立博在线体育的历史，立博在线体育的未来
中北书院 was founded in 1861, during the Civil War. We were called Plainfield College then, and we were one of the few colleges welcoming women as well as men. From the very beginning we set ourselves apart as an institution committed to wisdom as well as knowledge. 立博在线体育的第一任总统A.A. 史密斯, 说, “A college should be a great moral lighthouse, sending out a clear and steady light upon all subjects ... ”.
普莱恩菲尔德学院(1861年
学院 opened with 40 students in a single two-story building in Plainfield, Illinois. Since then we’ve changed names twice (to North-Western, 然后是中北部), moved once (from Plainfield to Naperville), and grown steadily (to about 3,000名学生).
At that time it was not common for women to attend college and even less common for college to be coeducational. The 23-member board of trustees governing the College chose three 教师 members: two men and one woman. They also selected a president: Augustine Austin (A.A.) 史密斯, an administrator from Oberlin College in Ohio. He and his family actively supported abolition, temperance and women’s rights while fighting against racial discrimination.
It is important to consider local and national context at that time. Black people were enslaved in the South. In April 1861, the Civil War broke out at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. President Abraham Lincoln occupied the White House. 年轻的时候, he had served in the Illinois General Assembly with Joe Naper, who founded Naperville 30 years prior. In 1861, Chicago was the railroad capital of America, 商业的十字路口, and a stronghold of abolitionist sentiment. Plainfield was a small farm town of 700 people with daily access by stagecoach to railroads in Joliet. Closer proximity to a railroad and the City of Chicago would be factors in the College moving to Naperville in 1867.
多年来, thousands of dedicated students, 校友, 教师, 工作人员, and friends have helped us thrive through the toughest challenges – wars, 经济危机, 社会动荡, and more – and build a future brilliant with hope and promise.
We’ve met the changing needs of students from Civil War veterans to millennial entrepreneurs. And we’ve always stayed true to our heritage of moral courage and forward thinking.
Today we’re a top-ranked private comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences. U.S. 新闻 & 世界报道 counts us among “America’s Best 大学,” one of the top 10 most innovative schools in the Midwest. 学生 choose from more than 90 undergraduate 专业 和19 研究生课程.
Although the College originally discouraged organized athletics as a distraction from weightier matters, our 26 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III make our athletic department the largest in the College Conference of Illinois & 威斯康辛州(CCIW). North Central is proud of its 44 team national championships and 152 individual and relay national champions.
Though affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we welcome and encourage students and 工作人员 of all faiths. We are thoughtfully expanding our 学术项目 to respond to the needs of our ever-changing world. And we’re transforming our facilities – most dramatically with a new interdisciplinary 健康科学 & 工程中心 在芝加哥大街., right next to Downtown Naperville.
It’s been an amazing 160+ years. But it’s clear that the best is yet to come!