The College of Emporia was a private college in
Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 ...
from 1882 to 1974, and was associated with the
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 ...
church.
When founded, it was one of two higher education institutions in the city of Emporia, the other at that time was the "Kansas State Normal School" established for teacher training and was later renamed Kansas State Teachers College (KSTC) and reorganized in the mid-to-late 1970s as a state liberal arts college with the name changed to
Emporia State University
Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...
. Since Emporia had two colleges before 1900, the city was sometimes called the "
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, AthÃna ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
."
History
The College of Emporia was founded in 1882. In March 1909, the "Lewis Academy", a Presbyterian school in
Wichita, consolidated with the College of Emporia.
Colonel
John Byers Anderson
John Byers Anderson (November 22, 1817 – July 7, 1897) (alternatively John Byars Anderson) was an educator, railroad contractor and United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War as a colonel and superintendent of the Union rail ...
of
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...
, donated his personal library to the college in 1888, and he served as president of the board of trustees of the college. Twelve years later, a
Carnegie grant provided the funds for the college to build the Anderson Memorial Library, in memory of John B. Anderson, whom Carnegie had known when younger and who later served on the board of trustees of the College of Emporia. The library was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on June 25, 1987.
The Registrar's office at
Emporia State University
Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...
is the official custodian of the transcripts for the former College of Emporia.
The college campus was purchased by
The Way International
The Way International is a global, non-denominational Christian ministry based in New Knoxville, Ohio. The followers congregate primarily in home fellowships located throughout the United States, two US territories and in over 30 countries. It wa ...
for $694,000 and was operated as The Way College of Emporia from 1975 until 1989.
Athletics
The College of Emporia (CoE) athletic teams were called the Fighting Presbies. The college was a member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA), primarily competing in the
Heart of America Athletic Conference
The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...
(HAAC) from 1971–72 to 1973–74. The Fighting Presbies previously competed in the
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United Stat ...
(KCAC) from 1933–34 to 1970–71, which they were a member on a previous stint from 1902–03 to 1922–23; as well as in the
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Central Intercollegiate Conference (CIC) was an American intercollegiate athletic conference that operated from 1928 to 1968. It was less often referred to as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC), particularly towards the begin ...
(CIC) from 1923–24 to 1932–33.
Football
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
was established in the late 1890s and existed until the college closed its doors in 1974. The team known as the red and white "Fighting Presbies" had a proud tradition—over 70 years of football the college won 14 conference football championships, including an undefeated, untied, and unscored on season in 1928.
In 1955, alumnus
Lem Harkey
Lem Harkey Jr. (January 7, 1934 – July 3, 2004) was an American football fullback. He played for San Francisco 49ers in 1955. He played college football for the College of Emporia Fighting Presbies in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a cit ...
was drafted in the sixth round by the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
.
The college's most famous player and honored coach was
Homer Woodson Hargiss
Homer Woodson "Bill" Hargiss (September 1, 1887 – October 15, 1978) was an American athlete and coach. He played American football and basketball and also competed in track and field events. Additionally, Hargis coached athletics in Kansas an ...
.
Notable alumni
;Faculty
* Football Coaches -
Horace Botsford
Horace Casad Botsford Sr. (November 28, 1877 – March 26, 1948) was an American football coach.
Coaching career College of Emporia
Botsford was the first head coach at the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas. He held the post for the 1901 sea ...
,
Henry Brock
Henry Brock was an American college football player and coach. He played at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas from 1927 to 1930. Then went on to coach in the beginning of the 1940s.
Coaching career College of Emporia
Brock was hea ...
,
Harold Grant
Harold S. Grant (January 16, 1900 – December 31, 1997) was an American football coach. He was the fifth head football coach at the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas. His teams accumulated a record of 34–4–1. His teams won the Kansas ...
,
Homer Hargiss,
Lem Harkey
Lem Harkey Jr. (January 7, 1934 – July 3, 2004) was an American football fullback. He played for San Francisco 49ers in 1955. He played college football for the College of Emporia Fighting Presbies in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a cit ...
,
Gwinn Henry
Gwinn Henry (August 5, 1887 – May 16, 1955) was an American football player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Howard Payne University (1912–1913), the College of Emporia (1918†...
,
Steve Kazor,
Wayne McConnell,
Walt Newland
Walt Newland was an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the College of Emporia for the 1946 season. The school had ceased football competition at the conclusion of the 1942 season due to World War II
World War&n ...
,
Bill Schnebel
William Glen Schnebel (May 7, 1924 – December 9, 2002) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas from 1956 to 1964 and Northwestern State College—now known as Northweste ...
,
Lester Selves
Lester Henry "Bud" Selves (July 16, 1906 – April 18, 1991) was an American football player and coach. He was inducted into the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 1978.
Playing career
Selves played offense and defens ...
,
Tom Stromgren
Lawrence Thompson Stromgren (born 1936) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas from 1965 to 1966 and Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, from 1969 to 1971, ...
;Alumni
*
Dale Corson
Dale Raymond Corson (April 5, 1914 – March 31, 2012) was the eighth president of Cornell University. Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1914, Corson received a B.A. degree from the College of Emporia in 1934, his M.A. degree from the University ...
(1914–2012) - eighth president of
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, physics professor at Cornell, author, served on
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
*
William Culbertson (1884–1966) - U.S. Ambassador to Romania and Chile, member of
United States International Trade Commission
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It is an independent, bipartisan entity that analyze ...
, United States Army Colonel
*
John Dalley
John Dalley (born 3 March 1935 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American violinist. He was raised in a musical family. His father was an orchestra conductor, violinist, composer, instrumental teacher, and music educator. His mother, from Bloomington, ...
(1935-) - violinist, violin bow maker, teaching at
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship.
Hi ...
, artist-in-residence at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
and
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
*
Kyung-Chik Han (1902–2000) - pastor,
church planter
Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...
, recipient of the 1992
Templeton Prize
The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...
for Progress in Religion
*
Vic Hurt (1899–1978) - college coach for football / basketball / track, played football at College of Emporia
*
David Hibbard (1868–1966) -
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
,
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, first president of Silliman Institute (now
Silliman University
Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private university, private Research institute, research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyte ...
) in
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
*
Jerry Karr (1936–2019) -
Kansas Senator, economics professor at
University of Central Missouri
The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...
,
Wilmington College,
Njala University
Njala University (NU) is a public university located in Njala and Bo, Sierra Leone. It is the second largest university in Sierra Leone (after the Fourah Bay College) and is also part of the University of Sierra Leone. The largest and main camp ...
*
Helen Marshall (1898-1988) - nursing historian, history professor at
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
,
Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensiv ...
,
Illinois State University
Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...
*
Carroll Newsom (1904–1990) - eleventh president of
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
, president of publisher
Prentice Hall
Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...
, math professor
*
Vernon Parrington (1871–1929) - literary historian and scholar,
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winner, English professor at College of Emporia /
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
/
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, second head football coach at
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
*
Brock Pemberton
Brock Pemberton (December 14, 1885 – March 11, 1950) was an American theatrical producer, director and founder of the Tony Awards. He was the professional partner of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, and he was also a m ...
(1885–1950) -
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre Stagecraft, production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backin ...
, founder and chairman of the
Tony Awards
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
*
Arthur Samuel
Arthur Lee Samuel (December 5, 1901 – July 29, 1990) was an American pioneer in the field of computer gaming and artificial intelligence. He popularized the term "machine learning" in 1959. The Samuel Checkers-playing Program was among the wo ...
(1901–1990) - computer scientist, electrical engineering professor at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, computer science professor at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
*
Jack Sinagra
Jack G. Sinagra (March 18, 1950 – August 26, 2013) was an American Republican Party politician who was the Mayor of East Brunswick, New Jersey and served in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2001, where he represented the 18th Legislative D ...
(1950–2013) -
New Jersey State Senator
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
, chairman of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
*
William Allen White
William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for middle America.
At a 1937 ...
(1868–1944) - journalist, author,
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winner, newspaper owner and editor of
Emporia Gazette
The ''Emporia Gazette'' is a daily newspaper in Emporia, Kansas.
History
William Allen White bought the newspaper for $3,000 ($ in dollars) in 1895. Through his editorship, over the next five decades, he became an iconic figure in American journ ...
, founding editor of the
Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members c ...
References
External links
The Carnegie Legacy in Kansas, Anderson Memorial Library1921-1922 photo of students / faculty / campus of the College of EmporiaMay 1971 video of College of Emporia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emporia, College Of
Education in Lyon County, Kansas
Defunct private universities and colleges in Kansas
Educational institutions established in 1882
Educational institutions disestablished in 1974
Emporia, Kansas
1882 establishments in Kansas
1974 disestablishments in Kansas