Carroll University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River adjacent to th ...

, United States. It was established in 1846 as Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. The university is affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

History

Prior to its establishment, what is now Carroll University was Prairieville Academy which was founded in 1841. Its charter—named for

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic signatory ...

, a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

—was passed into law by the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature on January 31, 1846. During the 1860s, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and financial difficulty caused Carroll to temporarily suspend operations. The board of trustees voted unanimously to change the institution's name from Carroll College to Carroll University effective July 1, 2008.

Presidents

*John Adams Savage: 1850–1863 *Rensellaer B. Hammond: 1863–1864 *Walter L. Rankin: 1866–1871*, 1893–1903 *Wilbur Oscar Carrier: 1903–1917 *Herbert Pierpoint Houghton: 1918–1920 * William Arthur Ganfield: 1921–1939 *Gerrit T. Vander Lugt: 1940–1946 *Nelson Vance Russell: 1946–1951 *Robert D. Steele: 1952–1967 *John T. Middaugh: 1967–1970 *Robert V. Cramer: 1971–1988 *Dan C. West: 1988–1992 *Frank S. Falcone: 1993–2006 *Douglas N. Hastad: 2006–2017 *

Cindy Gnadinger Cindy Gnadinger is an American educator and academic administrator, currently serving as the 15th President of Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Early life and education A native of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Gnadinger earned a Bachel ...

: 2017- * Between July 31, 1871, and June 22, 1893, no college work was carried on. While the charter retained the college privileges, teaching was on the academy level. College work was resumed and the office of the presidency was filled again in 1893.

Campus

The campus is home to a variety of nineteenth and early 20th century historical buildings, including Sneeden House (a 1922 colonial home now used as a guesthouse and conference center) and MacAllister Hall (a renovated, 19th-century mansion that now houses offices for the CFO, English, modern language, computational and physical sciences, chemistry, and the Division of Arts and Sciences).

Academics

Carroll University offers more than 95 areas of study at the

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

level, with master's degrees and certificates in selected subjects, as well as one clinical doctorate program in physical therapy. Its most popular undergraduate majors, based on number, out of 580 graduates in 2022, were: *Exercise Science and Kinesiology (105) *Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (100) *Psychology (37) *Biology/Biological Sciences (36) *Business Administration and Management (33) *Elementary Education and Teaching (31) Carroll University ranked 31st in Regional Universities Midwest in '' U.S. News & World Report'' 2022 America's Best Colleges. In 2018, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked Carroll 594th among 650 colleges in the United States.America's Top Colleges Ranking 2015: Carroll University
. ''Forbes'', July 29, 2015. In 2018, ''

Money Magazine ''Money'' is an American brand and a personal finance website owned by Money Group. From its 1972 founding until 2018, it was a monthly magazine published by Time Inc. and subsequently by Meredith Corporation from 2018 to 2019. Its articles co ...

'' ranked Carroll 613th among 727 colleges in the United States.

Traditions

Since the 1960s, bagpipes have been a part of Carroll's opening convocation and commencement ceremony. Freshmen are escorted to their first assembly by a lone bagpiper, and upon graduation are led to commencement by a band of bagpipers.

Athletics

Carroll athletic teams are the Pioneers. The university is a member of the

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. CCIW schools have accounted for 50 national championships in ...

(CCIW) since the 2016–17 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1955–56 to 1992–93. Carroll competes in 23 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Football

The

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

program at Carroll began in the late 1890s. Past head coaches include

Glenn Thistlethwaite Glenn Franklin Thistlethwaite (March 18, 1885 – October 6, 1956) was an American football, basketball, baseball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Illinois College (1908), Earlham College (1909–1912), Northwes ...

Vince DiFrancesca Vincent DiFrancesca (January 1, 1922 – May 21, 2007) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Western Illinois University from 1949 to 1953, at Iowa State University from 1954 to 1956, and at Carroll Co ...

, and

Matty Bell William Madison "Matty" Bell (February 22, 1899 – June 30, 1983) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He played for Centre, captain of its 1918 team. He served as the head foot ...

. The current coach is

Mike Budziszewski Michael Budziszewski (born ) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for Carroll University, a position he has held since 2020. He also coached for Wisconsin–Oshkosh, New Berlin Eisenhower Middle/High School, Win ...

, who replaced

Mark Krzykowski Mark Krzykowski (born ) is an American college athletics administrator and former college football coach. He is an assistant athletic director at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wauke ...

after the 2019 season.

Student newspaper

''The New Perspective'' (TNP) is a

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...

at Carroll University. The paper is published every other Tuesday during the academic year, except during holidays, semester breaks, and exam periods. Its circulation is 1,500. ''The New Perspective'' is free and distributed throughout the campus and city. The paper was founded in 1874 as the ''Carroll Echo''. In 1968, the name of the paper was changed to ''The Perspective''. In 1976, Gary Stevens, the faculty advisor for the newspaper, suggested the editor-in-chief position be replaced with an editorial staff. The Student Senate approved the idea. With this change came another name change, to ''The New Perspective''.

Notable alumni

Steven Burd Steven A. Burd (born 1949) is an American businessman. He served as chairman, president and CEO of Safeway Inc. from October 26, 1992, to May 14, 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Early life Burd received a Bachelor of Science degr ...

, former chairman and president of

Safeway Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops, and veh ...

* Howard Fuller, civil rights activist *

Donald Goerke Donald Edward Goerke (August 8, 1926 – January 10, 2010) was an American business executive and food developer. While working for the Franco-American division of the Campbell Soup Company in 1965, he invented SpaghettiOs, and was thereafter ...

, inventor of Spaghetti-Os

Notable faculty

* Cardon V. Burnham, composer *

Edward Daniels Edward Dwight Daniels (1828–1916) was a geologist, abolitionist, and Civil War soldier. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he moved to Wisconsin at age 21 to pursue a career as a geologist and academic. He became the first state geologist of Wiscons ...

, abolitionist & U.S. Civil War cavalry officer *

Jeffrey Douma Jeffrey Douma is the Director of the Yale Glee Club and the Marshall Bartholomew Professor in the Practice of Choral Music at the Yale School of Music. He is the founding Director of the Yale Choral Artists and serves as Artistic Director of the Ya ...

, current Yale University music professor and choir director *

Edward Payson Evans Edward Payson Evans (December 8, 1831 – March 6, 1917) was an American scholar, linguist, educator, and early advocate for animal rights. He is best known for his 1906 book on animal trials, ''The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of ...

, historian & linguist *

Tamara Grigsby Tamara D. Grigsby (November 19, 1974 – March 14, 2016) was an American social worker, academic, and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly by representing the 18th Assembly District from 2005 until 2013. Early life ...

, Wisconsin State Representative *

Ray Wendland Ray Theodore Wendland (July 11, 1911 – November 30, 1986) was an American experimental chemist and academician. Education Wendland was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July, 1911, and educated at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, ...

, petrochemist * Viola S. Wendt, poet

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{authority control Waukesha, Wisconsin Liberal arts colleges in Wisconsin Universities and colleges established in 1846 Private universities and colleges in Wisconsin Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Buildings and structures in Waukesha County, Wisconsin Education in Waukesha County, Wisconsin 1846 establishments in Wisconsin Territory