History of the College
Centre College was founded by Presbyterian leaders and officially chartered by the Kentucky Legislature on January 21, 1819. The name reflects the College's location in the geographic center of Kentucky; British spellings were common at the time. Instruction began in Old Centre—the College's first building—in the fall of 1820, with a faculty of three (including the president) and a student body of five. Classes followed the classical curriculum of the day, including Latin, Greek, rhetoric, and logic. Construction on Old Centre began in 1819 and was completed in 1820 at a cost of $8,000. It was designed to hold up to 400 students in the College and a grammar school. It has been used continuously since Centre's beginning and today houses administrative offices, meeting rooms, and the Admission Office's welcome area for prospective students. Despite early financial hardships, disputes within and outside of the Presbyterian Church, and several wars (including the occupation of Old Centre by both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War), Centre has remained open and committed to its educational mission since its founding.
Roots of the College
The roots of the College lie deep in the history of the region. Eighteenth-century Presbyterians, eager for an educated clergy and educated people to teach their children, began laying the groundwork for the establishment of a college in what was then the Kentucky County of Virginia. At the same time, the Revolutionary War was being fought and the region west of the Allegheny Mountains was being settled out of wilderness. In 1780, the Virginia Assembly set aside 8,000 acres of land for this "seminary of learning." Three years later, a board of trustees met at John Crow's Station to organize the school. Instruction began at the Transylvania Seminary near Danville in 1785. But the seminary fell on hard financial times. Unable to raise proper funding in the small community of Danville, the trustees moved the school to the larger settlement of Lexington in 1789. By 1794, the founding group of Presbyterians, alarmed by what it viewed as secular philosophies invading public institutions, moved to establish a more Christian school near Pisgah, Kentucky. The Kentucky Academy opened in 1795, funded by donations from the faithful. George Washington and John Adams gave $100 each to the new school, and Aaron Burr donated $50. By 1819, the Presbyterians began to realize that they had again lost control of their institution and its board of trustees. Once more they petitioned the Kentucky Legislature for a charter, and Centre College was established.
Important Citizens among First Centre Trustees
The legislature placed some of Kentucky's most important citizens in charge of Centre as its first board of trustees. Isaac Shelby, the state's first governor, was chair of Centre's board. Dr. Ephraim McDowell, a Danville resident who 10 years earlier had made medical history by performing the first successful abdominal operation, was also on the board. (These two leaders shared family connections in addition to civic responsibilities, as Dr. McDowell was married to Governor Shelby's oldest daughter, Sarah.) The struggle between the Presbyterians and others who were eager for a more public institution of higher education continued beyond Centre's opening one year later. While the Kentucky Legislature gave complete control of the College's board to the Presbyterians in 1824, it added an amendment stating that "the College shall at all times be conducted on liberal, free, and enlightened principles, and no student shall be excluded in consequence of his religious opinions, or those of his parents, guardians, or relatives." The Presbyterian Church today acknowledges its historic affiliation with the College. Centre welcomes students, faculty, and staff of all faiths.
Era of Consolidation and Growth
While the first 10 years of Centre's history was a period of preparation and planning, its second phase, from 1830 to 1857, was an era of consolidation and growth. Dr. John C. Young, Centre's president during the second phase, found "the College without reputation, without endowment, without students…. But, he was young, hopeful, and earnest," according to Dr. Ormond Beatty, who served as Centre president from 1870 to 1888. Dr. Young's qualities and the support of loyal alumni and friends of the College helped Centre advance under his presidency. "Before his death, Dr. Young saw a permanent fund of $100,000 provided for the support of the school," Beatty noted. This occurred along with additions to the curriculum, enlargement of the faculty, and a fivefold increase in the student body. Under Dr. Young's tenure, Centre advanced to a position among the highest-ranking colleges in America.
Associated Institutions
Founded primarily as an institution for training young men for the ministry, Centre has changed throughout its history to keep pace with the educational demands of a growing region and nation. The Kentucky School for the Deaf, also in Danville, was founded in 1824 as the first state-supported institution for the deaf, and in its early years was controlled by Centre's board. From the 1890s until 1912, a law school was operated at Centre with J. Procter Knott, a former Kentucky governor, as its dean. In 1901, the Central University at Richmond was consolidated with Centre. Danville's Kentucky College for Women merged with Centre in 1926, becoming the "woman's department" of the College. The department maintained a separate campus until the early 1960s when the women moved to the main campus.
20th-Century Achievements and Growth
During the early and mid-20th century, many of the educational resources of Kentucky and the nation were committed to the establishment and expansion of state-supported land-grant universities. These institutions were often vocationally oriented. But Centre remained steadfast in its mission of providing superior education in the liberal arts tradition. Centre's image as a tiny school capable of startlingly large achievements was enhanced in this period by its 1921 football victory over Harvard, then ranked No. 1. In a 1971 article marking the game's 50th anniversary, the New York Times called it "Football's Upset of the Century." At Centre, the game is recalled simply by its score: C6-H0. During the 1960s, a period of explosive growth in American higher education, the College's financial resources doubled. Eleven new buildings were added to the campus, the enrollment increased from 450 to around 800, and the faculty was increased as well. The latter part of the 20th century brought continued recognition of Centre's academic excellence. In 1971, the National Council of Phi Beta Kappa established a chapter at Centre, and Centre continues to be the only private institution in Kentucky to have a chapter of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society. In the 1990s, U.S. News and World Report listed Centre among the 25 national liberal arts colleges that are "tops in teaching" and added Centre to its list of "top-tier" national colleges. Centre established its first residential study abroad program in London, England, in the fall of 1990. Other programs soon followed in Strasbourg, France, and Merida, Mexico. Today about 85 percent of Centre students study abroad at least once in one of 15 permanent semester-long programs, some dozen ever-changing CentreTerm programs in January, and a variety of summer and internship opportunities.
Centre College in the 21st Century
In 2000, Centre made history as the smallest institution ever to host a General Election debate when the two vice presidential candidates, Sen. Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney, faced one another in the College's Norton Center for the Arts. CBS news anchor Dan Rather later described the debate at Centre as "the best vice presidential debate ever held." In 2012, Centre again hosted the nation's only vice presidential debate, between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan. "They aced it in 2000," said Janet Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, after the 2012 debate, "and this year was even better." A thriving study abroad program attracts about 85 percent of Centre students.
The first Posse students arrived from Boston in 2006. The first Grissom Scholars, first-generation college students awarded a highly competitive scholarship, arrived in 2015. The first Lincoln Scholars, who possess "the capacity and deep desire to change the world," arrived in 2016. In 2019, the College celebrated its bicentennial and the end of the Third Century Campaign which raised $210 million. Centre’s 21st president, Milton Moreland, began July 1, 2020.
Today, the campus includes approximately 178 acres. Many of Centre’s buildings are new or newly renovated. In 2024, the College completed Champions Hall, a remarkable athletic and wellness complex that includes a 10-lane, 50-meter pool, a 200-meter indoor track, and a 5,000-square-foot strength and wellness center. Andy Frye stadium was completed in 2023 and Gary Wright Field at Fishman Park, the home of Centre Baseball, was completed in 2022. Northside Residence Hall opened in August 2019. A major renovation and expansion to Olin Hall (science and mathematics) opened in 2021. Centre also renovated the Grace C. Doherty Library on the main floor of Crounse Hall, creating a new center for student success known as the Centre Learning Commons (CLC) in 2020-21. Renovations to Old Quad residence halls, including Cooper Ganfield Hall, Stevenson Vinson Hall, and LaMotte Tyler Hall were completed in 2023 and include well-being spaces such as yoga and meditation space and a functional fitness room, both with streaming guided instruction on demand.