Marshall University history

On March 30, 1838, the institution was formally dedicated by the Virginia General Assembly as Marshall Academy; however this institution was not a college level institution as that was understood at that time.

In 1843 Peter Whetstone, founder of Marshall, gave ten acres of land for educational purposes.

In 1853 Marshall College moved to Lancaster, Pa., and merged with Franklin College to form Franklin & Marshall College.

In 1858, the Virginia General Assembly changed the name to Marshall College, but this change still did not reflect its status as a true college.

On June 20, 1863, Cabell County, Virginia, was one of the 50 counties separated from Virginia at the height of the American Civil War to form the State of West Virginia, and the college fell within the new state.

In 1867, the West Virginia Legislature resurrected the institution as a teacher training facility and renamed it State Normal School of Marshall College.

He purchased land then called Holderby’s Landing, and the city was incorporated in 1871 and renamed Huntington.

After the railroad came through in 1873, the town began to prosper.

With the exception of the Old Main building, expansion of the facilities and the college itself did not begin until 1907, when the West Virginia Board of Regents changed the title of the presiding officer from "principal" to "president" and allowed the creation of new college-level departments.

The school began offering four-year degrees for the first time in 1920.

The West Virginia Board of Education authorized Marshall College in 1938 to offer the master's degree in six programs: chemistry, education, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, as the institution underwent another expansion.

Also in 1961, WMUL-FM began operations as the first public radio station in West Virginia.

Franklin & Marshall College became coeducational in 1969.

The leaders of the "Young Thundering Herd" (to which the team officially changed its name for the 1971 season) were the few players who did not make the trip due to injury or disciplinary action.

The School of Medicine was founded in 1974, and several regional centres are associated with it.

The university rebuilt its athletic program back to respectability, and in 1977, the university joined the Southern Conference.

In 1997, Marshall merged with the University of West Virginia College of Graduate Studies (COGS), with the latter being renamed Marshall University Graduate College.

In 1998, the John Deaver Drinko Library opened on campus.

In 2010 the university was authorized to begin offering undergraduate classes in South Charleston and renamed the facility Marshall University - South Charleston Campus.

The Public History Certificate Program at Marshall University accepted its first applicants to the program in 2012.

In 2013 Marshall began construction on a new indoor practice facility, a new soccer field and the Applied Engineering complex.

Named after former Marshall president, the Stephen J. Kopp Hall broke ground on June 18, 2018.

Along with this, a new student housing complex was built alongside the new pharmacy school and opened in August 2019.

In August 2020 Marshall broke ground on a new school of aviation to be built at Yeager Airport in Charleston, WV. The Bill Noe Flight School will feature a 10,000 sq ft. academic building, a hangar, and an aircraft parking apron.

These new programs are set to begin accepting students starting in Fall 2021, with additional programs being added in the future.