President Zephaniah Swift Moore, 1821-1823
|
| 1820 |
Aug 9 |
Cornerstone of first building (South College)
laid. |
| 1821 |
Sep 18 |
Amherst Collegiate Institution dedicated. |
|
Sep 19 |
College opened with 47 students. |
|
Oct |
Student Literary Societies, Athena and Alexandria,
formed. |
| 1823 |
Jan 29 |
Death of President Moore. |
President Heman Humphrey, 1823-1845
|
| 1823 |
Oct 15 |
President Humphrey inaugurated. |
| 1825 |
Jan 29 |
Massachusetts State Legislature grants Charter
to Amherst College. |
| 1826 |
Spring |
President Humphrey placed at head of new Church
of Christ at Amherst College. |
|
Aug |
Introduction of "parallel course," new curriculum
with emphasis on modern history and science. |
| 1827 |
Feb 28 |
Johnson Chapel dedicated. |
|
May |
First of series of religious revivals at the
College. |
| 1828 |
|
Student government, "House of Students," formed. |
| 1829 |
Aug |
Trustees dropped parallel course. |
| 1830 |
Aug |
Antivenenean Society formed. Motto: "Water Is
Indeed Best." |
| 1831 |
May |
First student publication, The Sprite,
begun. |
| 1833 |
Summer |
Anti-Slavery Society and Colonization Society
formed. |
| 1834 |
Summer |
Colonization Society disbanded at Faculty's request. |
|
Oct |
Anti-Slavery Society refused President Humphrey's
request to disband. |
| 1837 |
|
First Secret Society (fraternity) at Amherst
College, Alpha Delta Phi, opened. |
| 1837-1839 |
|
Financial assistance sought from Massachusetts
State Legislature. |
| 1842 |
Jul |
Society of Alumni formed at Commencement. |
| 1844 |
Jan 19 |
President Humphrey announced resignation. |
|
|
Hon. David Sears established Sears Fund of Literature
and Benevolence with $10,000. |
President Edward Hitchcock, 1845-1854
|
| 1845 |
Apr 11 |
President Hitchcock inaugurated. |
| 1846 |
Jul 1 |
Three Student Literary Societies reorganized
to two societies. |
| 1847 |
|
Delta Upsilon, a non-secret society, formed. |
|
Aug |
Debts of the College cancelled. |
| 1852 |
|
Custom of Class Day begun. |
|
Oct 11 |
Trustees established Scientific Department. |
| 1853 |
Aug 9 |
Phi Beta Kappa chapter opened at Amherst College. |
| |
Nov 22 |
Library dedicated. |
| 1854 |
Jul 11 |
President Hitchcock resigned. |
President William A. Stearns, 1854-1876
|
| 1854 |
Nov 11 |
President Stearns inaugurated. |
| 1855 |
Oct |
First Olio, student yearbook, issued. |
| 1857 |
|
Scientific Department dropped by Trustees. Sabrina,
bronze statue, given to the College by Governor Joel Hayden. |
| 1859 |
|
Seniors allowed elective courses. |
|
Jul 1 |
First Intercollegiate baseball game played - Amherst vs. Williams. |
| 1860 |
|
Barrett Gymnasium completed. |
|
Aug |
Department of Physical Culture established. |
|
Sep |
"Vital Statistics," anthropometric measurements
of students taken. |
| 1861 |
Apr 3 |
President Emeritus Humphrey died. |
| 1862 |
|
"Freshmen Visitation," hazing, banned by Faculty. |
| 1864 |
Feb 27 |
President Emeritus Hitchcock died. |
| 1868 |
Feb |
Amherst Student, student newspaper,
issued. |
|
Oct 20 |
Cornerstone of Walker Hall laid. |
| 1869 |
Apr |
Evening prayers established. |
|
|
Student activities include Crew and Glee Club. |
| 1870 |
Sep 22 |
Cornerstone of Stearns Church laid. |
| 1871 |
Jul 12 |
Semi-Centennial celebrated. 700 alumni visited
the College. |
| 1873 |
Jul 1 |
Stearns Church dedicated. |
| 1874 |
|
Melvil Dewey reorganized library according to
a decimal classification system. |
|
|
Former Treasurer Edward Dickinson died. |
| 1876 |
Jun 8 |
President Stearns died. |
President Julius H. Seelye (AC 1849), 1876-1890
|
| 1876 |
Jul 28 |
Julius H. Seelye (1849) became first alumnus
to be elected President of the College. |
| 1877 |
May 5 |
Blake Field dedicated. |
|
Jun 27 |
President Seelye inaugurated. Sabrina abducted
for the first time. |
| 1880 |
Fall |
President Seelye introduced student governance
system, College Senate. |
| 1882 |
Mar 29 |
Fire in Walker Hall damaged building, destroyed
most early records of the College. |
| 1884 |
|
Pratt Gymnasium completed. |
| 1890 |
May 22 |
Pratt Field opened. |
|
Jun 24 |
President Seelye announced resignation. |
President Merrill E. Gates, 1890-1899
|
| 1890 |
Jun 25 |
President Gates inaugurated at Commencement. |
|
|
South College renovated, rooms have steam heat. |
| 1891 |
May |
Pratt Field and Grandstand-Field House dedicated. |
| 1894 |
|
Fayerweather Laboratory completed. |
|
|
College enrollment at high with 434 students.
Tuition $110. |
|
Mar 20 |
College Senate ended by student vote. |
| 1895 |
May 12 |
President Emeritus Julius H. Seelye died. |
|
|
Former Treasurer William Austin Dickinson died. |
| 1897 |
|
Pratt Health Cottage given to the College. |
| 1898 |
|
Professor David Peck Todd's New Astronomy
for Beginners published. |
|
Jun 9 |
President Gates announced resignation. |
President George Harris (AC 1866), 1899-1912
|
| 1899 |
|
President Harris inaugurated. Became first president
to not have teaching assignments. |
|
Sep |
Grandstand-Field House destroyed by fire. |
| 1900 |
|
Professor Todd traveled abroad to observe eclipse
of the sun. |
|
Mar |
Students approved new honor system constitution. |
|
Oct |
Faculty abolished students' cane rush custom. |
|
|
Pratt Health Cottage addition completed. |
| 1901 |
|
Electric lights in all College buildings. President
Harris recommended central heating plant to heat buildings. |
| 1902 |
Feb |
Grade system changed: 2,3, and 4 grading to A+
through E. |
|
|
Flag rush instituted as substitute for cane rush. |
| 1903 |
|
First undergraduate automobile arrived on campus. |
|
May 2 |
Ground broken for Observatory. |
| 1904 |
Jan |
"Water Famine" due to pipe damage in College
Well, only source of water. |
| 1905 |
Jun |
College Hall rededicated after Class of 1884
funded restoration work. |
| 1907 |
|
Outdoor skating rink given to the College by
Charles M. Pratt (AC 1879). |
| 1909 |
|
Biology-Geology Building completed |
| 1911 |
|
First Amherst Graduate's Quarterly issued. |
|
|
Bachelor of Science degree discontinued. |
|
Nov 15 |
President Harris announced resignation. |
President Alexander Meiklejohn, 1912-1924
|
| 1912 |
|
President Meiklejohn inaugurated. |
|
|
Faculty voted to modify educational policy including
freshman required courses. |
|
|
Anonymous donor gave $100,000 to the George Daniel
Olds Professorship in Social and Economic Institutions. |
|
|
College enrollment totals 426 students. |
|
|
Hitchcock Playing Fields dedicated to the memory
of Professor Edward "Old Doc" Hitchcock (AC 1849). |
| 1913 |
|
Library and English Department offered joint
instruction in library use. |
|
|
Student Council became new student government. |
|
|
Interfraternity Conference became students' fraternity
governance organization. |
| 1914 |
|
Alumni Council established. |
|
|
Paul F. Good (AC 1913) became first Amherst graduate
to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. |
|
|
William Butler Yeats invited to the College to
deliver four lectures. |
|
|
Noah Webster Memorial statue erected. |
| 1915 |
|
Trustees voted mandatory faculty retirement
at age 65. |
|
|
Herbert L. Pratt (AC 1895) gave College Audubon's
Birds of America. |
| 1916 |
|
Robert Frost received first appointment at Amherst
College as Professor ad interim of English Literature. |
|
|
Massachusetts State Legislature amended Amherst
College charter; clause for required number of clerical trustees
removed. |
|
|
55 Amherst graduates and undergraduates at Plattsburg
Military camp. |
|
|
Converse Memorial Library constructed. |
|
|
Student Association proposed new honor system. |
| 1917 |
|
Student Association levied $12 universal tax
on student body. |
|
|
Tradition of Treadway Interfraternity Scholarship
Cup for fraternity having highest scholastic average begun. |
| 1918 |
|
R.O.T.C. unit established on campus. |
|
|
Trustees awarded special wartime degrees to seniors
in the Army and Navy (A.B. honoris causa). |
|
|
Professor Thorstein B. Veblen lectured at the
College. |
|
|
S.A.T.C. (Student Army Training Corps) established
in place of R.O.T.C. when draft age was lowered to 18 years. |
|
|
President Meiklejohn proposed two-tiered system,
Junior and Senior Colleges, in his Report of the President. |
| 1920 |
|
President Meiklejohn on one year leave, 1920-21. |
|
|
Amherst faculty offered courses for labor union
members at Holyoke and Springfield. |
|
|
Acting President Olds visited alumni groups in
western cities on four week tour. |
|
|
President Meiklejohn's The Liberal College
published. |
| 1921 |
|
Glee Club and Mandolin Club gave seven joint
concerts while on western trip in Illinois, Indiana, and New
York. |
|
|
Faculty continued "Classes for Workers" program. |
|
|
Christian Association began campaign to fund
two year teaching appointment at Doshisha University. |
|
|
Amherst College celebrated Centennial. Over half
of the living alumni returned to the College. |
| 1922 |
|
President Emeritus George Harris (AC 1866) died. |
|
|
Stewart Nichols (AC 1922) appointed Amherst representative
at Doshisha University. |
|
|
President Emeritus Merrill E. Gates died. |
|
|
Student Association voted permission for students
to play summer baseball on approved teams. |
|
|
Alumni Reading and Study program begun. |
| 1923 |
|
Physicist Niels Bohr gave series of lectures
on atomic theory while at the College. |
|
|
Board of Trustees requested the resignation of
Alexander Meiklejohn as President of the College. President
Meiklejohn resigned, effective July 1924. |
|
|
Professor George D. Olds was Acting President
1923-24. |
|
|
New Chi Psi Lodge dedicated. |
|
|
Hitchcock Field facilities improved; additional
fields graded. |
| 1924 |
|
Calvin Coolidge (AC 1895) endorsed by undergraduate
Republican Club. |
|
|
Glee Club competed in intercollegiate singing
contest against eight colleges in New York City. |
|
|
Cal Coolidge Club opened with 307 members. |
|
|
Bertrand Russell lectured at the College. |
|
|
Alexander Meiklejohn ends tenure as President
of the College. |
President George D. Olds, 1924-1927
|
| 1924 |
|
President George D. Olds inaugurated. |
|
|
"Dean's List" Juniors and Seniors (85% average
or better) allowed unlimited class cuts. |
| 1925 |
|
Plans to remodel and enlarge Johnson Chapel announced. |
|
|
Amy Lowell gave reading of her poems at Johnson
Chapel by invitation of Professor Robert Frost. |
|
|
(Baseball) Cage completed. |
| 1926 |
|
Central Heating Plant completed. |
|
|
President George D. Olds announced resignation. |
|
|
Lord Jeffery Inn completed; financed by the Amherst
Inn Corporation. |
|
|
Wild Life Sanctuary land set aside. |
| 1927 |
|
Faculty changed chapel requirements allowing
students greater flexibility. |
|
|
George D. Olds ends tenure as President of the
College. |
President Arthur Stanley Pease, 1927-1932
|
| 1927 |
|
President Pease inaugurated. |
|
|
Enrollment totaled 767. President noted in annual
report that faculty and student body were concerned with size
of the College. |
|
|
Honor system replaced with system of proctored
examinations. |
|
|
Physical examination by College Physician required
from all students. |
|
|
Alumni Council gave $22,000 for scholarship aid.
1928 |
|
|
Faculty salaries raised. |
|
|
Professor Atherton Sprague appointed to new duties
of Freshman Dean. |
|
|
No students allowed to own or operate automobiles
during the semester. |
|
|
Full-time College physician appointed. |
|
|
60% of the student body participated in athletic
activities. |
| 1929 |
|
Committee on Religious Activity recommended ending
Saturday chapel. |
|
|
Faculty "retiring allowance" plans studied by
the College. |
|
|
Moore Laboratory of Chemistry dedicated. |
|
|
College garage built for College service vehicles. |
| 1930 |
|
Henry Clay Folger (AC 1879) bequeathed funds for the Folger
Shakespeare Library to the Trustees of Amherst College. |
|
|
Entire sophomore class placed on probation for
hazing freshmen during "Chapel Rush." |
|
|
Student committee, Committee of Seven, formed
to govern dormitories. |
| 1931 |
|
Sherman Pratt Fellowships for foreign students
at Amherst College started. |
|
|
Commons Club organized by non-fraternity men. |
|
|
President Emeritus George D. Olds died. |
|
|
Student Council voted $1,000 appropriation toward
a new gymnasium. |
| 1932 |
|
Folger Shakespeare Library dedicated. |
|
|
Student enrollment totaled 661 (767 in 1927).
Freshman class limited to not more than 200 members. |
|
|
Arthur Stanley Pease ended tenure as President
of the College. |
President Stanley King (AC 1903), 1932-1946
|
| 1932 |
|
President King (AC 1903) inaugurated. |
|
|
New admission requirements including personal
interview when possible, emphasis on academic record or subjects,
elimination of Latin requirement. |
|
|
Chapel attendance requirements revised. |
|
|
Committee of Six established. |
|
|
House libraries established in North and South. |
| 1933 |
|
Life Trustee Calvin Coolidge (AC 1895) died. |
|
|
Masquers, student drama organization, performed
in Vienna. |
|
|
Johnson Chapel reconstruction completed. |
|
|
More cars on campus; parking space established
east of Pratt Gym. |
| 1934 |
|
Student aid totaled $62,567 |
|
|
President King met with 8 alumni groups in the
Midwest on 7-day tour. |
|
|
Undergraduates held Amherst Anti-War Week. |
|
|
A. N. Milliken (AC 1880) donated $10,000 for the
Hitchcock Memorial Room to house the collection of College memorabilia. |
| 1935 |
|
Trustee George A. Plimpton (AC 1876) died. |
|
|
Amherst House at Doshisha University dedicated. |
|
|
College furnished all student dormitories. |
|
|
Alumni Gymnasium completed. |
| 1936 |
Mar |
Flooding of the Connecticut River. Amherst College
fed and housed more than 400 Hadley residents. |
|
|
Full medical and surgical care became available
to students during term time. |
| 1937 |
|
Amherst Day School opened in the Little Red Schoolhouse
providing Nursery school to the children of faculty and townspeople. |
|
|
Student aid totaled $98,705. |
|
|
Faculty committee undertook study of curriculum. |
|
|
Freshman English became a required course. |
| 1938 |
|
First outdoor Commencement held. |
|
Sep |
Hurricane toppled over 500 trees on College and
fraternity-owned land. Classes suspended for 3 days. |
|
|
Campus regraded and replanted. |
| 1938 |
|
Freshman curriculum requirements changed. |
|
|
Problem of pensions considered by a Trustee-Faculty
committee. |
|
|
Student eating and housing problems considered
by committee appointed by President King. |
|
|
Kirby Theater dedicated. |
|
|
Frederick S. Allis (AC 1893) resigned after 25 years
as Secretary of the Alumni Council. |
|
|
Editorial for the Commencement issue of the Amherst
Student favored military training. |
| 1939 |
|
Regulations to discourage fraternity hazing passed
by Student Council. |
|
|
New requirements for honors work adopted by Faculty. |
|
|
College offered "Graduate Record Examination"
in cooperation with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement
of Teaching. |
| 1940 |
|
Tuition increased from $400 to $450. |
|
|
Selective Service Law passed. 169 students registered
on campus. |
|
|
Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) program available
on campus. |
| 1941 |
|
Faculty, at the request of the Massachusetts
Committee on Public Safety, voted not to allow student automobiles
on campus. |
|
|
Largest freshman class to date, 273 students,
admitted to the College to offset expected losses to armed services. |
|
|
Course in applied music added to the curriculum. |
|
|
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of
America (TIAA) program adopted by the College. |
|
|
Valentine Hall, dining facilities and dormitory,
opened. |
|
|
Faculty Club moved to the White Homestead. |
|
|
25% of faculty left the College to enter military
service or government work. |
|
|
Accelerated program adopted by the College. Optional
12 week summer term added, allowing graduation in three years. |
|
|
Psi Upsilon Prize established for "The First
Citizen of the College". |
| 1942 |
|
War Department Civilian Protection School used
facilities of the College. |
|
|
War Service Committee established, served as
liaison between College and military groups on and off campus. |
|
|
Department of Geology moved to renovated Pratt
Museum, the former Gymnasium. |
|
|
All attics and upper floors of College buildings
inspected by Building and Grounds in the eventuality of air
raids. |
|
|
Students organized volunteer fire department.
College purchased fire truck. |
|
|
Regular enrollment at lowest since 1822. |
|
|
Only 175 regular civilian students enrolled vs.
950 Armed Services trainees. |
| 1943 |
|
College held first midwinter Commencement. |
|
|
Publication of the Amherst Student suspended
"for the duration." |
|
|
Student Council voted to suspend rush "for the
duration." |
|
|
Fraternity houses leased for housing of military
personnel. Meeting rooms [GOTE] of the houses locked and sealed. |
| 1944 |
|
Amherst College in Battle Dress issued. Publication
of the Olio still suspended. |
|
|
Veterans entered College under GI Bill. |
| 1945 |
|
Amherst-MIT combined 5-year program began. |
|
|
Pentagonal Conference hosted at Amherst College
to consider common problems of postwar college programs at Bowdoin,
Dartmouth, Wesleyan, Williams, and Amherst. |
|
|
470 regular students enrolled. |
|
|
Faculty salaries studied and readjusted. |
|
|
Faculty committee recommended retirement at age
65 with only special annual appointment to age 70. |
|
|
Trustees announced reopening of fraternities
for Fall 1946. |
| 1946 |
|
C. W. Cole (AC 1927) elected twelfth President of the College. |
|
|
Trustees authorized razing of Stearns Church
to make space for new freshmen dormitories and art building. |
|
|
War Memorial dedicated. |
|
|
125th anniversary of the College celebrated. |
|
|
GI Village, emergency housing for married veteran
students, constructed. |
|
|
James and Stearns Halls, freshmen dormitories,
constructed. |
|
|
Last military unit left campus. |
|
|
End of Stanley King's tenure as President of
Amherst College. |
President Charles W. Cole (AC 1927), 1946-1960
|
| 1946 |
|
President Cole (AC 1927) inaugurated. |
| |
|
Fall enrollment totaled 1,174 students (735 veterans). |
|
|
Committee on Educational Policy formed. New curriculum
is designed. |
|
|
House Management Committee (HMC) formed to supervise
fraternity, social, and intellectual business; complemented
the Fraternity Business Manager (HBM). |
|
|
Committee on Faculty Housing formed. |
|
|
Trustees directed fraternities to drop discriminatory
provisions regarding pledging. |
| 1947 |
|
Summer session dropped. |
|
|
Faculty salaries increased 7.5-12%. |
|
|
New Curriculum started. |
|
|
Eugene D. Wilson (AC 1929) appointed Director of
Admissions. |
|
|
Approximately 22% of students on scholarship
aid. |
| 1948 |
|
New Curriculum went into effect for upperclassmen. |
|
|
Robert Frost appointed Simpson Lecturer in Literature. |
|
|
Phi Kappa Psi pledged Tom Gibbs (1951), a black
student. Chapter was expelled from the national organization. |
|
|
Converse Library collection totaled 275,280 volumes. |
| 1949 |
|
College received $150,000 in grants and contracts
for research. |
|
|
22 lectures, sponsored by the Harlan Fiske Stone
Memorial Lecture series, given on "The Meaning of Freedom,"
between September and May. |
|
|
College radio station [WAMF] began broadcasting
supported with $3,000 loan to the student-run station from the
Trustees. |
|
|
First Amherst Alumni News produced. |
| 1950 |
|
Mead Fine Arts Building dedicated. |
|
|
First Parents Day held at Amherst College. |
|
|
President Emeritus Stanley King died. |
| 1951 |
|
Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp (AFROTC)
added to curriculum. |
|
|
Sabrina "kidnapped" by the Class of 1951. |
|
|
Stanley King's "Consecrated Eminence":
The Story of the Campus and Buildings of Amherst College
published. |
|
|
320 cadets enrolled in AFROTC. |
|
|
Hampshire Inter-Library Center (HILC), a cooperative
loan system, incorporated. |
|
|
House Management Committee passed restrictions regulating presence of
women in fraternity houses. |
|
|
Fraternities had first year of "hundred percent"
rushing. |
| 1952 |
|
Alumni Fund set record total with $134,000 raised. |
|
|
Office of Student Counselor created. |
|
|
Trustees formed Committee on Endowment. |
|
|
New England Colleges Fund incorporated. |
| 1953 |
|
Merrill Center for Economics dedicated. Willard
F. Thorp (AC 1920) named Director. |
|
|
Phi Delta lost national affiliation by violating
the national's discriminatory clause. |
|
|
Future size of the College considered. |
|
|
Internship program for entry-level teaching faculty
begun with grant from the Fund for the Advancement of Education. |
|
|
North and South dormitories renovated and fireproofed. |
| 1954 |
|
Robert Frost's 80th birthday celebrated by the
College. |
|
|
More than half of senior class doing honors work. |
|
|
80% of students active in intramural sports,
50% engaged in intercollegiate sports. |
|
|
Sabrina, an undergraduate humor magazine,
began publication. |
|
|
Orr Skating Rink opened. |
| 1955 |
|
Millicent Bingham Todd gave 900 Emily Dickinson
manuscripts and letters to the College. |
|
|
Alumni House opened. |
|
|
Committee on Cooperation, members representing
Amherst, Smith and Mt. Holyoke Colleges and the University of
Massachusetts, met to discuss cooperative efforts of the four
institutions. |
|
|
College received major grant from the Ford Foundation
to increase faculty salaries. |
|
|
Gail Kennedy's Education at Amherst
published. |
| 1956 |
|
AFROTC at Amherst College disbanded. |
|
|
Mayo-Smith teaching grant, "Green Dean," established
for the Admission Office. |
|
|
Trustees appointed committee to study fraternities. |
|
|
Merrill Place apartments, faculty housing, completed. |
|
|
President Cole requested reaffirmation of non-discriminatory
policy from fraternities. |
| 1957 |
|
G.I. Village, located on the eastern slope of campus below the quad, is demolished. |
|
|
Committee of Eight restudied question of fraternities. |
|
|
President Cole appointed faculty committee on
Future Size of the College and Related Problems. |
|
|
Undergraduate Committee of Fourteen made recommendations
on compulsory chapel. |
|
|
48 undergraduates held "sit down strike" in Chapel
to express opposition to compulsory services. |
|
|
Further protests to compulsory Chapel held. Group
of students filled foundation hole of new religion building
(Chapin Hall). |
| 1958 |
|
Honor system adopted by students. |
|
|
Committee of representatives from four colleges
investigated founding of "New College" [Fund for the Advancement
of Education]. |
|
|
Committee to Review the Curriculum appointed. |
|
|
"Underachiever's Program" initiated. |
| 1959 |
|
Committee to Review the Curriculum made recommendations
for changing the curriculum. |
|
|
Symposium on Emily Dickinson sponsored by the
College. |
|
|
30% of students received scholarship aid. |
|
|
Converse Library holdings totaled 327,000 volumes. |
|
|
Faculty Advisory Program for Freshmen initiated. |
|
|
Joint Astronomy Department organized by Four
Colleges. |
|
|
Four Colleges initiated cooperative doctoral
degrees. |
| 1960 |
|
Calvin H. Plimpton (AC 1939) elected thirteenth
President of Amherst College. |
|
|
Phi Alpha Psi offered non-selective rush. |
|
|
Language Lab built. |
|
|
Amherst students participated in March on Washington,
picketing White House for civil rights. |
|
|
End of Charles W. Cole's (AC 1927) tenure as President
of Amherst College. |
President Calvin H. Plimpton (AC 1939), 1960-1972
|
| 1960 |
|
President Plimpton (AC 1939) is inaugurated. |
|
|
Chapel requirements changed, attendance required
at two of four services: two religious, two secular. |
|
|
Trustees recommended increase in College size
from 1,000 to 1,200 students. |
| 1961 |
|
College budget for current operations (1961-62)
doubled from 1951-52 budget. |
|
|
Trustees requested fraternities to transfer titles
to College. |
|
|
Compulsory chapel ended, assembly continued. |
|
|
Faculty voted to end "Underachiever Program." |
| 1962 |
|
Amherst Capital Program, $36,000,000 fund drive,
begun. |
|
|
Ford Foundation offered $2,500,000 matching grant
for general College purposes. |
|
|
Amherst College received $3,500,000 from anonymous
donor to build a new library. |
|
|
Women's visiting hours permitted in dormitories. |
|
|
Phi Delta Sigma honored Ed Newport for 50 years
of service at the College. |
| 1963 |
|
Eleven of 13 fraternities transferred titles
to the College. |
|
|
Crossett, Davis and Stone dormitories, "social
dorms," completed. |
|
|
Valentine Hall Annex completed. |
|
|
College marked death of Robert Frost. |
|
Oct 26 |
President John F. Kennedy visited Amherst College
for special convocation and groundbreaking ceremony of the Robert
Frost Library. |
|
|
Faculty changed College Calendar for 1964-65
academic year. |
| 1964 |
|
Faculty Committee on Educational Policy (CEP)
issued "A Report on the Curriculum of Amherst College." Recommended
changes in "New Curriculum" including a four-course instead
of five-course semester. |
|
|
Amherst and Mount Holyoke students participated
in Holyoke-Springfield tutorial program for underprivileged
children. |
|
|
163 students chose to remain independent of fraternity
affiliation (vs. 105 students in 1961). |
|
|
First Alumni College held. |
| 1965 |
|
Faculty voted to adopt a new curriculum which
included Problems of Inquiry courses for Freshmen. |
|
|
Faculty issued "Report on Student Life." Recommended
fraternities be replaced with groups of societies. |
|
|
Robert Frost Library completed. |
| 1966 |
|
Emily Dickinson House purchased. |
|
|
"New College Plan" undertaken. Harold F. Johnson
(AC 1918) gave $6 million to start Hampshire College. |
|
|
Amherst Capital Program ended. $21,000,000 raised. |
|
|
Dean C. Scott Porter (AC 1919), Dean of the College
for 35 years, died. |
|
|
Five-College Cooperation begun. |
|
|
College Council, composed of 4 professors, 2
deans, and 6 students, begun. |
| 1967 |
|
Sociology added to the curriculum. |
|
|
Black-White Action Committee (BWAC) established. |
|
|
Four-College bus began night service. |
|
|
Independent Study offered to students. |
|
|
"Drug Scene '67" colloquium sponsored by the
Amherst Student Council. |
|
|
Arthur Vining Davis Foundation gave $1,000,000
for new Science Center. |
|
|
Students protested army recruiter on campus,
endorsed recruiting ban. |
| 1968 |
|
Chapel (Assembly) ended. |
|
|
Music Building dedicated. |
|
|
Black-White Action Committee proposed Amherst Summer Action Program (ASAP);
3 summer programs for the College: A Better Chance (ABC) tutorial,
Smith-Amherst Tutorial Program. (SATP), and an English Teachers
Institute. Trustees allocated $30,000 support. |
|
|
Science Center opened. |
| 1969 |
|
Trustees ended Town Tuition Scholarship Program. |
|
|
College Council recommended self-determination
for dormitory social hours with report "Women Visitors at Amherst." |
|
|
Faculty voted to implement Black Studies curriculum
for 1969-70. |
|
|
College held two-day "Moratorium." |
|
|
Amherst College Summer Commission issued report
recommending changes for internal governance. |
|
|
23 women attended Amherst as a part of Ten-College
exchange. |
|
|
Faculty approved Program of Field Study for students. |
|
|
Five-College Long Range Planning Committee formed. |
|
|
The Amherst Student published "A Special
Report: Drugs and the Campus." |
| 1970 |
|
Students voted to abolish Student Council. |
|
|
Blacks from the five Colleges occupied four buildings
on Amherst campus. |
|
|
National Student Strike observed at the College. |
|
|
Hampshire College opened. |
|
|
Four undergraduates seated on Presidential Search
Committee. |
|
|
Five-College Committee for the Strike published
"Consider ... These are the Days" booklet. |
|
|
Students placed representatives on faculty committees. |
| 1971 |
|
Professor John William Ward named fourteenth
President of Amherst College. |
|
|
Faculty voted in favor of 4-0-4 college calendar. |
|
|
Calvin H. Plimpton (1939) ended tenure as President
of Amherst College. |
President John William Ward, 1971-1979
|
| 1971 |
|
President Ward inaugurated. |
|
|
College celebrated Sesquicentennial. |
|
|
Select Committee on Coeducation formed. |
|
|
Morris A. Copeland (AC 1917) donated $500,000, to
endow the Copeland Colloquium Fund. |
|
|
Faculty rejected Pennsylvania Plan which required
College to report felony convictions of Pennsylvania students
receiving PHEAA funds. |
|
|
College held first Interterm. |
| 1972 |
|
Students established Student Assembly government. |
|
|
President Ward arrested at Westover Air Force
Base Protest. |
|
|
President Ward made recommendation for coeducation
to Board of Trustees. Faculty voted support for recommendation. |
|
|
Sloan Foundation granted $400,000 for the creation
of Neuroscience Program. |
| 1973 |
|
Board of Trustees postponed decision on coeducation. |
|
|
College hosted All New England Black Students'
Conference. |
|
|
Faculty dropped language requirement. |
|
|
College hosted eight-week Springfield-Amherst
Summer Academy (SASA). |
|
|
Freshman Gerald Penney drowned while taking swimming
test. |
| 1974 |
|
President Ward stopped plans on College Center. |
|
|
66% of the freshman class pledged fraternities. |
|
|
DeBevoise Fieldhouse dedicated. |
|
|
Trustees voted to admit women as degree candidates. |
| 1975 |
|
Office of Institutional Research formed. |
|
|
Faculty established limited pass/fail system
for student grades. |
|
|
Valentine employees approved union contract with
Amherst College. |
|
|
Special Committee of the Faculty formed to propose
a new curriculum. |
| 1976 |
|
Endowment at the College reached $100 million. |
|
|
College opened with largest enrollment to date
with 1,490 students: 289 women, 1,201 men. Women admitted as
freshmen for first time. |
|
|
Women's intercollegiate sports teams compete
in field hockey, cross country soccer, basketball, squash, and
lacrosse. |
|
|
Committee of Six adopted tenure disclosure policy. |
|
|
Trustees voted student seat on Student Life Committee. |
| 1977 |
|
Select Committee on Curriculum proposed new curriculum,
Introduction to Liberal Studies (ILS), for freshmen. |
|
|
Amherst Action Coalition (AAC) demanded College
disinvestment of South African stock. |
|
|
41 women pledged fraternities. |
|
|
Sabrina stolen from Converse Hall location. Statue
"recovered" from students by College Security. |
|
|
Faculty approved curriculum changes with Introduction
to Liberal Studies (ILS) requirements and adjunct program. |
| 1978 |
|
President Emeritus Charles W. Cole (AC 1927) died. |
|
|
Faculty passed guidelines to protect students,
faculty and staff from unconsented administration-assisted CIA
investigations. |
|
|
9 of 10 fraternities joined Inter-Fraternity
Council (IFC). |
|
|
Professor Birnbaum won suit against CIA for invasion
of privacy. |
|
|
President Ward announced resignation. |
| 1979 |
|
IFC outlined new fraternity rush rules. |
|
|
Ad Hoc Committee on Affirmative Action reported
on hiring and wage discrimination against female staff and faculty
members. |
|
|
College announced Capital Fund Drive. |
|
|
Trustees announced appointment of Julian Gibbs
(1946) as 15th President. |
|
|
Cross burned in front of Charles Drew House.
Two students suspended for their actions. |
|
|
John William Ward ends tenure as President of
the College. |
President Julian Gibbs, 1979-1983
|
| 1981 |
|
For the first time all nine fraternities accepted women as members. Five houses are coed. |
| 1982 |
|
Five Colleges, Inc. contracts with OCLC to develop a Five College Automated Library System.
Renovation of Fayerweather Hall to become a Fine Art Center begins.
Planning gets underway for a new $3.2 million Seelye-Mudd mathematics and computer sciences building. |
| 1983 |
|
President Julian H. Gibbs, AC 1946, dies in office.
Professor G. Armour Craig, AC 1937, is appointed Acting President.
Conduits for a broadband local area network are initiated.
The Advisory Committee on Student Life reports favorably to the Trustees on the need for a social center.
An Ad Hoc Trustee Committee on Campus Life is appointed. |
| 1984 |
|
Subsequent to the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Trustee Committee on Campus Life chaired by Charles Longsworth, The Board of Trustees recommends abolition of fraternities and construction of a campus center.
The Trustees approve a five-part program of construction and renovation to improve residential and social conditions:
- Fayerweather to become a campus center
- Mead Art building to be renovated and Fine Arts facilities extended
- Milliken Student Health Center to be renovated and converted to dormitory space
- The house at 95 College St. to be renovated to provide student health facilities
- A new dormitory to be built near Jenkins and Taplin
|
President Peter R. Pouncey, 1984-1994
|
| 1984 |
|
Peter R. Pouncey, Professor of Classics at Columbia University and former Dean of Columbia College, is inaugurated as the 16th President of Amherst College.
The Seelye G. Mudd Building opens, housing the Mathematics Department, its library, and the Academic Computer Center.
Greek letter houses are renamed for individuals who were associated with those societies and who had served Amherst memorably.
The Presidential Advisory Committee on Student, Residential, and Social Life is formed.
A $600,000 contract is awarded to Interactive Networks to install a campus broadband local area network.
The President’s Advisory Committee on Investments in South Africa is formed. |
| 1985 |
|
Plans to convert Fayerweather to a Campus Center are abandoned in favor of a new building between Mead and the social dorms. Fine Arts Center plans are cancelled.
The Trustees Committee on Student Life releases its report.
NASA astronaut, Jeffrey A. Hoffman ’66, astronaut, made his first slace flight aboard the shuttle “Discovery.”
The New Gymnasium burns due to electrical failure.
Former President John William Ward dies.
An anonymous alumnus gives a million dollar challenge grant for the Campaign for Amherst.
The student body is divided into six social dorms.
The Trustees vote to divest approximately 35% of the College’s stock in South Africa. |
| 1986 |
|
The five-year Campaign for Amherst closes at $56.5 million in gifts, well above the original goal of $43 million.
Cohan Dormitory is completed, the gift of Donald S. Cohan ’51. Building named in 1989.
The new gymnasium is rebuilt and named for Samuel J. Le Frak for his dedicated support of the College. |
| 1987 |
|
A Women’s and Gender Studies Department is established.
The Trustees vote to divest of all securities in companies doing business in South Africa.
The Trustees vote to increase faculty from 157 to 165 over the next five years.
The Campus Center opens ($7 million, 36,000 sq. ft.).
Stirn Auditorium opens in the Mead Art Building.
Richard Wilbur ’42 named Poet Laureate of the U.S. |
| 1988 |
|
The editorial headquarters of the American Journal of Physics is moved to Amherst, Professor Robert Romer, editor.
The College is reaccredited by the Committee on Institutions of Higher Education of New England Schools and Colleges.
A $310,000 grant from Digital Equipment Corporation is announced for a VAX 8550 computer system to be boused in the Academic Computer Center in Seelye Mudd (replaces the College’s DEC VAX 11/780).
A $300,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is received to improve the teaching of foreign languages and cultures.
$1,700,000 grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to the four colleges are received for improved undergraduate education in biological and related sciences. |
| 1989 |
|
The OCLC computerized library catalogue is operative. Additions to the card catalogue cease.
A Special Committee for the Curriculum is appointed (Marie Huet, chair) to conduct a review of the curriculum.
The Justice Department conducts an antitrust investigation of colleges regarding the setting of tuition rates and financial aid.
Harold Varmus ’61 is awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine.
The Asian Studies Department becomes the Asian Languages and Civilizations Department. The Mathematics Department becomes the Mathematics and Computer Sciences Department. |
| 1990 |
|
The College receives the John J. McCloy ’16 Papers (90 linear feet).
The Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought program is established (to be reviewed at the end of three years).
The former Faculty Club in the White Homestead is remodeled and enlarged to become the Eugene S. Wilson Admissions Center.
Four measures are taken to curb growth in the College’s spending:
- Administrative and staff hiring freeze
- More stringent review of visiting faculty appointments
- 2% growth limit for all expenses except salaries and financial aid
- $1.1 million cut in the 1991 budget
Henry W. Kendall ’50 awarded Nobel Prize in physics jointly with two others.
James I. Merrill ’47 wins national poetry prize from the Library of Congress.
U.S. News and World Report ranks Amherst first among liberal arts colleges nationally (first time in 1983 when s |
