10. Three Schools, 1983–. Three developments came together in 1983 to dramatically alter the composition of Susquehanna’s academic program—a significant addition to the endowment by local businessman Charles Degenstein; the heritage of “university”; and the vision of Academic Dean Joel Cunningham. Degenstein wanted to help Susquehanna and celebrate his father-in-law, Sigmund Weis, a 1903 graduate of Susquehanna. A faculty committee had earlier suggested that Susquehanna should more effectively use “university” as a definition. Thus, under Cunningham’s guidance, three schools were formed—the Sigmund Weis School of Business, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Fine Arts and Communications. Although these schools were reshuffled in form in 1998, the School of Business’ accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) was an impetus for a general, universitywide improvement in institutional quality.

9. G. Morris Smith, 1928–1958. A Lutheran pastor who assumed the presidency at the age of 37, Smith served the college for 30 years, overseeing its survival through the Great Depression, World War II and the tumult of the postwar world. Smith saw his tasks through the lens of American Lutheran piety, emphasizing humility, work and simplicity. He held power closely, so that these values resonated through the college community. A conservative in values and actions, his steadfastness ensured that Susquehanna would survive perilous times but was less effective when change was in the wind.

8. Athletics, 1959–1964. While football is the flagship of collegiate sports, defining and unifying an institution of higher education, intercollegiate contests in many other sports are also important to students and alumni. In the early 1960s, athletics at Susquehanna enjoyed a golden age. Women’s basketball and field hockey had winning seasons; men’s basketball, track and baseball attained winning seasons; and the football team had dramatic successes. Under Coach James Garrett, football compiled a 39-4-1 record and enjoyed a winning streak of 22 straight games. Among its victories was a win against Temple University in November 1963. This extraordinary level of success could not be sustained. In 1965, wins turned to losses, and the architect of this success, Coach Garrett, left the university.

7. Campus Expansion, 1959–1968. In 1968 the college community gathered with many local and regional economic, political and social leaders to celebrate the first 10 years of the “new Susquehanna.” The most visible signs of the college’s growth were many new buildings and a doubling of campus grounds. Among the buildings constructed were Smith, Reed, Aikens, and West halls, the Degenstein Campus Center, Fisher Science Hall, Weber Chapel and new football stands. A new gymnasium and library were in the planning stages. These new buildings were motivated by President Weber’s vision and a need to serve a student body that had more than doubled in size.

6. Academic Reorganization, 1899–1904. President Charles Heisler had a brief tenure at Susquehanna, serving from 1899 to 1901, but during that time he encouraged brisk change in the school’s academic structure. The result was a university in the European mold: a College of the Liberal Arts and a School of Theology, and shortly thereafter an Academy, a School of Business, a Conservatory and a School of Expression. These separate academic offerings were generated by a small and ambitious faculty at what was then a “protean school” simply doing its best to serve students and stay alive. Subsequently, this ambitious program was narrowed, until by the mid-1930s only an undergraduate program remained.

5. The Rev. Dr. Gustave Weber, 1959–1977. Weber’s tenure as president of Susquehanna University can be divided into two parts. The first 10 years were marked by great change, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The last eight years were marked by efforts to absorb and control the effects of this change. During the first 10 years the campus buildings and grounds expanded remarkably. The student body and faculty more than doubled in size. The administrative order grew in number and took over many tasks previously assumed by students, and an unintended revolution in the school’s mission occurred. In the last eight years of the Weber years, the academic calendar and curriculum were completely revised. The mission of the school was reformed, and the student body was freed from old restraints, with interesting consequences. It was during this time that the college’s unbalanced budget became a serious problem.

4. Selinsgrove Hall. In 1858 the Missionary Institute was constructed as a physical and programmatic entity. Local craftsmen using local materials built an Italianate Renaissance structure, topped by a cupola typical of buildings from 1840 to 1860. In the beginning, the family of the principal of the Classical Department (the liberal arts program) lived in the northern half of the first floor, with classrooms and a chapel in the southern half. Male students lived on the upper two floors. In 1894, when Susquehanna University was drawn from the Missionary Institute, the building was renamed Selinsgrove Hall to honor the citizens of the town responsible for the school’s location. Over the years, classrooms, dormitory rooms, a small library and a chapel were located in this building, which ultimately was given over solely to administrative offices.

3. Dr. Joel Cunningham, 1979–2000. Serving as the vice president for academic affairs from 1979 to 1984 and president from 1984 to 2000, Cunningham had a significant impact on the development of Susquehanna University. As academic dean, he created the three-school structure that now exists; led a reshaping of the calendar and curriculum in 1984; and established the mission of the school as a “community of inquiry.” As president, he set the school on a solid financial footing, both by balancing its budget and enlarging the endowment many times over; eased tensions with the Lutheran Church; oversaw the expansion and refurbishment of most of the campus buildings; and saw the quality of Susquehanna’s students and their programs of study improve dramatically.

2. The Rev. Henry Ziegler, 1858–1881. A protégé of Benjamin Kurtz, Ziegler was a Lutheran pastor who was the assistant superintendent and second professor of theology from 1858 to 1865. When Kurtz died, Ziegler took his place, serving until 1881, when he resigned. Ziegler was the son-in-law of John App, who gave the school its initial property. He was instrumental in getting the institution going, serving as de facto president during Kurtz’s many absences; writing the school’s charter; designing the Missionary Institute building (Selinsgrove Hall); and fulfilling its founding mission—to educate impoverished men called to preach the gospel—in the double-sided cottages he built between 1868 and 1873. He was among several of the school’s leaders who nearly worked himself to death to make sure the institution survived.

1. The Rev. Benjamin Kurtz, 1858–1865. The founder of the Missionary Institute, forerunner of Susquehanna University, Kurtz was a Lutheran pastor from Baltimore who gained influence and notoriety as editor of the Lutheran Observer, the largest English-language Lutheran weekly in antebellum America. Kurtz used the paper to publicize a competition he was propagating to start a Lutheran school sympathetic with his religious views. These views were liberal, democratic and quite American in nature. However, by the 1850s, they were being surmounted among Lutherans by the more conservative, orthodox views held by numerous immigrants coming from Germany in the 1840s and 1850s and by young, recently educated Lutheran pastors who were native to America. Once the school was established, Kurtz was the superintendent and first professor of theology, even though he never moved from Baltimore to Selinsgrove. The founder is celebrated by a Celtic Cross in front of Selinsgrove Hall.