Carleton College

The school was founded in 1866, when the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches unanimously accepted a resolution to locate a college in Northfield. Two Northfield businessmen, Charles Augustus Wheaton and Charles Moorehouse Goodsell, each donated 10 acres (4 ha) of land for the first campus. [ 11 ] The first students enrolled at the preparatory unit of Northfield College in the fall of 1867. In 1870, the first college president, James Strong , traveled to the East Coast to raise funds for the college. On his way from visiting a potential donor, William Carleton of Charlestown, Massachusetts , Strong was badly injured in a collision between his carriage and a train. Impressed by Strong's survival of the accident, Carleton donated $50,000 to the fledgling institution in 1871. As a result, the Board of Trustees renamed the school to Carleton College in his honor. [ 12 ] The first graduating class was in 1874 and consisted of James J. Dow and Myra A. Brown, who married each other later that year. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] A third student, Bayard T. Holmes, had originally been in the same class, but withdrew before graduating. Title page to the first academic catalog for Northfield College Aerial view of the campus On September 7, 1876, the James-Younger Gang , led by outlaw Jesse James , tried to rob the First National Bank of Northfield. Joseph Lee Heywood , Carleton's Treasurer, was acting cashier at the bank that day. He was shot and killed for refusing to open the safe, foiling the attempt. [ 15 ] Carleton later named a library fund after Heywood. The Heywood Society is the name for a group of donors who have named Carleton in their wills. In its early years under the presidency of James Strong, Carleton reflected the theological conservatism of its Minnesota Congregational founders. In 1903, modern religious influences were introduced by William Sallmon, a Yale Divinity School graduate, who was hired as college president.

Sallmon was opposed by conservative faculty members and alumni, and left the presidency by 1908. After Sallmon left, the trustees hired Donald J. Cowling, another theologically liberal Yale Divinity School graduate, as his successor. In 1916, under Cowling's leadership, Carleton began an official affiliation with the Minnesota Baptist Convention. It lasted until 1928, when the Baptists severed the relationship as a result of fundamentalist opposition to Carleton's liberalism, including the college's support for teaching evolution . [ 16 ] Non-denominational for a number of years, in 1964 Carleton abolished its requirement for weekly attendance at some religious or spiritual meeting. [ 12 ] In 1927, students founded the first student-run pub in the nation, The Cave . Located in the basement of Evans Hall, it continues to host live music shows and other events several times each week. [ 17 ] James J. Dow, Myra A. Brown, and Bayard T. Holmes In 1942, Carleton purchased land in Stanton , about 10 miles (16 km) east of campus, to use for flight training. During World War II , several classes of male students went through air basic training at the college. Since being sold by the college in 1944, the Stanton Airfield has been operated for commercial use. [ 18 ] The world premiere production of the English translation of Bertolt Brecht 's play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle , was performed in 1948 at Carleton's Little Nourse Theater. [ 19 ] In 1963, Carleton students founded the Reformed Druids of North America , initially as a means to be excused from attendance of then-mandatory weekly chapel service. [ 20 ] Within a few years, the group evolved to engage in legitimate spiritual exploration. Its legacy remains in campus location names such as the Stone Circle [ 21 ] (commonly called "the Druid Circle" [ 22 ] ) and the Hill of the Three Oaks. [ 21 ] [ 23 ] Meetings continue to be held in the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum .

[ citation needed ] President Bill Clinton gave the last commencement address of his administration at Carleton, on June 10, 2000, marking the first presidential visit to the college. [ 24 ]

Carleton is a small, liberal arts college offering 33 different majors and 39 minors, and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission . [ 25 ] [ 26 ] Students also have the option to design their own major. Ten languages are offered: Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. [ 27 ] The academic calendar follows a trimester system in which students usually take three classes per 10-week term. [ 28 ] Carleton's graduation requirements are designed to expose students to a wide variety of disciplines independent of their selected major subject. Degree students are required to demonstrate proficiency in a second language (which can be achieved through testing, placement examinations, or classes at Carleton). All first-year non-transfer students are assigned to an Argument and Inquiry (A&I) seminar in their first term. During their studies, students are required to take a writing-rich course, three quantitative reasoning encounters (courses in which students work with quantitative data and arguments), [ 29 ] four terms of physical education activity, as well as courses in international studies, intercultural domestic studies, humanistic inquiry, literary/artistic analysis, arts practice, science with lab, formal or statistical reasoning, and social inquiry. [ 30 ] Studying abroad is common at Carleton: 76% of the senior class of 2018 studied abroad at least once over their four years. [ 31 ] Carleton offers a number of its own programs each year, which are led by Carleton faculty and available only to Carleton students. In 2017–2018, 17 such programs were offered. [ 32 ] Although many students opt to go on a Carleton-specific program, because full financial aid and academic credits can transfer to other programs, [ 33 ] many students choose to study with other schools or organizations. [ 34 ] Admissions Admission to Carleton has been categorized as "most selective" by U.S. News & World Report .