University of Northwestern - St. Paul history

1904 | First graduate Anna Gooch receives her diploma May 4 and sails for Burma Sept.

1905 | The school's first purchased property at Sixth South (later known as Fireside and finally as Firetrap) is refurbished for offices, classrooms and a residence as the school outgrows the church space.

Particular attention will be given to the political, economic, and diplomatic developments in this region since 1914, including the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, Iraq, and United States Middle East Policies.

1920 | In the greatest single step forward by the school, Lyman Court is purchased to accommodate the increasing enrollment after WWI. The three residence buildings house 225 students and are renamed Lyman, Russell, and Stimson Halls.

1922 | The growing number of married students necessitates the purchase of two more buildings at Yale and 13th Street.

1923 | Jackson Hall is completed with offices and classrooms.

1935 | With 47 students, the Northwestern Theological Seminary opens its doors to equip men to fill larger pastorates whose congregations do not want to draw from liberal seminaries.

1948 | The campus moves to Memorial Hall on Loring Park.

Since its first broadcast in 1949, Northwestern Media, a ministry of Northwestern, has been a beacon of hope.

1950 | The Fine Arts Building is purchased for the music and speech departments, and Mitchell Hall houses the department of missionary medicine and school infirmary.

1952 | Billy Graham, answering God's irresistible call to full-time evangelistic ministry, resigns as president.

1953 | Doctor Richard Elvee becomes the school's third president and begins laying the groundwork for accreditation.

1957 | Doctor Curtis B. Akenson, who succeeded W.B. Riley as pastor of First Baptist Church, becomes the fourth president.

Despite gaining national prominence under Graham, the college temporarily closes in 1966 for restructuring and relocation.

1970 | The 87-acre Nazareth Hall campus is purchased from the Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis for $2,579,000.

Guided by the leadership and faith of William B. Berntsen, the college reopens in 1972 on its current St Paul campus and begins to expand.

1973 | Moyer Residence, a new concept in residential living, is completed to house 80 women as Northwestern's first on-campus residence.

1977 | Northwestern celebrates its Diamond Jubilee (75 years) with an outdoor rally featuring Rev.

1978 | Twenty-two years after the process began, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools grants accreditation, a historic step in Northwestern's emergence as a liberal arts college.

1982 | Totino Fine Arts Center is completed thanks to a generous $4 million gift from Rose Totino, who came to know the Lord through Northwestern Media's KTIS. Cafe Nazareth is completed in the lower level of Nazareth Hall to give Northwestern a much bigger and aesthetically-pleasing dining hall.

1985 | Doctor Donald Ericksen becomes president and Doctor Berntsen becomes the college's first chancellor.

1990 | Northwestern College mourns the passing of Chancellor Bill Berntsen.

1992 | The library moves into the new Berntsen Resource Center as the fourth floor of Nazareth Hall is remodeled for much-needed office space and classrooms.

1994 | The Center for Distance Education is introduced and the Child Development Center in nearby EagleCrest retirement center opens.

1996 | Ericksen Center is completed, finally giving Northwestern an intercollegiate-level sports facility.

1999 | FOCUS introduces the Pathway Project, an associate of arts program for adults.

2000 | A partnership with MacLaurin Institute on the University of Minnesota campus enables Northwestern faculty to teach Bible courses to university students for transferable credit.

2002 | Doctor Alan S. Cureton becomes Northwestern's eighth president as the college celebrates its centennial with special events and observances throughout the 2002–03 academic year.

2003 | The Mel Johnson Media Center is completed as the headquarters for Northwestern Media and KTIS. The building also houses the academic department of communication.

The Getty Foundation awarded Northwestern a generous Campus Heritage Grant in 2004 which led to extensive research on our historic buildings and the development of a preservation plan for them.

2005 | The Center for Graduate Studies begins, offering a Master of Organizational Leadership.

2007 | The Eagle Scholars Honors program expands.

2008 | Construction of a new parking lot and the ring road behind Riley prepare for the Community Life Commons.

2009 | Meets fundraising goal with a $750,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation for the Envision Excllence capital campaign.

2010 | Varsity men’s basketball team wins the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) championship.

2011 | Charity Straszheim '10 is named Northwestern's eighth Fulbright Scholar.

2014 | New $10.7 million Reynolds Field athletic complex is added to campus and includes synthetic turf fields for football/soccer/lacrosse, baseball and softball, as well as six regulation-size tennis courts, updated bleacher seating and new locker rooms.

2016 | UNW launches a new Z-degree, becoming one of few colleges nationwide to offer a zero-cost textbook degree program.

2017 | Maranatha Halls is renamed Beverly & John Lord Knight Performance Halls, with renovations and upgrades to the performance hall and foyer of the Totino Fine Arts Center.

2019 | Hayley Loehlein '19 named 15th Fulbright scholar.

2020 | Doctor Joanna Klein and Hannah Flowers '16 named 16th and 17th Fulbright scholars.