Ursinus College

19th century In 1867, members of the German Reformed Church began plans to establish a Christian college. The founders hoped to establish an alternative to the seminary at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania (the present-day Lancaster Theological Seminary), a school they believed was increasingly heretical to traditional Reformed faith. Two years later, the college was granted a charter by the Legislature of Pennsylvania to begin operations on the grounds of Todd's School (founded 1832) and the adjacent Freeland Seminary (founded 1848). John Bomberger served as the college's first president from 1869 until his death in 1890. In 1870, instruction began at the college in September; The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art opened on campus in 1989. Ursinus joined the Centennial Conference at its inception in 1993, a regional athletic conference, consisting of Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, Johns Hopkins University, Franklin & Marshall College, and others. In 1995, the college appointed John Strassburger as its 12th president, the first president from outside the Ursinus alumni group. During Strassburger's tenure as president, Ursinus became affiliated with numerous prestigious groups such as the Annapolis Group, the Watson Foundation, the Kemper Scholars group, and Project Pericles. 21st Century Ursinus College was profiled in New York Times education editor Loren Pope's popular guidebook, Colleges That Change Lives in 2006. In 2006, the college attempted to capitalize on J. D. Salinger's brief time there by establishing a "J. D. Salinger Scholarship" which would allow a freshman to study creative writing and live in Salinger's dormitory room for a year. However, the reclusive author's representatives wrote to the college within a week to ask that his name be removed. though it is known colloquially as the "Not the J.D. Salinger Scholarship." Fong died suddenly of natural causes at his home in Collegeville in 2014. Terry Winegar, the Dean and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, was appointed Interim President. Brock Blomberg, Dean of the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College, was named 17th president of Ursinus in 2015. Blomberg announced that he planned to depart Ursinus in September 2021 for the California Institute of Integral Studies. Robyn Hannigan, former provost of Clarkson University and patented inventor in the field of medical technology, was named the 19th President of Ursinus College in 2022. Hannigan began her duties on July 1, 2022, and was abruptly removed from her position on October 23, 2025. Ursinus College Provost Gundolf Graml served as interim president following Hannigan's removal and on April 8, 2026, he was named president. ==Academics==

Students choose from 60 courses of study. It is composed of two semester-long seminar courses that help students to figure out their degree path and their path after college. Students read from a range of philosophers and academic thinkers, and discuss them with their classmates. ==Student life==

The school's 1,500 students come from 35 states and 12 countries. Greek life The Ursinus College Greek community consists 12 societies – 5 sororities, 4 fraternities, and 3 gender-inclusive societies. The Ursinus College Inter-Greek Council serves as the elected governing body of all social Greek organizations. Clubs and organizations The Leadership Development and Student Activities Office provides the student body with leadership opportunities through its more than 100 student clubs and organizations. Ursinus College clubs and organizations include student government, community service, academic honor societies, political clubs and intramural sports. Their student-run newspaper is called, The Grizzly – the name taken from the Latin root of Zacharias Ursinus' surname (ursus translating as 'bear'). Ursinus also publishes The Lantern, one of the oldest, continuously produced student literary journals. ==Athletics==

As of 2019, 40% of Ursinus students competed on one of its athletic teams. In the immediate years following its founding, there were no organized athletics at Ursinus College. Baseball matches held against neighboring towns, hiking along the Perkiomen Creek and in the nearby area that is now Valley Forge National Historical Park, and skating, bathing and boating in the Perkiomen were popular pastimes for students. In fact, students used to be able to rent canoes and fishing rods from the same location where they can now rent bikes. Students then organized a tennis club in 1888, and intercollegiate baseball began with play against Swarthmore College, Haverford College, and Muhlenberg College between 1886 and 1890. In 1974, the NCAA Award of Valor was presented to the 1973 basketball team. Every member of the team had entered a burning building, with their combined efforts leading to the rescue of 14 persons. In the 2003–2004 season, senior shooting guard Dennis Stanton led all NCAA Men's Basketball scorers, averaging 32.6 points per game. The Ursinus women's field hockey team has historically been very successful. During the tenure of Eleanor Frost Snell as coach of women's athletics from 1931, the "Snell's Belles" had many winning seasons. In 2020, the NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions found that a former Ursinus College Vice President and Dean of Enrollment Management improperly awarded financial aid to prospective students based on their participation in athletics and input from coaches. The committee found that approximately $335,300 in financial aid packages was improperly awarded to student-athletes over 17 sports. As a disciplinary measure, the committee publicly reprimanded Ursinus College and placed them on probation while also requiring them to attend the 2020 and 2021 NCAA Regional Rules Seminars. Additionally, Ursinus College self-imposed numerous penalties upon themselves. ==Campus and facilities==

lived during his time at UrsinusThe campus is northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is also within three hours’ driving distance of New York City, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. SEPTA bus #93 has six stops (three southeastward, three northwestward) on Ursinus’ Campus. The route extends southeast to Norristown and northwest to Pottstown. The nearest SEPTA regional rail line is the Manayunk/Norristown Line, which extends southeastward to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The closest station on the Manayunk/Norristown line to Ursinus College is the Norristown Transportation Center, located 8 miles (13km) from Ursinus College. Notable facilities at Ursinus include: Bomberger Hall is named for John Bomberger, the first President of Ursinus College. The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art The museum was dedicated in 1989, located in the original Alumni Memorial Library, built in 1921, expanded in 2010. The museum program is fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and houses over 4,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, decorative, and cultural objects representing a broad array of art historical genres. The Alumni Memorial Library was dedicated to the 271 Ursinus students and alumni who served in WWII including 8 who died in action. The gate reads "Ursinus College" and there is a lantern atop it. Myrin Library Myrin Library was opened in 1971 and was renovated in 1988 and again in 2004–2005. Myrin Library is home to the Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection (an extensive Pennsylvania German archive), the Linda Grace Hoyer Papers, the Grundy Collection on South African history, and the college's archives, the Ursinusiana Collection. Olin Hall Opened in 1990 and named for the F.W. Olin Foundation, Olin Hall contains a 320-seat lecture hall, a 63-seat tiered classroom, a 42-seat tiered classroom, a Writing Center, eight traditional classrooms and four seminar rooms. Floy Lewis Bakes Center The Floy Lewis Bakes Center was dedicated in 2001 upon the expansion and renovation of Helfferich Hall, 1972. The Field House encompasses the D. L. Helfferich Hall of Health and Physical Education and the William Elliott Pool. The field house pavilion opened in 2001, while the other buildings were dedicated in 1972 in honor, respectively, of the ninth president of Ursinus College and William Elliott. Helfferich Hall now includes completely renovated locker and training rooms, and a two-story, glass-enclosed area for fitness and recreation. The physical education complex serves both men and women with three full-size basketball courts; locker rooms and team rooms; wrestling room; weight room; dance studio; classrooms; a regulation collegiate-sized swimming pool; squash and handball courts, and a gymnastics space. Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center The center opened in April 2005 with a performance by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. Within it is the Lenfest Theater, a 350-seat state-of-the-art proscenium arch theater. Innovation and Discovery Center (IDC) The $29 million center opened in October 2018. Other buildings • Wismer Center, opened in 1964, named for Ralph Fry Wismer, class of 1905 • Reimert Hall, opened in 1966, named for William D. Reimert, class of 1924 • Corson Hall, dedicated in 1970 • Ritter Center, opened in 1980 • Richter-North Residence Hall, opened in 2002, named for former college President Richard P. Richter • New Residence Hall, opened in 2007 Gallery Image:Olin Plaza Ursinus College.jpg| Olin Plaza Image:Bomberger Hall Ursinus College.jpg| Bomberger Hall Image:Thomas Hall Ursinus College.jpg| Thomas Hall Image:Chadwick Sculptures Ursinus College.jpg| Chadwick sculptures Image:Reimert Hall.JPG|Reimert Hall Image:Hobson Hall Ursinus College.jpg| Hobson Hall Image:Ursinus kaleidoscope.jpg| Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center ==Notable people==

Notable people associated with Ursinus College include: • John R. Brooke, Union general of American Civil War and Spanish–American War • B. J. Callaghan, soccer coach • Gerald Edelman, Nobel Prize laureate • Dan Mullen, college football coach • J. D. Salinger (attended one semester; did not graduate), author of The Catcher in the Rye ==References==