Albion College

19th-century drawing of Albion College

On March 23, 1835, Methodist settlers in Spring Arbor Township obtained a charter for a new seminary from the Michigan Territorial Legislature. Construction began in 1837 outside Spring Arbor but the Panic of 1837 ended the project. A petition to move the seminary to Albion was approved by the legislature in 1839.

Sixty acres (243,000 m²) of land were donated by Jesse Crowell to the renamed Wesleyan Seminary, and construction began in 1841. The first classes were held in 1843 in the local Methodist Church. In 1844, classes began in the newly constructed Central Building, rebuilt as the present Robinson Hall in 1907.

The Albion Female Collegiate Institute, founded in 1850, merged in 1857 under the name The Wesleyan Seminary and Female College at Albion; the merger was finalized in 1861, under the name Albion College. The legislature authorized the college to confer full four-year college degrees upon both men and women that same year.[4]

A marker designating the college as a Michigan Historic Site was erected in 1960 by the Michigan Historical Commission. The inscription reads:[5]

Methodists obtained a charter for Spring Arbor Seminary from the Territorial Council of Michigan in March, 1835. Later the institution was established in Albion on land donated by Jesse Crowell, a leading Albion pioneer and benefactor. In 1841 the cornerstone was laid for the first building, and in 1843, the institution opened as the Wesleyan Seminary. In 1861 the power to confer degrees was obtained and the school named Albion College. Support from the Methodist Church, a large endowment, and private sources have contributed to its growth as a strong liberal arts college.

Albion offers bachelor’s degrees in business, the humanities, fine arts, natural sciences, and social sciences. It provides study-abroad programs in Europe, Latin America, Israel, Africa, Asia, and Australia.[7] Albion is perhaps best known for its equestrian center, the Nancy G Held Equestrian Center, and its biology and physical education programs.[8] Its most popular first majors, by number of 2021 graduates, were:[3]

• Biology/Biological Sciences (43)
• Economics (33)
• Communication (28)
• Exercise Science & Kinesiology (21)
• Research and Experimental Psychology (20)
• Accounting (18)
• Political Science & Government (17)

The 144-acre (0.58 km²) Whitehouse Nature Center plays an important role in classroom instruction at Albion College and offers its facilities and services as an environmental education area to public schools and the community. The Whitehouse Nature Center features six miles of trails, 400 plant species, almost 170 bird species, 25 acres of oak-hickory and flood-plain forest, a tall-grass prairie and spring in the Adele D. Whitehouse Wildflower Garden, an arboretum of Michigan trees and shrubs, 34 acres of farmland and research projects, and an interpretative building with classrooms, observation room, porch, and restrooms.[9]

A marker designating the college observatory as a Michigan Historic Site was erected in 1985 by the Bureau of History Michigan Department of State. The inscription reads:[10]

The Albion College Astronomical Observatory was built in 1883-84 at the urging of Dr. Samuel Dickie, who later became president of the college. Dickie helped raise $10,000 to build and equip the facility. The observatory still harbors its original telescope, transit circle, sidereal clock and chronograph. The building has housed classrooms, a bookstore, faculty offices and the West Michigan Methodist Conference archives. In 1984, it was refurbished as the college Ethics Center.

Since 1990 Albion has produced one (1) Rhodes Scholar, three (3) Goldwater Scholars, four (4) Truman Scholars and seventeen (17) Fulbright Scholars. [8]

Albion College is a part of the MIAA Conference. Albion has overall won 173 men’s MIAA titles (tied for 2nd overall), as well as 26 women’s MIAA titles (5th overall).[11] Albion won the NCAA Division III football championship in 1994.[12] The Esports team started in the 2021-2022 academic year led by Director Karlo Delos Angeles.[13]

As of 2021 Fall enrollment, the student body was 53% female and 47% male. 73% of students were Michigan residents, 26% from out-of-state, and 1% from foreign countries. Ninety-eight percent of students are enrolled full-time. The ethnic composition of the student body was as follows:[3]

• White (55%)
• Black/African American (17%)
• Hispanic/Latino (12%)
• Race/Ethnicity Unknown (9%)
• Two or more Races (3%)
• Asian (2%)
• Non-resident Alien (2%)

Prior to the 2010s the enrollment was heavily white and non-low income. The numbers of black and Hispanic students increased, along with those of first-time university students and lower income students, due to a drive to increase and diversify enrollment.[14] Between 2013 and 2020, Albion more than doubled its minority enrollment from 18% to 41%, and 48% of the incoming class in 2020 identified as persons of color.[15]

The total cost of attending Albion full time as of 2022 was $67,310.[16] Albion offers financial aid of some form to 100% of its students. The average financial aid package as of December 2022 was $53,714 per student.[17]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albion College.

• Official website
• Official athletics website