Our History

(1853) In December, a charter was granted to Beaver Female Seminary in Beaver, PA., planting the seeds of the future Arcadia University.

(1884) First May Day dance and pageant celebration.

(1889) A four-year degree program is instituted for women in May, and internationally known author Rudyard Kipling visits.

(1907) In July, the Beaver Female Seminary officially changes its name to Beaver College.

(1929) Beaver College acquires the 30-acre Harrison estate in March of this year, allowing the college to grow to offer women more opportunities.

(1948) In June, a group of students journey to Europe to study international development after World War II.

(1953) Beaver College celebrates 100 years and Beaver College's Women's Field Hockey team is undefeated in their season.

(1973) Beaver College becomes co-educational, admitting men to the fall semester, and begins to offer graduate programs.

(1977) A groundbreaking Writing Across the Curriculum program begins at the College. It greatly influences an educational movement throughout the U.S. that encourages writing in classes outside of English courses.

(1984) Grey Towers Castle, the centerpiece of Arcadia's campus, is designated a National Historic Landmark in February.

(1993) Beaver College joins the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. By 2014, there are 17 women's and men's competing.

(1998) London Preview

(2001) Beaver College attains university status and officially changes its name to Arcadia University, the name of a region of Ancient Greece that reflects the University's commitment to vigorous intellectual exploration.

(2003) Dr. Bette E. Landman receives President Emerita status. She began her tenure in 1985 and reinvigorated the University by doubling enrollment and leading transformative projects such as the construction of seven new buildings.

(2009) In June, the University establishes six academic colleges and schools, including the College of Global Studies as the first full-fledged college of a University dedicated to international education.

(2011) The At Home & In the World campaign reached its successful conclusion, contributing to the building of the University Commons, supported by a leadership gift from Lois E. Haber '71, Board Chair 2005-2010.

(2014) Arcadia University celebrates its first Investiture Ceremony, where Walter and Rosemary Deniken Blankley '57 endow the first Chair for the School of Education.

Two centuries ago, at the bucolic confluence of the Ohio and Beaver Rivers in the westernmost part of Pennsylvania, the French established a trading post, where members of the Delaware, Shawnee, and Iroquois tribes bartered with European traders. The rivers were essential for travel, sustenance, and military defense, and General McIntosh of Washington’s Colonial Army built a fort at this place during the Revolutionary War.

As the area’s population expanded, McIntosh's fort became the town of Beaver, Pa. There, in 1853, an intellectual outpost was formed—a school to teach such liberal arts as ancient history, rhetoric, and logic at a time when there were few higher education institutions open to young women.

The school attained collegiate status in 1872. By 1925, Beaver College had experienced such tremendous growth that the school moved to a more adequate campus in Jenkintown, Pa., with larger facilities and greater opportunities for development. The change resulted in such an increase in enrollment that the Board of Trustees imposed limitations on annual enrollment to maintain the advantages of a small college.

Needing additional property to accommodate its expansion, the Trustees of Beaver College secured a nearby estate known as Grey Towers in 1928. Located in Glenside, Pa., a suburb of metropolitan Philadelphia, the estate offered spacious property and dignified facades. This change in scenery proved its worth when Beaver College became an accredited institution in 1946. The school operated both the Jenkintown and Glenside campuses into the mid-1960s, when it consolidated all activities onto the Grey Towers property.

In July 2001 the school was granted University status, and the Board of Trustees approved a historic decision to change the name of Beaver College to Arcadia University.

Today, as a leader in study abroad and a pioneer in international education, Arcadia University encourages students to engage in integrative, real-world learning opportunities such as internships, evidence-based research, service projects, interdisciplinary study, problem-based learning, and co-curricular experiences that expand beyond the traditional classroom. More than 2,500 undergraduate and 1,400 graduate students are enrolled at Arcadia’s Glenside, Pa., and Christiana, Del., campuses in more than 65 fields of study.

The College of Global Studies at Arcadia University, officially opened in 2009, offers study abroad programs through more than 130 programs in 12 countries to students from colleges and universities across the U.S., in addition to Arcadia undergraduates. The Institute for International Education's Open Doors Report has ranked Arcadia University #1 in the U.S. for study abroad participation for eight consecutive years.

Our History

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