The History Of
Lawrence University

When the first president of Lawrence went to found it, he had two important mentors. The first was Henry R Colman who provided funds for this school with just $10K and matched by his own money as well; then there's Amos Adams Lawrence-a philanthropist Episcopalian temple forefather that gave all he could give back then when no one else would take care or recognize what kids needed most: an education past high school level so they might better themselves someday too. When the school was originally named Lawrence Institute of Wisconsin in its 1847 charter from the Territorial Legislature, it had only males enrolled. However, by November 1850 there were several hundred female students at this college, and they too could study all subjects under one roof. This is why we call it a coeducational University - because both men AND women studied here. Between 1894 and 1924, Lawrence's student population quadrupled from 200 to 800. This period of growth was led by alumnus Samuel G Plantz as president who instituted many changes for the school during his thirty-year tenure including creating new departments within journalism or business administration. From 1913-1964, the college had a small and liberal arts education focus. This changed after mergers with other schools that allowed for more space on campus as well an opportunity to offer courses outside of just literature or mathematics; these innovations helped shape what we know today about higher-level learning. During World War II, Lawrence College was one of 131 colleges and universities in the nation that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which offered students a path to a Navy commission. Undergraduate studies at Lawrence is a mandatory two-term class, in which all students study the same selected 11 classic works of literature and music. The list varies from year to year but always contains key texts by philosophers like Montaigne or Beethoven's 7th Symphony (among others). President Nathan M Pusey began this program for himself after World War II had ended; however Professor Waples headed up what would become known as "freshmen" Studies committee - responsible not only implementing its ideas into practice throughout campus life but also designing an altogether new system where each undergraduate student could find his/her own special niche while learning more about themselves along the way.