The ever-widening history of Elmhurst University

In 1871, Jennie and Thomas Barbour Bryan provided land to the German Evangelical Synod of the Northwest with the promise to create a school to prepare young men for theology seminars at the Elmhurst Proseminary. 

Elmhurst Proseminary’s first class consisted of 14 young men who were studying music, English, history, mathematics, science, geography, Latin, Greek, and religion. 150 years later, Elmhurst Proseminary has evolved into Elmhurst University.

Throughout the institution’s robust 150-year-old history, EU has been constantly evolving, creating history for this campus, and molding it into “an ever-widening circle” as Helmut Richard Niebuhr, EU’s first president, described the school. 

1924

In 1924, Elmhurst Proseminary officially adopted the name “Elmhurst College” and began conferring Bachelor of Arts degrees to their male students. As the college’s first president, Niebhur created laboratories, expanded the library holdings, and strengthened the curriculum.

1930

1930 marked the official integration and enrollment of female students at the college. 

1943-44

The college admitted four new students from California who were sent to Japanese relocation camps during World War II. The Student Refugee Committee, a campus organization, and President Timothy Lehmann worked together to pave the way for these students to attend. This action was met with local opposition from some Elmhurst residents and The Elmhurst Press, which ran an editorial against the enrollment of Japanese-American students at the college. 

1966

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel to address the racial desegregation of city and suburban neighborhoods in the surrounding Chicago area. 

1971

Dedicated in December 1971, the A.C. Buehler Library opened on campus, holding over 220,000 volumes and an art collection from the Chicago imagists. 

1998

The college expanded its academic offerings beyond bachelor’s degrees and began its graduate studies program. 

2020

On July 1, Elmhurst College officially changed its name to “Elmhurst University,” one year before the institution’s 150 year anniversary in 2021.