Carroll University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Dep ...

affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area tha ...

. Established in 1846, Carroll was Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning.

History

Prior to its establishment, what is now Carroll University was Prairieville Academy which was founded in 1841. Its charter—named for

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic si ...

, a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

—was passed into law by the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature on January 31, 1846. During the 1860s, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and financial difficulty caused Carroll to temporarily suspend operations. The board of trustees voted unanimously to change the institution's name from Carroll College to Carroll University effective July 1, 2008.

Presidents

*John Adams Savage: 1850-63 *Rensellaer B. Hammond: 1863-64 *Walter L. Rankin: 1866-71*, 1893-1903 *Wilbur Oscar Carrier: 1903-17 *Herbert Pierpoint Houghton: 1918-20 * William Arthur Ganfield: 1921-39 *Gerrit T. Vander Lugt: 1940-46 *Nelson Vance Russell: 1946-51 *Robert D. Steele: 1952-67 *John T. Middaugh: 1967-70 *Robert V. Cramer: 1971-88 *Dan C. West: 1988-92 *Frank S. Falcone: 1993-2006 *Douglas N. Hastad: 2006-2017 *Cindy Gnadinger: 2017- * Between July 31, 1871, and June 22, 1893, no college work was carried on. While the charter retained the college privileges, teaching was on the academy level. College work was resumed and the office of the presidency was filled again in 1893.

Academics

Carroll University offers more than 95 areas of study at the

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

level, with master's degrees and certificates in selected subjects, as well as one clinical doctorate program in physical therapy. There are 133 full-time and 258 part-time faculty members. 71.4% of the faculty have terminal degrees. As of September 2015, Carroll serves 3,521 students at the full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate levels. These students represent 33 states and 31 countries.

Campus

The campus is home to a variety of nineteenth and early twentieth century historical buildings, including Sneeden House (a 1922 colonial home now used as a guesthouse and conference center) and MacAllister Hall (a renovated, 19th-century mansion that now houses offices for the CFO, English, modern language, computational and physical sciences, chemistry, and the Division of Arts and Sciences). The school provides housing in six residence halls, six apartment buildings, and two houses. The full campus stretches 132.8 acres, with the Main Campus around 50 acres, a four-acre Center for Graduate Studies located three minutes south of Interstate 94, a six-acre property southwest of campus and a 64-acre field research station in Genesee, Wisconsin.

Residence halls

* North Bergstrom Hall * South Bergstrom Hall * Shirley Hilger Hall * Kilgour Hall * Steele Hall * Swarthout Hall * Charles Street Hall

Apartment buildings

* Carroll Street Apartments * College Avenue Apartments * Frontier Hall * Hartwell Avenue Apartments * Pioneer Hall * Prairie Hall

Traditions

Bagpipes

Since the 1960s, bagpipes have been a part of Carroll's opening convocation and commencement ceremony. Freshmen are escorted to their first assembly by a lone bagpiper, and upon graduation are led to commencement by a band of bagpipers. The rite of passage symbolizes Carroll's connection to its

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

roots; early 19th-century Scottish immigrants settled in Waukesha, then known as Prairieville.

Ring the bell

A longstanding Carroll sports tradition, “Ring the Bell” is a ceremony performed by Carroll varsity teams following a win, when members athletes ring the school victory bell located at the northwest corner of Schneider Stadium. All teams participate—football, soccer, lacrosse—as long as the game is played and won at Schneider. In 2016 the victory bell was repainted and updated to feature the new Carroll Pioneers logo.

Athletics

Carroll athletic teams are the Pioneers. The university is a member of the

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) is a college athletic conference which competes in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). CCIW schools have accounted for 50 national championships i ...

(CCIW) since the 2016–17 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1955–56 to 1992–93. Carroll competes in 23 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Football

: ''See List of Carroll Pioneers head football coaches'' The college football program at Carroll began in the late 1890s. Past head coaches include

Glenn Thistlethwaite Glenn Franklin Thistlethwaite (March 18, 1885 – October 6, 1956) was an American football, basketball, baseball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Illinois College (1908), Earlham College (1909–1912), Northwest ...

Vince DiFrancesca Vincent DiFrancesca (January 1, 1922 – May 21, 2007) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Western Illinois University from 1949 to 1953, at Iowa State University from 1954 to 1956, and at Carroll Col ...

, and

Matty Bell William Madison "Matty" Bell (February 22, 1899 – June 30, 1983) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He played for Centre, captain of its 1918 team. He served as the head footbal ...

. The current coach is

Mike Budziszewski Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

, who replaced

Mark Krzykowski Mark Krzykowski (born c. 1970) is an American college athletics administrator and former college football coach. He is an assistant athletic director at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha Cou ...

after the 2019 season. On September 5, 1906, Carroll became the site of a milestone event in

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

when Saint Louis University player

Bradbury Robinson Bradbury Norton Robinson Jr. (February 1, 1884 – March 7, 1949) was a pioneering American football player, physician, nutritionist, conservationist and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin in 1903 and a ...

, coached by

Eddie Cochems Edward Bulwer Cochems (; February 4, 1877 – April 9, 1953) was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1901 and was the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College—no ...

, threw the first legal

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridir ...

in football history (though it was first used experimentally in the 1905 Washburn vs. Fairmount football game).

Basketball

In 2006, both the men's and women's basketball teams qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in school history. The women won the Midwest Conference tournament and received the automatic bid, while the men's team received an "at-large" bid. Both were eliminated in the first round of play. In 2007, both teams again qualified for the tournament. The Pioneers won the Midwest Conference tournament, during which freak power outages forced the championship game to be delayed and moved twice, first to

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a ...

, then to nearby Knox College. Upon reaching the NCAA tournament, they defeated 7th-ranked Augustana College in the first round of play, and 5th-ranked

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

, to advance to the "Sweet Sixteen" sectional level. The women received an at-large bid to the tournament, defeating

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...

in the first round, but losing in the second round to 25th-ranked Luther College. In 2012, Carroll returned to the NCAA tournament, making it to the second round after defeating ranked

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

Media

* ''Century Magazine'', Carroll University's annual literary magazine, publishes art, photography, prose, and poetry created by Carroll students.

Rankings

Carroll University ranked No. 31 in Regional Universities Midwest in '' U.S. News & World Report'' 2022 America's Best Colleges. In 2018, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' ranked Carroll No. 594 among 650 colleges in the United States.America's Top Colleges Ranking 2015: Carroll University
. ''Forbes'', July 29, 2015. In 2018, ''

Money Magazine ''Money'' is an American personal finance brand and website owned by Ad Practitioners LLC and formerly also a monthly magazine, first published by Time Inc. (1972–2018) and later by Meredith Corporation (2018–2019). Its articles cover the ...

'' ranked Carroll No. 613 among 727 colleges in the United States.

Notable faculty

Cardon V. Burnham Cardon Vern Burnham Jr. (25 February 1927 – 19 February 2005) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, and performer of musical genre. His work included classical, choral, jazz, orchestral, operatic, and chamber music, most notably the ...

, composer * Edward Daniels, abolitionist & U.S. Civil War cavalry officer * Jeffrey Douma, current Yale University music professor and choir director *

Edward Payson Evans Edward Payson Evans (December 8, 1831 – March 6, 1917) was an American scholar, linguist and early advocate for animal rights. He is best known for his 1906 book on animal trials, ''The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals.'' ...

, historian & linguist *

Tamara Grigsby Tamara D. Grigsby (November 19, 1974 – March 14, 2016) was an American social worker, academic, and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly by representing the 18th Assembly District from 2005 until 2013. Early life ...

, Wisconsin State Representative * Philip Krejcarek, art historian and photographer * Ray Wendland, petrochemist *

Viola S. Wendt Viola Sophia Wendt (March 31, 1907 – March 23, 1986) was an American poet and educator. Early life and education Wendt was born into a farming family in Boise, Idaho, in March 1907, the first of two daughters of Carl Wendt. Her parents move ...

, poet

Notable alumni

* John M. Alberts, Wisconsin State Representative *

Walt Ambrose Walter Louis Ambrose (August 7, 1905 – January 18, 1968) was an American football guard who played one game in the National Football League (NFL) for the Portsmouth Spartans. He played college football at Carroll University. Early life and edu ...

, NFL player * Norris Armstrong, played professional football for the

Milwaukee Badgers The Milwaukee Badgers was a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Mil ...

in 1922 * John Ball, author, '' In the Heat of the Night'' * Herb Bizer, NFL player * James Bonk, chemistry professor, Duke University (B.S. 1953) * John W. Breen, NFL player-personnel manager *

Steven Burd Steven A. Burd (born 1949) is an American businessman. He served as chairman, president and CEO of Safeway Inc. from October 26, 1992, to May 14, 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Early life Burd received a Bachelor of Science degre ...

, chairman, president and CEO of

Safeway Inc. Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

* James P. Daley, U.S. National Guard

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

* Moxie Dalton, NFL player * David L. Dancey, Wisconsin State Representative and jurist *

Cushman Kellogg Davis Cushman Kellogg Davis (June 16, 1838November 27, 1900) was an American Republican politician who served as the seventh Governor of Minnesota and as a U.S. Senator from Minnesota. Early life and American Civil War Davis was born in Henderson, Ne ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

* Lyle E. Douglass, Wisconsin State Representative * William Edwards, Wisconsin State Senator *

Paul Farrow Paul Farrow (born July 17, 1964) is a Wisconsin politician and businessman. The son of former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Margaret Farrow, he currently serves as the County Executive of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ...

, Wisconsin State Senator * Howard Fuller, Activist * Karl George, NFL player *

Donald Goerke Donald Edward Goerke (August 8, 1926 – January 10, 2010) was an American business executive and food developer. While working for the Franco-American division of the Campbell Soup Company in 1965, he invented SpaghettiOs, and was thereafte ...

, inventor of

SpaghettiOs SpaghettiOs is an American brand of canned ring-shaped pasta pieces that are always in tomato sauce. It is marketed to parents as "less messy" than regular spaghetti. More than 150 million cans of SpaghettiOs are sold each year. They are sold in ...

* Rudy Gollomb, played professional football for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

* William Henry Hardy, Wisconsin State Representative * Bill Hempel, NFL player * Kirk Hershey, NFL player * Frank Hertz, played professional football for the

in 1926 * Manville S. Hodgson, Wisconsin State State Representative * Justin Jacobs, 2014

PECASE The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White ...

winner * Phil H. Jones, Wisconsin State Representative * Theodore S. Jones, Wisconsin State Representative * Daniel Kelly, attorney and former justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

* Mel Lawrenz, author, speaker and former senior pastor of Elmbrook Church *

Wally Lemm Walter Horner Lemm (October 23, 1919 – October 8, 1988) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels and achieved his greatest prominence as head coach of the American Football League's Houston Oilers an ...

, NFL head coach *

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After th ...

, actor * Fred MacMurray, actor (did not graduate) * Vincent R. Mathews, Wisconsin State Representative * James A. McKenzie, Wisconsin State Representative * Dennis Morgan, actor * Earl D. Morton, Wisconsin State Representative *

Adam Neylon Adam Neylon (born December 30, 1984) is an American small business owner and Republican politician. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing central Waukesha County. Background Neylon was born in Elgin, Illinois, and raise ...

, Wisconsin State Representative *

Lucius W. Nieman Lucius William Nieman (December 13, 1857 – October 1, 1935) was an American businessman and founder of ''The Milwaukee Journal''. Biography Born at Bear Valley in Sauk County, Wisconsin, Lucius's father was Conrad Nieman; and Sara Elizabet ...

, founder of the

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

* David W. Opitz, Wisconsin State Senator * Maybelle Maud Park, physician, Wisconsin state official *

Janet Parshall Janet Parshall is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host known for the Christian program ''In the Market with Janet Parshall'', which is broadcast on the Moody Radio network on over 700 stations. She was also the host for the 2004 documenta ...

, radio talk show host * Ivan Quinn, NFL player * Antonio R. Riley, Midwest Regional Administrator of the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Ur ...

* Henry C. Schadeberg,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

* William C. R. Sheridan, Episcopal Bishop of northern Indiana *

Ed Sparr Edwin Andrew Sparr (July 29, 1898 – May 19, 1974) was a player in the National Football League for the Racine Tornadoes in 1926 as a tackle. He played at the collegiate level at Carroll University. Sparr was born in Hazelhurst, Wisconsi ...

, NFL player in the 1920s *

Harper Starling Harper Starling is an American singer, songwriter and dancer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her song Euphoria (The Perry Twins song), "Euphoria" with The Perry Twins (duo), The Perry Twins peaked at No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs, Billboard Dance Cl ...

(Amanda Hoffman) recording artist *

Gregg Steinhafel Gregg Steinhafel (born 1954) is an American business executive, and the former President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Target Corporation. Early life Gregg Steinhafel was born in 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His grandfather founded Steinha ...

Target Corporation Target Corporation ( doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a com ...

, president and chairman of the board * Douglas C. Steltz, Wisconsin State Representative * Gil Sterr, NFL player in the 1920s *

Eric Szmanda Eric Kyle Szmanda (; born July 24, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for having played Greg Sanders in the CBS police drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', a role he held from the show's beginning in 2000 until it ended in 2015. ...

, actor '' CSI'' * Claude Taugher, professional football player for the Green Bay Packers in 1926 * Vernon W. Thomson, former Wisconsin governor and

* Buff Wagner, played for the Green Bay Packers in 1921 * David W. Winn,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

* William A. Wojnar, classical organist * Matt Christman, co-host of

Chapo Trap House ''Chapo Trap House'' is an American left-wing political podcast founded in March 2016 and hosted by Will Menaker, Matt Christman and Felix Biederman with Amber A'Lee Frost as a recurring co-host. The show is produced by Chris Wade and formerly by ...

* Riley Fay, television actor for Hearst Communications

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Waukesha, Wisconsin Liberal arts colleges in Wisconsin Educational institutions established in 1846 Private universities and colleges in Wisconsin Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Buildings and structures in Waukesha County, Wisconsin Education in Waukesha County, Wisconsin 1846 establishments in Wisconsin Territory