William Alfred Millis,
The History of Hanover College
From 1827 to 1927
(Hanover, Indiana: Hanover College, 1927).

Hanover Historical Texts Project

Scanned and proofread by Sadiye Amcaoglu, Nida Khan,
Julie Merkel, Jonathan Perry, Faiza Shah, and Cory Sims in November 2000.

I. Introduction.

Object to give a picture of the growth of the College as an institution; Sources of material; What in general the picture shows.

II. John Finley Crowe, "TWICE THE FOUNDER."

Early life; activities as founder, trustee, professor and agent; The strong man of the Faculty.

III. The Corporation.

When, where and by whom organized; Objects of organizers and supporters; How governed; The charters - revisions and provisions; Trustees - selection, tenure, qualifications.

IV. The Presidents.

Brief sketches of individual men and their administrations; General ability, scholarship, personal contributions to the College; Productive work; How selected, salaries, powers, tenure.

V. The College and the Church.

College and Presbyterian Church of Hanover; College and Presbytery; College and the Synod of Indiana; The College and the Boards; Denominational character; The Theological Seminary.

VI. The College and Indiana.

Location, reasons for; Change of sites; Various attempts at removal; Presbytery and Synod twice select the present site; Sentimental attachments; Advantages of location; Hanover's contribution to leadership in Indiana; Hanover as a part of the educational system of Indiana.

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VII. Financial Struggle for Existence.

Sources of endowments and income; Tuition charges at different periods; Other sources of income; Proportion of cost paid by student at different periods; Growth of assets.

VIII. Plant and Equiptment.

The old campus; New campus; College Farm; Story of the several buildings, costs, reconstruction; The building program; Laboratories, observatory, library, gymnasium, dormitory.

IX. Objectives.

Education of young men for the ministry; Doctor Blythe's broader outlook; The "Manual Labor System"; Required by charter provisions; Failure of the system; Publication of church paper; Law School; Teacher Training; Pre-technical courses; Hanover essentially and consistently a Lieral Arts College.

X. The Curriculum.

The course of study adopted in 1830; Adoption verbatim of course of Miami University; Doctor MacMaster's revision; Hebrew; Struggle of the Natural Sciences for recognition; Classical and Scientific courses; Present Course of Study; Suspension of Preparatory Department; Graduate work; Advanced Degrees.

XI. Entrance and Graduation Requirements.

Academic requirements at different periods; age and character qualifications; Sub-rosa admission of women, 1869; Admission to full standing, 1880; Negroes not admitted; Do high schools prepare for college entrance as efficiently as the Preparatory Department?; Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts - prescribed and optional subjects, qualitative requirements.

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XII. The Faculty.

Faculty selection of its own members; The scholarship of professors; Consideration of character and experience; inspirational powers; Professorial dignity; Church connections; Tenure; A roll of honor; The teaching load; Professor's salaries; Administrative duties; Intimate personal contact of teacher and student; Faculty families; Catalogue of Professors.

XIII. Methods of Instruction.

The recitation, laboratory and lecture methods; Use of library; Text books - selection, character; Influence of the introduction of science on methods of teaching; Change from abstract to concrete instruction; Teaching for personal use.

XIV. The Hanover Student.

Social status of students, descendants of sturdy pioneer stock; Hanover primarily an Indiana institution; Attendance from other states; Majority of students within the fifty-mile radius; Sources of students by decades; Sources of Indiana students by counties; Attendance from Jefferson County; Total net attendance by years from 1833 to 1926 inclusive; Student conduct; Volume and character of discipline by Faculty; Improvement of student conduct; Self-government.

XV. Student Activities.

The Literary Societies; The Christian Associations; Fraternities; Student Publications; Athletics; Other activities.

XVI. Student Life.

Student life wholesome; Living in private homes; Dormitories; Fraternity houses; Keeping expenses low; Expenses by decades; Comparative costs at Hanover and other colleges; The cost of student pleasure life; Scholarships; The Rotary Loan Fund; How Dr. Wiley lived; How Hanover students have dressed; The transportation problem; [Page 6] Waiting for the mail; Inauguration of telephone service; Student pleasure life.

XVII. The Alumni.

Their successes general; Found in all parts of the world; Distribution by vocations; The Alumni Record; Number of graduates by classes from 1834 to 1926; Hanover's contribution to Religion, Science, Government and Education notable; Growth of the scholarly spirit.

XVIII. A Chapter of Reminiscences.

A picture of the College during and immediately following the Civil War, by Dr. Edward P. Whallon and Dr. Stanley Coulter.

XIX. Looking Backward and Forward.

A valiant struggle with adversity in many forms; Poverty, the ever-present source of difficulty; The self-forgetting devotion of the early faculties; Hanover's rich heritage of prayer; The obstacle of location; The competition of tax-supported institutions; Church support; The problem of standardization; "The System of Things"; The first century ends in victory; The future bright with great promise.

XX. Chronological.

A table of the more important events in the history of the College.