| McDaniel College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | E Tenebris in Lucem Voco ("I call you out of darkness into light") |
| Established | 1867 |
| Type | Private |
| President | Roger Casey |
| Admin. staff | 103 Full-Time |
| Students | 3,641 |
| Location | Westminster, MD, US |
| Campus | Suburban 160 acres (0.65 km2) |
| Athletics | NCAA Division III Centennial |
| Colors | Green & Gold |
| Mascot | Green Terror |
| Website | www.mcdaniel.edu |
McDaniel College (est. 1867) is a private four-year liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland,[1] located 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Baltimore. The college also has a satellite campus located in Budapest, Hungary. Until July 2002, it was known as Western Maryland College. As of July 2002 the school has been renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college.[2] McDaniel College is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It also has special accreditations for its Chemistry, Social Work and Teacher Education programs. These accreditations are special and highly selective societies to gain membership in. McDaniel is also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor society to which only 4.8% of United States colleges or universities belong.
McDaniel College is one of 40 colleges profiled in the book Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope.
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The college was founded in 1867 as Western Maryland College, and was named for the Western Maryland Railroad because the college's first Board chairman, John Smith of Wakefield, was also the president of the railroad. (Neither the railroad nor the Methodist Protestant Church contributed funds to facilitate the establishment of the college. Some contributions, however, were received from Methodist Protestant laymen, including John Smith.) It had a voluntary fraternal affiliation with the Methodist Protestant (later United Methodist) Church from 1868 until 1974; the adjacent but separate institution, the Westminster Theological Seminary, was a principal site for training Methodist Protestant (later United Methodist) clergy in the Maryland region. The ties with the United Methodist Church were cut over a court case in which Western Maryland and other religiously affiliated schools in Maryland were being challenged over state funding received by the colleges because of their religious ties. The other schools retained their affiliations and won the case.[3]
The college's first building went up in 1867, with an inaugural class of 37 men and women. Western Maryland was the first coeducational institution south of the Mason-Dixon Line and was among the first in the nation. The school's original charter read that the school would exist: "For the benefit of students without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national or ethnic origin ... without requiring or enforcing any sectarian, racial or civil test, and without discrimination on the basis of sex, national or ethnic origin, nor shall any prejudice be made in the choice of any officer, teacher, or other employee in the said college on account of these factors." However, Western Maryland College was primarily a school without minority race representation until the 1960s.
Baker Memorial Chapel was dedicated April 20, 1958. The chapel, was built in memory of W.G. Baker, Joseph D. Baker, Daniel Baker, and Sarah Baker. The organ in the new chapel has been given by two alumni, father and son, Roger J. Whiteford, a prominent Washington attorney and graduate in 1906, and his son Joseph S. Whiteford a graduate in 1943, president of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Boston, Mass. The chapel was designed by architects Otto Eugene Adams[4] and E.G. Riggs, of Baltimore. The Chapel steeple, 113 feet tall, is visible for miles around and was originally topped by a stainless steel cross 6 feet in height. The wood panels of the chancel have been designed to complement the antique organ console which was originally in the Bruton Parish Church, at Williamsburg, Virginia. The organ, with its 2,310 pipes, is held to be the largest in the area. The Whitefords also gave the carillon installed in the steeple.[5]
McDaniel College Budapest (formerly known as Western Maryland College Budapest) was established in collaboration with College International Budapest in 1994. McDaniel College is also home to the summer training camp of the Baltimore Ravens NFL team. The Ravens live in the Best Western near the College Square Shopping Center during training. Newer buildings on campus include the Science Hall, gymnasium, library, and student union center. On January 11, 2002, the trustees announced their unanimous decision to change the name of the college. On July 1, 2002, WMC officially became McDaniel College, honoring alumnus William Roberts McDaniel and his 65-year association with the school. The naming process during the spring of 2002 included input from students, faculty and alumni about possible names. On January 12, 2007, the college suffered a tragic loss when its second-year men's basketball coach, Bob Flynn, died of a massive heart attack at his home in Catonsville, Maryland, at the age of 49. Flynn had guided McDaniel to a 7-6 record through the first two months of the 2006-07 season, its best start in two decades.
| President | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Reverend J. T. Ward | 1867–1886 |
| Dr. Thomas Hamilton Lewis | 1886–1920 |
| Dr. Albert Norman Ward | 1920–1935 |
| Bishop Fred G. Holloway | 1935–1947 |
| Dr. Lowell S. Ensor | 1947–1972 |
| Dr. Ralph C. John | 1972–1984 |
| Dr. Robert H. Chambers | 1984–2000 |
| Dr. Joan Develin Coley | 2000–2010 |
| Dr. Roger Casey[6] | 2010–present |
McDaniel College is a liberal arts school that is founded on having many majors to pick from. The administration as well as the students have worked together to create over sixty undergraduate majors[7] and nearly twenty graduate programs.[8] McDaniel also offers over one hundred different minors. McDaniel in 2002 created the McDaniel Plan, which was the first of its kind, and it is renowned nationally for its innovative way of grasping the students to make education their own.[9]
The McDaniel Plan provides a liberal education that combines a comprehensive program of general education and a rigorous program in the major.[10] The program is complemented by electives and a range of special opportunities, that include but are not limited to directed studies, internships, and practicums. The requirements of The McDaniel Plan applies to all first-year students who enroll in college for the Bachelor of Arts degree. The redesign of the general education curriculum, The McDaniel Plan, emphasizes intellectual skills that will be crucial to graduates. The focus of The McDaniel Plan is to make studies incorporate critical thinking, cogent writing, analytic reading, persuasive public speaking, effective collaboration, the ability to adapt to change and bridge cultural differences.[11]