A Lutheran College Located in Virginia Small College Benefits

Roanoke College was founded in 1842 as a preparatory school for boys, near Mt. Tabor Church, about eight miles from Staunton, Virginia. The dreamchild of two Lutheran pastors, David F. Bittle and Christopher C. Baughman, the Virginia Institute attracted local boys to its classes to prepare them for Gettysburg College and, hopefully, the Seminary. In 1845 the State incorporated the school as the Virginia Collegiate Institute. Bittle left the school, returning to full-time ministry in Maryland. Seeking a better location and a greater population from which to recruit students, Baughman moved the Institute to what would become its permanent home in Salem, Virginia, in 1847. Baughman served the school as principal from the beginning until 1853. In that year, the Virginia Legislature granted the Institute its collegiate charter under the name Roanoke College, and David Bittle returned to accept the presidency.

David Bittle was a man of great vision who believed deeply in the value of education. Under his able and vigorous leadership, the College grew not only in physical plant but also in enrollment and reputation. Roanoke was one of the few southern colleges to remain open during the Civil War. The College also saw the importance of maintaining alumni ties. An Alumni Association was begun in the early 1870s, with regional and on-campus reunions. The Roanoke Collegian, first published in 1875, was an outlet for literary expression, student activities, and alumni news. At the time of Bittle's sudden death in 1876, the College could proudly boast 171 students, seven faculty, 13,000 books, and Bittle's pride and joy: 10,000 mineral specimens.

Julius Dreher, an alumnus and Roanoke's third president, continued the forward-thinking tradition of David Bittle. Dreher concentrated on strengthening the College's financial base and further expanding student enrollment. Dreher was also a firm believer in education, but he included an emphasis on internationalization long before that idea came into vogue. In the 1870s through the 1890s, Dreher recruited heavily among the Choctaw in Oklahoma Territory. Many of these students returned to leadership roles in the Choctaw Nation. The first Mexican student came in 1876 and the first Japanese student in 1888. The first two Koreans ever to graduate from an American college or university received their degrees at Roanoke (Surh Kiu Beung in 1898 and Kimm Kiusic in 1903).

The presidency of John Alfred Morehead was marked by a flurry of building activity in the teens which would make Roanoke more fully residential. Sections IV and the Commons allowed more students to live and eat on campus. The several-decades-long student complaint about the lack of an athletic facility was finally solved with the building of a gymnasium. Now basketball cheers could be added to those around the football field. And students could read about their victories and losses in The Brackety-Ack, begun in 1915.

Near and dear to the hearts of 29 years of alumni is Roanoke's fifth president, Charles J. Smith, '01 (Dr. Charlie). Under his leadership, the College enrollment grew from 200 to over 600, and the faculty increased from 16 to 44. Curriculum changes brought expanded course offerings, the B.S. degree, majors, and more electives. Campus improvements included a new gymnasium, a chemistry building, an expanded physics building, a dormitory, an infirmary, and faculty apartments. But beyond its physical appearance, the campus took on a new look in other ways. With the improvement in public education, one of Dr. Charlie's first decisions was to eliminate the preparatory school. And in 1930, women were admitted on a status equal to men, although initially only as a temporary expediency. If women were here to stay, and indeed they held down the fort during World War II, football was not. One of Dr. Charlie's most difficult and controversial decisions was to eliminate football, mainly for economic reasons.

When Dr. H. Sherman Oberly took the helm in 1949, he faced the challenge of declining enrollment after the initial postwar influx. Oberly met the crisis with a vigorous recruitment plan, an increase in Admissions staff, and a revitalization of alumni chapters. The College added Bartlett and Fox halls to accommodate the larger student body, and purchased the Methodist Church buildings for a chapel, dormitory, and office space. But the capstone to Oberly's presidency was the new library, opened in 1962, with its "Operation Bookswitch" and the singing of the new Alma Mater Hymn. Its holdings included 50,400 books and 346 periodicals, with a full-time staff of 3. When Oberly retired in 1963, the College enrollment exceeded 800 and faculty stood at 53.

Perry Kendig oversaw the biggest expansion in Roanoke's history. Participating in the college boom across the nation, Roanoke's enrollment jumped from 800 to 1,250; its faculty increased to 65; and its endowment climbed from $1.1 million to nearly $5 million. The building program was even more dramatic: Crawford, Bowman, and Marion dormitories; four fraternity houses; Antrim Chapel; and the Science complex. Academically, the College introduced the 4:1:4 calendar with its Inter-term as well as the distribution system, and named its first Bittle Scholars. Also, the College integrated. Phased out were things like dress codes, ratting, May Day, and Homecoming. And, of course, in 1972 the Roanoke basketball team won the NCAA Division II championship.

Norm Fintel, too, faced the obstacles of a potential decrease in student population and economic retrenchment. Meeting the challenge head on, the Admissions recruiters hit the road and the Resource Development staff undertook an aggressive fund-raising effort, particularly its decade-long Sesquicentennial Campaign. Student numbers increased and the endowment climbed dramatically (from $5 million to $25 million). The building of Bast Center, the purchase of Elizabeth Campus and the old Roanoke County Courthouse, the addition to Olin Hall, and the renovation of Sections, the Student Center, and the Library all enhanced the physical facility at Roanoke. The academic climate improved with a further revision of the calendar, the introduction of the Honors Program, and an increase in financial aid to attract more students. On the sporting scene, the 1978 lacrosse team won the NCAA Division II title, and the basketball team won the ODAC crown in each of the first seven years it was in the league.

David Gring inherited a college on the brink of a Sesquicentennial celebration. And celebrate we did (with publication of a new College history, fireworks, a Founder's Day, and the dedication of the newly renovated and expanded Fintel Library, named in honor of Norm and Jo Fintel). Barely had the celebrations concluded when the College turned its attention forward once more with the 2002 Plan. In its 17th decade, Roanoke is moving ahead to take its place within the shrinking global community, through initiatives in the areas of technological advancement and international focus. With an endowment of $83.1 million and growing, Roanoke looks to its future as a premier liberal arts institution.

Printer-friendly version E-mail this page