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Have you heard? BW celebrated a big birthday this academic year, turning 175 years old!
Looking back across Baldwin Wallace University's 175-year-old history, one thing is clear: the distinctive values that made BW stand out in 1845 continue to drive the University's success today - even during a global pandemic.
The
power
of
a
diverse
and
determined
community
has
been
there
from
the
beginning.
Inspired by his mother's Ivy League college rejection, BW founder John Baldwin made it his mission to defy the widely accepted idea in early 1800s America that college was reserved for white, wealthy men.
Baldwin's vision for inclusive education came to life on November 10, 1845 - 20 years prior to the end of the Civil War - when he founded the Baldwin Institute.
His new college preparatory school was open to all who "desired to do good and get good" regardless of race, gender or creed.
According
to
BW
history
professor
Dr.
Indira
Gesink,
only
three
colleges
in
the
country
at
the
time
admitted
both
women
and
men,
and
only
one
also
admitted
African
American
students.
In 1850, a woman, Maria Myra Poe, became the Baldwin Institute's very first graduate. Baldwin University's first known black graduate, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Webster Shaw, was born a slave in Louisiana and earned a BA as valedictorian for the Class of 1883.
In those early years, BW also broke down economic barriers and instilled values of diligence and service by establishing early work-study programs on campus and in the community. It was a formula that would stand the test of time.
The
determined
men
and
women
who
blazed
BW's
early
trails
practiced
other
enduring
values
like
resilience,
innovation
and
community
-
all
now
firmly
woven
into
BW's
DNA.
Through the decades, the BW faculty, staff and students, together with unwavering support from alumni, friends and neighbors, have forged a successful path forward under any circumstance.
That's been true from the 1913 merger with German Wallace College that made two colleges stronger together to BW's can-do, must-do approach to the current pandemic.
Pre-COVID-19,
BW
looked
forward
to
a
2020-21
academic
year
filled
with
175th
anniversary
celebrations.
Instead
of
marking
BW's
historic
milestone
with
special
events,
though,
staff
and
faculty
shifted
to
a
laser-focus
on
providing
a
safe,
meaningful,
on-campus
experience
for
our
students.
As we stop now to consider BW's trailblazing origin story, it's clear we have been celebrating all along this year as we have lived out treasured founding values in the midst of the pandemic. Once again, we have demonstrated the resolve, resilience and confidence that fueled our founders.
Even as these values sustain the welcoming and extraordinary learning community that BW is today, they are already powering the bold future we envision for the years to come.
