Twenty three hold PhDs . All of the arts faculty hold the degree of Master of Fine Arts or higher. The remainder hold non-terminal degrees. [ 18 ] McPherson College has a 13/1 student-faculty ratio. [ 19 ] Freshman and Sophomore seminars Academic Community Essentials (known as ACE) is the name of McPherson's First Year Experience program . Freshmen must enroll in the course in both the fall and spring semesters of their first year. The goals for the course are for students to learn about college life, create a degree plan, and practice good study skills, critical thinking, and conflict resolution. [ 20 ] Sophomores must enroll in one semester of Sophomore Seminar. The course goals for sophomores include completing a service project, developing a career plan, and exploring internship options. [ 20 ] Automotive Restoration Technology McPherson College offers the only four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Automotive Restoration Technology in the United States. [ 21 ] The program focuses on the complete restoration of valuable, classic, and antique automobiles built from 1886 to 1970. The restoration technical disciplines include research, documentation, automotive history, historical design, technical drawing and CAD, metal shaping, welding, body and paint, engine rebuilding, machining, applied diagnostics, chassis rebuilding, drivetrain rebuilding, final assembly, electricity and electronics, technical woodworking, materials engineering, foundry, and trim and upholstery. The courses are conducted at Templeton Hall, a 33,000 square feet (3,100 m 2 ) facility, which houses a combination of traditional classrooms and large work spaces including a metals lab, trim and upholstery lab, wood lab, machine lab, engines lab, chassis lab, assembly lab, paint lab, foundry, and motorcycle lab. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] There are eight scholarships offered exclusively to Automotive Restoration students.

[ 23 ] The most famous are the Fred Duesenberg Memorial Scholarship endowed by Jay Leno and Peter Heydon, and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Scholarship in honor of Phil Hill endowed by the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance . [ 24 ] [ 25 ]