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750
Charlemagne & Education
Charlemange founds the Holy Roman Empire, and begins a period of unification through religion in Europe. The scholar Alquin advises Charlemange to pass legislation that would attach schools to churches across the empire. These would teach reading, writing, psalm-sining, arithmatic, and Latin gammar to young boys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJJg39wFGe8 -
1000
Viking Exploration
What do Vikings have to do with the history of higher education? Were they founding universities in the New World? Was this in our Thelin or Cohen readings? No. This event is included to show the proximity of discovery of The Americas to the medieval era. We often think of our land as being separated from the middle ages by thousands of years; there is more overlap between them than might first appear. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-vikings-a-memorable-visit-to-america-98090935/ -
Period: 1088 to 1365
Establishment of the Studium Generale
The beginings of Europe's first universities. This time period saw the more formal organization and sponsorship of teaching and learning. Studium Generals began as places for students to be taught by masters, with charters and papal bulls being issued to institutions through out this era. Notable beginnins include: 1158 Bologna
1200 Paris
1248 Oxford https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studium_generale -
1096
University of Oxford
Date of founding undertermined, but occured sometime between 1096 and 1167. Holds claim as the oldest institution of higher education in the English speaking world. (Which is a clever distinction that seperates it from older Universities elsewhere in Europe!) https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/history?wssl=1 -
1158
University of Bologna
University of Bologna chartered in Italy, 1158. Some say it was founded in 1088, but as this is unclear I will list founding of medieval universities by their officially recorded chartered dates. -
1200
University of Paris
University of Paris officially chartered By King Phillip II, known as the Sorbonne. -
Jun 18, 1323
St Thomas Aquinas Cannonized
Saint Thomas Aquinas was a champion of scholarship and philosophy. He argued that reason is found in God, and his beliefs reflect the philosophy of Theistic Realism. A great influencer of Catholic schools and education through the Church. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas -
Jamestown Virginia Colony founded
The first permenant settlement of English colonists in North America. Although this event is not directly linked to higher education, it sets in motion the importing of European traditions to the New World. The College of William and Mary (in Virginia) would be founded in 1693. https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm -
Harvard University
Harvard founded in Cambridge, 1636. Oldest university in the New Americas, pre-dates the establishment of the United States. Picture for this event is of the rough sketch of the college arms, with the motto "Veritas" or "Truth" scrawled in 1644. https://www.harvard.edu/about-harvard/harvard-glance/history -
Taxes, Tobacco, and Furs
In 1693 the College of William and Mary was awarded funds from taxes on tobacco and furs. This was also the year the institution was founded. This shows how policy and legislation have affected Universities since their inception in the United States (Thelin, 2011, p.50). -
Alphabetical listing of graduates: College of RI
The College of Rhode Island lists their graduates in alphabetical order during ceremonies in 1769. This is noteable as it eliminates ranking by economic or family status, and deviates from the norm of other institutions at the time (Thelin, 2011, p.23). -
Boston Tea Party
An iconic 1773 protest against British tax laws by American settlers, and part of a chain of events that led up to the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. Included here as it illustrates the chaotic world that surrounded institutions of higher learning in the colonies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party -
US Declaration of Independence
1776, Declaration of Independence signed. (Of note, the source below includes a notice that the "Milestones in the History of US Foreign Relations" section of the US Department of State website will be retired as of mid-2016.) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/declaration -
Yale Report of 1828
Written by faculty at Yale, a report that strongly defends the need for a classic curriculum in institutions of higher learning. The report calls for the continuation of Greek and Latin instruction as means to strengthen the "discipline" and "furniture" of the mind. This influences other universities to follow suit and use the report to build curriculum that centers on human thought and behavioral processes (Cohen, 1998, p.76). -
Women admitted to Oberlin
Oberlin College in Ohio admits the first women in 1837. It claims to be the oldest co-ed private liberal arts college in the US. The school's motto is "Learning & Labor" -
Period: to
The Civil War
American Civil War -
The Morril Act of 1862
The Morril Act of 1862 provides extensive land grants to states, in the service of expanding agricultural and mechanical curriculum. Proceeds from federal land sales were used to fund colleges and universities. https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Morrill.html -
ISU: First Land-Grant
Iowa State University becomes the first school to accept the Morrill Act of 1862 terms, and proudly annouces on the sign pictured below that it "started an education revolution" by doing so. Go Cyclones! -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washinton DC. This event points to greater factors that would influence faculty, students, and administrators at universities in the North and the South. -
Lymann Bagg
Lymann Bagg writes Four Years at Yale in 1869, documenting his journey as a student just after the Civil War. His writing outlines in detail the daily life of college: eating clubs, honor societies, sports, songs, traditions, initiations, and codes of conduct (Thelin, 2011, p. 93-95). This serves as a window into how students lived at the time. -
Morril Land Grant Act of 1890
The second wave of funding from the federal government, pushed by George Atherton of Penn State. He organized fellow land-grant presidents to lobby Washington for additional funds, and received them. This led to the development of agricultural experiment stations, extension programs, and expansion of programming to black colleges in the Southern states. (Thelin, 2011, p.135) -
Rise of HBCU's
Historically Black Colleges and Universities expand in the late 1890's, in part due to legislation like the Morril Act of 1890. -
"Academic Kitchens"
Women begin to be admitted to universities as co-ed programs expand, but are often limited to separate tracks that focus on domestic, educational, or health studies. This was in part an economic descision by administration, it would be more affordable to add women to exisiting institutions than it would be to build exclusivly women's colleges. Nerad, M. (1999). The academic kitchen: A social history of gender stratification at the University of California, Berkeley. SUNY Press. -
Harper's Bazaar
Charismatic president of the University of Chicago, Harper championed the funding and expansion of universities during his time. A man who wore many hats, he established "Harper's Bazaar" (still in publication) and promoted the 1893 Columbian Exposition in downtown Chicago (Thelin, 2011, p.120-122). William Rainey Harper is included in this timeline because of his impact as a charismatic leader, and an example of how administrator personality can shape an entire institution. -
Rise of Midwestern State Universities
Midwestern state universities expand and thrive, partly due to funding from both Morril Land Grant Acts. Pictured below is the most beautiful of all public institutions in the Midwest, my alma mater, The University of Iowa. Go Hawkeyes! -
Women's Sufferage
Women win the right to vote in the USA. -
Period: to
WWII
American involvement in World War Two. -
AAUP Statement on Academic Freedom
The American Assosciation of University Professors publishes a statement on academic freedom. 10 years later academic freedoms would be in conflict with McCarthyism. See link for complete document. https://www.aaup.org/report/1940-statement-principles-academic-freedom-and-tenure -
GI Bill
The Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 provided benefits for veterens returning from World War II. This shifted the landscape of higher education, rapidly expanding colleges and universities as the population of students headed to school boomed. -
McCarthyism
Senator Joe McCarthy hunts for communists in America, academics are forced to testify at hearings to expose "reds" in their ranks. The National Defense Education Act requires students who are receiving loans to sign a loyalty oath. Academic freedom is threatened. -
Period: to
Student Activism
Often connected with events of the Vietnam War, and protest of the late 1960's, student activism on American campuses had actually been thriving since the mid-1950's. Aspects of student life intertwined with the Civil Rights movement, Women's Movement, and led to greater involvement with and empowerment through student goverment. -
Period: to
Korean War
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Period: to
Vietnam War
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Sputnik
Soviet Russia launches Sputnik 1 satellite, a symbolic salvo in the Cold War and indicator that the USSR might lead the "space race". The USA responds in part by funding higher education programs. -
Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon Johnson signs into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is intended to legally end segregation in public spaces, including college campuses. However, many campuses remain unofficially segregated by race and do not become inclusive overnight.. -
Higher Ed Act of 1965
A continued effort towards his Great Society plan, LBJ signs into law the Higher Ed Act of 1965. The act provides for extensive federal funding for students and programs and was intended to bolster access to higher education. The act would go on to be re-authored several times up until 2008. -
Changing Students
The 1970's saw an increase in "non-traditional" students entering into higher education. Professionals headed back to school, and those looking for vocational programming were often serious students with lives outside of academia (Thelin, 2011, p.326). As a result, colleges altered their course schedules, provided more remedial training, and augmented student affairs to adapt to this changing population. Pictured below is the student dining area in Brockport, circa 1973. -
Rise of Community Colleges
The shift in student demographics led to a rise in community colleges across the nation. Their open admission policies served a wide variety of students. Certification, vocational, and continuing education programs flourished in community colleges in the 1970's (Thelin, 2011, p.332). -
Title IX
Title IX of the Educational Amendments is signed into law. This prohibits discrimination along the lines of sex or gender for federally funded programs. Although athletics are not formally mentioned in the legislation, it will become known as the ruling that opens doors for women's' sports on college campuses nationwide. https://www.justice.gov/crt/overview-title-ix-education-amendments-1972-20-usc-1681-et-seq -
Shifts in Research
The decline of federal funding for research purposes in the 1980's saw a shift in patterns, with industry becoming more heavily involved in funding at the university level. Biotech and electronics fields benefitted especially from the new relationships between the private sector and institutions. (Cohen, 1998, p. 415 to 419). -
ADA
The American's with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. It builds on the work of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and provides provisions against discrimination for citizens with disabilities. As they did with the changes brought by the Civil Rights Act, institutions of higher education would have to adapt to this legislation to receive federal funding. https://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm
