Upsala College (UC) was a private college affiliated with the

Swedish-American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. Today, ...

Augustana Synod The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...

(later the

Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...

) and located in

East Orange East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is located in the northeastern part of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 863,728, making it the state's second-most populous county, behind Bergen and Middlesex Counties.

in the United States. Upsala was founded in 1893 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and moved to

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...

, and finally to East Orange in 1924. In the 1970s, Upsala considered moving to Wantage Township in rural Sussex County (where it opened a satellite campus) as East Orange's crime problem magnified and social conditions deteriorated. However, college administration and trustees chose to remain committed to East Orange. Declining enrollment and financial difficulties forced the school to close in 1995.

History

Early history (1893–1924)

Upsala College NJ Kenilworth Campus circa 1906

Upsala College was founded at the 1893 annual meeting of the

Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheranism, Lu ...

, known as the

—a Lutheran church body with roots in the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrant community.Arden, G. Everett. ''Half a Million Swedes'' from Bonderud, Omar and Lutz, Charles. ''America's Lutherans'' (series). (Columbus Ohio: Wartburg Press, 1958).Johnston, Lawrence Albert. ''The Augustana Synod : a brief review of its history, 1860-1910''. (Rock Island, Illinois: Augustana Book Concern, 1910). The Augustana Synod placed an emphasis on mission, ecumenism, and social service. Meeting at Augustana College in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

, the polity decided to open the college in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, in October 1893. The Synod chose a young minister, the Rev. Lars Herman Beck (1859–1935), as the college's first president. Beck, a Swedish immigrant to the United States, had received his Ph.D. from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in the previous year and turned down a teaching position at Yale to assume the post at Upsala."Series I Presidential Papers"
in th
"Upsala College records, 1893-1995"
held in the collection of the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois). Retrieved August 16, 2013. The name Upsala was chosen to honor both the historic

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and the Meeting of Uppsala. That 1593 meeting—exactly 300 years before the founding of Upsala College—firmly established

Lutheran Orthodoxy Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the ''Book of Concord'' and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Rom ...

in Sweden after the attempts by King John III to reintroduce

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

liturgy. On October 3, 1893, Upsala College opened in the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Bethlehem Church in Brooklyn. The first day, Beck began instruction with 16 students.Calman, Alvin R. ''Upsala College: The Early Years'' (New York: Vantage Press, 1983). By the end of the year, Upsala had 75 students. Early instruction had been in

as the student body largely consisted of Scandinavian immigrants. In 1897, the college moved to

Kenilworth, New Jersey Kenilworth is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,914, The college granted its first

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(B.A.) degrees in 1905 to four students. By 1910, Upsala offered Bachelor of Arts in modern and classical languages, and

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(B.S.) degrees in Mathematics and Sciences, while offering a three-year college preparatory program, instruction in music for preparing "teachers of music, organist and choir leaders, and in general to afford its students a musical education", instruction in commerce and business to "train young men and women for a business career" and in

stenography Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''ste ...

for students seeking "to fill positions as stenographers and private secretaries." While the college was identified by its connection with the Swedish Lutheran community, Upsala was the first college in New Jersey to admit women, and its student body welcomed students from many other nationalities and religions. In 1908, the student body consisted of "79 Swedes, 2 Finns, 1 Jew, 1 'American', 1 Chinese, 1 Korean, and 1 Persian"

East Orange campus (1924–1995)

The college moved to East Orange in 1924 after purchasing a 45-acre site in the city in the previous year. After the passage of

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

, Audrey Donnelly became the school's Women's Tennis Coach. In 1989, Upsala hosted the

National Forensics Association The National Forensic Association (NFA) is an American intercollegiate organization designed to promote excellence in individual events and debate. The NFA sponsors the NFA Nationals as well many other regional tournaments throughout the year. Th ...

national collegiate speech championship, which featured over 1,100 competitors over five days of competition. However, the surrounding community's crime rate increased, and student enrollment declined throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Upsala's men basketball team made it to the 1980

NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship The NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament (officially styled as "Championship" instead of "Tournament") is a tournament to determine the NCAA Division III national champion. It has been held annually from 1975 to 2019 & since 2022, but no ...

, losing to

North Park University North Park University is a private Christian university in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is located on Chicago's north side and enrolls more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. His ...

, 83 to 76.

Wirths Campus in Wantage (1978–1992)

During the tenure of Upsala's sixth president, Rodney O. Felder, Upsala sought to expand and acquired a tract of land in rural Wantage Township in Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey for the construction of a second campus which was called the "Wirths Campus." In 1978, the land from a large family farm had been donated by Wallace "Wally" Wirths (1921–2002), a former

Westinghouse Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

executive, author, local newspaper columnist and radio commentator.Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois
Swenson Center Archives: Wirths Campus in Sussex County records - Series XIV, Boxes 1-6, folders 1-55
Retrieved May 22, 2013. Upsala did not erect any academic buildings on the property, and in these formative years held classes in existing buildings. A few graduates studied at the campus until 1992 when classes ceased and the trustees chose to remain committed to East Orange.Strunksy, Steve

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 2, 1998. (Retrieved July 10, 2012). But when the school closed down in 1995 and the school's assets were dissolved, the Wirths family bought back their farm in Wantage from the college for $75,000.

Decline and closing

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Upsala suffered from severe financial problems and a declining enrollment.Rothstein, Mervyn
"IN BRIEF: Against Odds, Revival For Troubled College"
''

'', September 21, 1992. (Retrieved July 10, 2012). The demographics of East Orange had changed in the aftermath of the Newark riots in the 1960s, and Upsala began to enroll larger numbers of minority students—a move thought to have upset the older Caucasian alumni and donors. East Orange's tax base and socio-economic conditions continued to deteriorate with an increase in crime statistics which made the college an unattractive setting for prospective students. By the early 1990s, the student body had decreased from approximately 1,500 to 435 when the school closed in 1995."IN BRIEF: The Doors Are Closed At Upsala College"
''

'', June 4, 1995. (Retrieved July 10, 2012). The

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

announced that as a result of the decline in academic standards and the school's ongoing financial problems, it would not be renewing Upsala College's accreditation. On May 1, 1995, the college's board of trustees voted to close the school when its accreditation expired on May 31, 1995. The school closed with approximately US$12,500,000 in debt. The school's ninth and last president, Paul V. DeLomba, a partner and project manager with the financial services and accountancy firm

Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

, was hired by the board of trustees to close the college and dissolve its assets.

Legacy

After its closing in 1995, the college's East Orange campus was sold to the city for the use of the

East Orange School District East Orange School District is a comprehensive community state school, public school district serving students in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from the city of East Orange, New Jersey, East Orange, in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex Co ...

to build a new high school on half of the site constituting the college's East Campus. Several of the college buildings (including Beck Hall, Puder Hall, Viking Memorial Hall (gymnasium) and College Center) were incorporated into the new public secondary school,

East Orange Campus High School East Orange Campus High School is a comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in the city of East Orange, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the former campus of Upsala College. The ...

. During this time, the west campus deteriorated and became blighted and its buildings were looted, vandalized and one building lost to

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

. This section of campus was slated for residential redevelopment by the city government, and demolished in 2006. The demolition of the West Campus was featured in the "Coal Miner" episode in season 2 of the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

television program ''

Dirty Jobs ''Dirty Jobs'' is an American television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the job's current employees. The sh ...

'' that aired on August 8, 2006. Upsala's

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...

station,

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, in ...

, remains in operation; a nonprofit company known as Auricle Communications purchased WFMU's license shortly before Upsala was closed. The majority, if not entirety, of the Upsala's library was sold to the newly established

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

in Fort Myers, FL. Its first classes were held in August 1997 with the books making up its original library. Upsala transcripts can be obtained from

Felician University Felician University is a private Catholic university with two campuses in New Jersey, one in Lodi and one in Rutherford. It was founded as the Immaculate Conception Normal School by the Felician Sisters in 1923 and the school has changed names ...

. The college records were given to Augustana College. There is an Upsala College Alumni group on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Notable people

Upsala College in popular culture

* The characters Seymour "Swede" Levov and his wife Dawn Levov in

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1997 novel '' American Pastoral'' are graduates of Upsala. The character of Levov is based on Seymour "Swede" Masin (1920–2005), a popular Jewish athlete from Newark, New Jersey. However, Masin did not attend Upsala—he attended

Panzer College Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

, a teachers' college that later merged with

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...

.Friend, Tad
"The Talk of the Town - Ink"
in ''The New Yorker'' (May 26, 1997), 29; Lichtenstein, Gene. "A Writer's Journey (A Literary Essay and, in Part, a Memoir)." in ''Jewish Social Studies'' (Spring–Summer 1997), 3(3):156–176. * The 2001 film ''

Riding in Cars with Boys ''Riding in Cars with Boys'' is a 2001 American biographical film based on the autobiography of the same name by Beverly Donofrio, about a woman who overcame difficulties, including being a teen mother, and who later earned a master's degree. The ...

'' directed by

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

and starring

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

was filmed on the campus. It was based on an autobiography of the same name by

Beverly Donofrio Beverly Ann Donofrio (born September 23, 1950) is an American memoirist, children's author, and creative writing teacher known for her 1992 best selling memoir, ''Riding in Cars with Boys''. The memoir was adapted into the 2001 film ''Riding in ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Upsala College Alumni Page

Jim Coleman's website on Upsala College

Upsala photographs on Flickr.com
*

' (Swedish, "In New Uppsala. Letter from Carl Sundbeck"), article in the Swedish periodical ''Hvar 8 Dag'', 3:36 (1902).

* ttp://www.wfmu.org Website of former Upsala College radio station {{authority control 1893 establishments in New Jersey 1995 disestablishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1893 Educational institutions disestablished in 1995 East Orange, New Jersey Sussex County, New Jersey Universities and colleges in Essex County, New Jersey Defunct private universities and colleges in New Jersey