Prior to its establishment, what is now Carroll University was
Prairieville Academy which was founded in 1841. Its charter—named for
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the
United States Declaration of Independence—was passed into law by the
Wisconsin Territorial Legislature on January 31, 1846. During the 1860s, the
American Civil War and financial difficulty caused Carroll to temporarily suspend operations. The board of trustees voted unanimously to change the institution's name from Carroll College to
Carroll University effective July 1, 2008.
Presidents • John Adams Savage: 1850–1863 • Rensellaer B. Hammond: 1863–1864 • Walter L. Rankin: 1866–1871*, 1893–1903 • Wilbur Oscar Carrier: 1903–1917 • Herbert Pierpoint Houghton: 1918–1920 •
William Arthur Ganfield: 1921–1939 • Gerrit T. Vander Lugt: 1940–1946 • Nelson Vance Russell: 1946–1951 • Robert D. Steele: 1952–1967 • John T. Middaugh: 1967–1970 • Robert V. Cramer: 1971–1988 • Dan C. West: 1988–1992 • Frank S. Falcone: 1993–2006 • Douglas N. Hastad: 2006–2017 •
Cindy Gnadinger: 2017- • Between July 31, 1871, and June 22, 1893, no college work was carried on. While the charter retained the college privileges, teaching was on the academy level. College work was resumed and the office of the presidency was filled again in 1893. ==Campus==