PRINTER'S NO. 1616
No. 117 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY MOWERY AND GERLACH, JANUARY 28, 1998
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JANUARY 28, 1998
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the 225th anniversary of Dickinson College.
2 WHEREAS, Dickinson College was functioning as a grammar
3 school as early as 1773 on land granted by Thomas and John Penn,
4 son and grandson of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Dickinson College is the third oldest private
7 institution of higher education in this Commonwealth and has
8 been educating Pennsylvanians as well as students from across
9 the nation and from many foreign countries for 225 years; and
10 WHEREAS, In 1783 Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush asked
11 John Dickinson, president of the Supreme Executive Council of
12 Pennsylvania, drafter of the Articles of Confederation and
13 signer of the Constitution, to grant the school a charter as a
14 college dedicated to "the instruction of Youth in the learned
15 languages" and in the "useful arts, Sciences, and Literature";
16 and
17 WHEREAS, The charter members of the board of trustees of the
1 college included three founding fathers of our nation: John
2 Dickinson, Benjamin Rush and James Wilson; and
3 WHEREAS, Charles Nisbet, a Calvinist minister from Scotland
4 and a supporter of the American Revolution, served as the first
5 president of the college for 20 years; and
6 WHEREAS, A significant and impressive range of individuals
7 are or have been Dickinsonians, including President James
8 Buchanan; Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney;
9 Supreme Court Justice Robert Cooper Grier; Second Secretary of
10 the Smithsonian Institution Spencer Fullerton Baird; President,
11 Chairman of the Board and CEO of Gannett Company John J. Curley;
12 Major General, United States Army, David C. Meade; Chairman,
13 President and Chief Executive Officer, American Home Products,
14 John R. Stafford; actress Rosie O'Donnell; Senator James W.
15 Gerlach; Representative John R. Gordner; Representative Albert
16 Masland; and Senator Harold F. Mowery; and
17 WHEREAS, In 1803 Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the United
18 States Capitol, drew the architectural plans for the rebuilding
19 of the first structure on the present campus in Carlisle, which
20 had been destroyed by fire and which serves today as the main
21 administrative building known as Old West; and
22 WHEREAS, Moneys for the building of Old West were contributed
23 by such individuals as Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, John
24 Marshall, Benjamin Rush, John Dickinson, James Wilson, James
25 Madison and many other leading figures in the early history of
26 our nation; and
27 WHEREAS, Dickinson College buildings were used for hospital
28 and other purposes by troops during the Civil War; and
29 WHEREAS, The college began offering women the opportunity to
30 pursue studies as early as the 1880s with the admittance of
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1 Zatae Longsdorff Straw, Class of 1887; and
2 WHEREAS, Dickinson College has recognized the need for
3 students to be globally oriented in order to be successful in
4 the 21st century by establishing an undergraduate major in
5 international business and management with combines the
6 strengths of international education and liberal arts learning
7 with an expanded business curriculum; and
8 WHEREAS, The college has been providing the greater Carlisle
9 and Harrisburg communities with may cultural offerings,
10 including musical entertainment, athletic and theater events and
11 art exhibitions; and
12 WHEREAS, Dickinson College has founded the Clarke Center of
13 the Interdisciplinary Study of Contemporary Issues which is
14 bringing distinguished speakers to campus who connect students'
15 experiences in the classroom with compelling issues confronting
16 our local, national and international communities; and
17 WHEREAS, The college has committed itself to the education of
18 students in the physical sciences, including in recent years
19 pioneering hands-on workshop programs in physics and other
20 science disciplines; and
21 WHEREAS, The college's Waidner-Spahr Library provides
22 distinguished and modern library resources and historic
23 collections including scientific equipment and family
24 memorabilia of Joseph Priestley; and
25 WHEREAS, Dickinson College has taken strides to reverse the
26 declining number of qualified teachers in this country by
27 establishing the "Teachers for Tomorrow" program which
28 encourages highly motivated and talented students to pursue
29 teaching careers in the classroom; and
30 WHEREAS, Dickinson College continues to believe strongly in
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1 the mission of educating students to be informed and engaged
2 citizens and has founded the Community Studies Center to provide
3 field research training and to serve as an information source
4 for students embarking on community research projects in the
5 social sciences; and
6 WHEREAS, The college's athletic programs have yielded 117
7 all-American athletes, 14 academic all-Americans since 1971, 12
8 Centennial Conference championships since 1983 and 5 football
9 victories over Penn State between 1888 and 1931; and
10 WHEREAS, Dickinson College strives to instill a strong sense
11 of community within each of its students by providing volunteer
12 opportunities both on and off campus which involve hundreds of
13 students each year; therefore be it
14 RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate Dickinson College on
15 its 225th anniversary and commend the college and alumni for
16 their many educational contributions to this Commonwealth.
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