Parsons College

Parsons College was a private liberal arts college nestled in the South Eastern corner of Iowa in the town of Fairfield that permanently closed its doors in 1973 after almost 100 years of existence.

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Founded in 1875 based on the wishes of General Lewis B. Parsons..in his will written in 1855...

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:...I do therefore after payment of the foregoing bequests and the reasonable expenses of administration, give and bequeath the residue of my estate, together with my Natural History of New York and my small cabinet of minerals, to my said executors and the survivors or survivor of them. In Trust to be by them used and expended in founding and endowing an Institution of learning in the state of Iowa, or to be expended in enhancing an existing institution...

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:...And on October 17th 1874 steps were taken by the Synod of Iowa (south) of the Presbyterian Church which had been looking to establish a school for higher education in a meeting in Keokuk developed a committee to establish such a school. On that committee of twelve which included Rev. Willis Craig, Rev. Carson Reed, and Rev.John G. Armstrong comprised the executive committee.

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:Prior to this....

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:The executors of General Parsons visited Iowa in 1869 and appointed an advisory committee of 3 ministers Rev. G. Sprees of Dubuque, Rev.John Armstrong of Muscatine and Rev. Willis Craig of Keokuk to locate an appropriate institution or town in which to invest their funds.

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:So Fairfield among other Iowa towns volunteered as a place where this could happen...a meeting was held and the Location Committee was invited to Fairfield"...William Elliot presided and opened the meeting with a prayer. This fact was noted by General Parsons the senior executor of his father's trust, and made an impression on him, as it was the only place of all which the committee had visited where prayer was offered." From: 50 Years of Parsons College 1875-1925

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February 24th 1875 a call went out to 25 people of Fairfield who adopted articles of association...$27,516.00 was raised. A board was established to oversee the founding and guide the growth of Parsons which included prominent business and clergy from surrounding towns. Included in this board was Rev. Willis Craig.

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A plot of land North of town was designated as the site of the fledgling school. Using a mansion on the grounds of the site Parsons opened as a sectarian college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and quietly grew establishing itself and making do until through funds raised by local businessmen a large building housing science labs, administration offices and lecture halls was constructed.

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Grounds were landscaped and additional structures were raised through the generosity of Mr.T.D.Foster and others. "...steps were taken in 1902 to provide if possible, for additional buildings (after a disastrous fire destroyed a main building on campus...Ankeny Hall.)"

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When Andrew Carnegie was a youth, he was involved in the construction of a railroad bridge in Keokuk, Iowa and while in Keokuk was a member of the church whose minister was Dr. Willis Craig. Being familiar with Mr. Carnegie and he first Carnegie library west of the Mississippi River in the United States was built in Fairfield, Iowa http://www.fairfieldpublicaccess.org/carnegie.htm

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The Chairman of the Board Dr. Willis G. Craig and the President of the College went to New York to see if Mr. Andrew Carnegie would build a library for the growing Parsons College

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/g.blaikie/andrew.htm

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As a result of that interview Mr Carnegie promised a gift of $15,000 for a library building, provided a like amount were raised by the college for endowment and upkeep. http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/carnformula.htm This was considered by the college board to be too severe a condition at the time so the matter was dropped.

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Well, after the fire that destroyed the main building, Ankney Hall, other needs of the growing college were felt, but happily in the summer of 1905 Mr.T.D. Foster, (Foster Hall) while crossing the Atlantic, found that Mr. Carnegie was a fellow passenger. An occasion on board ship occurred and TD "presented the matter again, when Mr. Carnegie generously waived all conditions and gave $15,000 outright for the building." Up until 1955 the college was like many other small colleges in the midwest.It's history was unexceptional and a reputation was purely local.For more than 75 years Parsons grew slowly, accepting anyone who wanted to come-mostly from Fairfield's environs,accumulating little endowment and many deficits. In the 1950's Parsons had an enrollment of a few hundred and an administration beset with financial hardship. In 1955 the trustees adapted a "Fifteen-year plan" to develop the college and appointed Millard G. Roberts a presbyterian minister from New York City as president of the college. Although he had no experience in educational administration, the trustees believed that he had the ability to promote the college,raise more money from donors,attract more students and possibly manage the school more efficiently. Throughout the twelve years that Millard Roberts was President of Parsons controversy was one of the many unforeseen outcomes of his Presidency. Among the positive outcomes, Roberts promoted a nation wide campaign for students. Enrollment grew from 350 to 5000 students, it's income rocketed and the professors entered a circle of the highest paid teachers in the nation. All due to a program Roberts called "The Parsons College Plan."Throughout the twelve years that Millard Roberts was President of Parsons controversy was one of the many unforeseen outcomes of his Presidency. Among the positive outcomes, Roberts promoted a nation wide campaign for students. Enrollment grew from 350 to 5000 students, it's income rocketed and the professors entered a circle of the highest paid teachers in the nation. All due to a program Roberts called "The Parsons College Plan."

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Publish or Perish was relaxed at Parsons, a Scholar in Residence program was established exposing students to top academic instructors often finding published authors teaching freshman level humanities and history courses.

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Dr Roberts also brought to Parsons his able and greatly appreciated wife, Dr. Louise Roberts who taught Humanities courses and introduced many students to the Greek Classics. Her humane and comfortable teaching style inspired many halfhearted students to rise above their humble academic expectations.

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The "Parsons Plan" included academic help in all areas of instruction. A ranked professor taught a 3 credit course with 3 hours per week of formal lecture, an academic specialist..usually a masters degree holder or instructor would have a small classroom seminar 2 days per week to review the lecture notes adding weekly quizes, and a tutorial center in the Wright Library was available to all students where by they could review all course work.

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One third of all students were recruited from the East,one third from the Midwest and one third from the West Coast. One third were in the top third academically, one third were middle level and one third were academacally challanged. Students were permitted to learn at a rate that was unique to them, often manifesting in the student repeating the course a following trimester with no loss of standing as an enrolled student. (Known to the student as double starring) Thus it was possible for a student to maintain overall cumulative grade point averages of acceptable levels. Some students would attend parsons and then transfer to more prestigious venues.Sports was a very big part of Parsons College.Football was ther most popular sport and provided a link between the college and the community. Football was the main event from opening night in 1893 and held the publics attention forr the following 78 years.

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The first football game ever played at Parson's was on September 16, 1893. It was Parson's vs. Elliot Business College of Burlington. Parson's won 70-0. Students were enthusiastic about sports from then on. This monumental winning promoted the building of Parson's own stadium and field for their 1894 season. An alum from the early days said that football was a huge event and very great fun to attend the games. In 1966 a new 5,000 seat stadium was built on the campus.

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Iowa Wesleyan College was Parsons's number one rival for 70 years. The two teams played each other 60 times. Parsons won 34 of the games, and Iowa Wesleyan won 21 games.

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During a 41 year span, Parsons won Conference Championship five times, and six of their players were members of the Parsons College Football Hall of Fame. All together, the teams played over 600 games. Parsons College was invited to the Hula Bowl in Hawaii and the Pecan Bowl in Texas.

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Basketball was another popular sport at Parsons. The first basketball game they played as an independent school was in 1963.

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Other sports Parsons athletes participated in were wrestling, tennis, baseball, skeet club, golf, soccer, and cross-country. The more unique sports were fencing and sharpchuters. Fencing began in 1964 and members learned the art of medieval sword play. Sharpchuters also began in 1964; now known as parachuting. Parsons College radio station established in the '60s broadcast these events to the avid student fans.

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