Baldwin Wallace University history

Baldwin Institute became Baldwin University in 1856.

Options were thin, and the United Methodist Church considered merging the schools with the more successful Ohio Wesleyan University in 1874, to form the University of Cleveland.

In 1898, BW began a journey that would give birth to an internationally respected Conservatory of Music — one of the few in the nation housed in a liberal arts institution.

Baldwin University and German Wallace College merged in 1913 to form Baldwin–Wallace College.

In 1932, together with his wife, Selma, Riemenschneider founded a Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, which continues to receive acclaim as the nation’s oldest collegiate Bach Festival.

The last sitting president prior to Obama to visit BW was Ronald Reagan during George H. W. Bush's 1988 Presidential run.

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, BW hosted eventual President Barack Obama and 2008 Presidential candidate John McCain.

In the fall of 2011, a task force was developed by BW President Dick Durst.

The Baldwin Wallace University Public History program began admitting students in 2014.

The 2016 Presidential campaign resulted in visits from Bernie Sanders and BW hosting Ohio Governor John Kasich's Ohio Presidential Primary election night party.

While BW's formal affiliation with the United Methodist Church ended in 2019, the historic connection to our Methodist founders is demonstrated through the values of respect, integrity and inclusion that are important threads in the fabric of the institution today.