Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 3,200 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The 94-acre (380,000 m2) Glenside campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark; the university also includes a campus in Christiana, Del., as well as several centers around the world.
History
Beaver Female Seminary
The Arcadia University legacy begins in 1853, in Western Pennsylvania, when Sylvania Jones and Juliet A. Poundstone left their family homes in Lafayette County, to pursue an education. The students accompanied Dr. Sheridan Baker, principal at the Brownsville School they had attended, to the newly chartered Beaver Female Seminary.
Led by President Baker, Beaver teaches liberal arts, ancient history, rhetoric, logic, and analogy during an era when few colleges for young women exist. In 1872 the school attained collegiate status, with the name of the Beaver College and Musical Institute.
Beaver College
In the late 19th century, the college became coeducational for the first time. In 1907, Beaver College and Musical Institute is simplified to Beaver College. Enrollment was again limited to women.
In 1925, the college moved east across Pennsylvania to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, to the Beechwood Hall estate. This location afforded larger facilities, an adequate campus, and greater development opportunities, increasing enrollment but maintaining the advantages of a small college. In 1928, the Trustees secured a nearby estate in Glenside, Pennsylvania. This spacious property offered unique stone buildings, including the now iconic Grey Towers Castle.
Professor Benton Spruance was made full professor and chair of the Art Department in 1933, served on the Board of Trustees, and was involved with the Philadelphia Art Commission. In 1953, it led to a city ordinance requiring that one percent of construction costs for new public buildings be allocated to the creation and placement of artwork. This "percent for the arts" was a cornerstone for funding public art in the U.S.
In the summer of 1948, a Beaver College economics instructor, his wife, and 17 undergraduate women arrived in post-World War II Europe. The group sails from New York City to Southampton, England, on a mission of education and discovering post-war rebuilding efforts. This post-World War II cohort was the precursor to what would be one of the largest and most renowned international study programs in the United States. Arcadia continues to be a pioneer in study abroad.
Beaver College constructed eight new campus buildings, established the Center for Education Abroad, and, in 1973, became coeducational again. In the mid-1960s the institution consolidated all campuses to Glenside.
In 1985, Dr. Bette Landman was appointed president, the first female president in the institution's history. Her tenure saw the dedication of the Kuch Athletic and Recreation Center, the establishment of Preview, joining the NCAA Division III, and, in 1992, membership of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference. Under her leadership, Beaver College achieved university status, and was led through the transition from Beaver College to Arcadia University.
Arcadia University
On November 20, 2000, it was announced that Beaver College would become Arcadia University. The official change of name and status occurred at a formal ceremony on July 16, 2001. During the first quarter of the 21st century, the university established six academic colleges and schools, including the College of Global Studies as the first college of a university dedicated to international education.
In April 2018, Dr. Ajay Nair was named the 22nd president of Arcadia University. As the first person of color to serve as President, and one of a dozen Indian American presidents at colleges and universities in the U.S., Dr. Nair's focus on innovation helps the university remain flexible and visionary in working to meet the needs of students in the 21st century. A social justice scholar and an expert in student affairs, Dr. Nair made increasing diversity throughout the university, especially at the leadership level, a priority.