Anniversary Talking Points
The following points may be used for speeches and welcomes:
• In the next two years, Hamline University will celebrate 150 years of
educating generations of students who have made our community and the world a
better place.
• Founded by Methodist pioneers nearly 150 years ago, Hamline was the first
institution of higher education in the Minnesota territory. It survived the Civil
War, a move from Red Wing to St. Paul, two World Wars, and the Great Depression.
• It grew and changed over time. Founded as a university, Hamline had a
baccalaureate college, seminary, preparatory school, and a law school, which
closed due to the Civil War. Later, a medical school and nursing school opened.
The medical school later became part of the U of M; the nursing school closed
in 1962.
• In 1973, the Midwestern School of Law merged with Hamline, becoming the
Hamline University School of Law. In the 1980s, the graduate school opened with
several programs. Today, there are three distinct graduate schools and a graduate
center in Minneapolis.
• Through the last 150 years and all these changes, the values that Hamline
University holds from its Methodist founders have remained constant – the
value of a liberal arts approach to education, the value of seeking truth, where
ever it leads, and the value of civility and ethics in all that we do.
• The values and work of a university like Hamline, dedicated to developing
students’ knowledge, values, and skills for successful lives of leadership,
scholarship, and service, are as important and relevant today as ever. As one
of our longtime professors and a current dean puts it “so much depends
on it.”
• In the next two years, our community will be “looking back,” and
celebrating Hamline’s proud tradition and heritage, as well as the contributions
of its three centuries of alumni.
• But we’ll also be “thinking forward,” charting a path
for Hamline’s future while helping our students create their own futures
in the face of unsettling global challenges.
• And through 2004 and beyond, Hamline will continue its tradition of innovation
and excellence in teaching and learning. We will continue to prepare students
for compassionate lives of leadership and service. And each of us, touched by
Hamline University in many different ways, will be inspired to make our world
a better place.
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