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Seton Hall University
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===Early history=== [[File:Bayley 1876.jpg|thumb|right|Founder Bishop [[James Roosevelt Bayley]]]] Like many Catholic universities in the United States, Seton Hall arose out of the [[Plenary Councils of Baltimore|Council of Baltimore]], held in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Maryland]] in 1844, with the goal of bringing Catholicism to [[higher education]] in order to help propagate the faith.<ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://www.rcan.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=105 |title=Higher Education Seeks to Instill Knowledge and Faith |publisher=Archdiocese of Newark |year=2007 |access-date=2008-01-04 |archive-date=2007-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029214354/http://www.rcan.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=105 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Archdiocese of Newark|Diocese of Newark]] had been established by [[Pope Pius IX]] in 1853, just three years before the founding of the college, and it necessitated an institution for higher learning.<ref name="history" /> Seton Hall College was formally founded on September 1, 1856, by Newark Bishop [[James Roosevelt Bayley]], a first cousin of [[James Roosevelt I]], father of president [[Franklin Roosevelt]]. Bishop Bayley named the institution after his aunt, Mother [[Elizabeth Ann Seton]], who was later named the first American-born Catholic [[saint]]. The main campus was originally in [[Madison, New Jersey]]. Reverend [[Bernard John McQuaid|Bernard J. McQuaid]] served as the first college president (1856–1857, 1859–1868) and directed a staff of four diocesan clergy including Reverend Alfred Young, vice-president; Reverend Daniel Fisher (the second college president, 1857–1859) and five lay instructors. Initially, Seton Hall had only five students – Leo G. Thebaud, Louis and Alfred Boisaubin, Peter Meehan, and John Moore. By the end of the first year, the student body had grown more than tenfold to 60. The college moved to its current location in 1860.<ref name="history" /> [[File:Seton hall dorm.jpg|thumb|left|Postcard showing Stafford Hall, one of the first dormitories, in the late 19th century]] By the 1860s, Seton Hall College was continuing its rapid growth and began to enroll more and more students each year. However, among other difficulties, several fires on campus slowed down the growth process. The first of several strange fires in the university's history occurred in 1867 which destroyed the college's first building. Two decades later on March 9, 1886, another fire destroyed the university's main building.<ref name="history2">{{cite news |title=History of Seton Hall |first=Alan|last=Delozier |work=Walsh Library Archives|display-authors=etal}}</ref> In the 20th century, another campus fire burned down a classroom as well as several dormitory buildings in 1909. During the 19th century, despite setbacks, financially tight times, and the [[American Civil War]], the college continued to expand. Seton Hall opened a military science department (forerunner to the ROTC program) during the summer of 1893, but this program was ultimately disbanded during the [[Spanish–American War]].<ref name="history2" /> Perhaps one of the most pivotal events in the history of Seton Hall came in 1897 when [[Seton Hall Preparatory School|Seton Hall's preparatory]] (high school) and college (undergraduate) divisions were permanently separated.<ref name="history2" /> [[James F. Kelley]], then 33 years old, was appointed by Thomas J. Walsh of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark|Archdiocese of Newark]] to serve as president of Seton Hall College in July 1936, making him the nation's youngest college president.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/10/archives/rev-jf-kelley-heads-seton-hall-priest-34-years-old-will-be-the.html "Rev. J.F. Kelley Heads Seton Hall; Priest, 34 Years Old, Will Be the Youngest President of a College in Nation. Named By Bishop Walsh; Philosophy Department Chairman at Jersey Institution Has Studied in Many Schools."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429050202/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/10/archives/rev-jf-kelley-heads-seton-hall-priest-34-years-old-will-be-the.html |date=2022-04-29 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 10, 1936. Accessed April 28, 2022. "The Rev. James Francis Kelley, head of the Department of Philosophy of Seton Hall College, South Orange, was appointed president of the college today by Bishop Thomas J. Walsh of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Newark."</ref> When he took office, Kelley led a liberal arts school that had an enrollment of 300. By 1937, Seton Hall established a University College. This marked the first matriculation of women at Seton Hall. Seton Hall became fully coeducational in 1968. In 1948, Seton Hall was given a license by the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] for [[WSOU-FM]]. The construction of the [[Walsh Gymnasium]] began as part of a project initiated in 1939 that would cost $600,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.6|1939|fmt=c|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1939/06/27/archives/seton-hall-college-to-get-a-gymnasium-ground-for-600000-edifice-to.html "Seton Hall College To Get A Gymnasium; Ground for $600,000 Edifice to Be Broken Thursday"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429050204/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/06/27/archives/seton-hall-college-to-get-a-gymnasium-ground-for-600000-edifice-to.html |date=2022-04-29 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 27, 1939. Accessed April 28, 2022. "Ground for a $600,000 gymnasium, to include an auditorium, a theatre and two swimming pools, will be broken Thursday at Seton Hall College here, it was announced today by the Rev. Dr. James F. Kelley, president of the college."</ref> Kelley stepped down from office at Seton Hall in March 1949 in the wake of an investigation into the by the school by the federal government that looked into potential improper sales of war surplus equipment that had been given for the school's use. He was succeeded by [[John L. McNulty]]. Enrollment at the school had grown to 6,000 by the time Kelley left office.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/04/archives/seton-hall-gets-a-new-president-college-under-inquiry-in-war-goods.html "Seton Hall Gets A New President; College Under Inquiry in War Goods Sales – Father McNulty Succeeds Msgr. Kelley"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429044651/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/04/archives/seton-hall-gets-a-new-president-college-under-inquiry-in-war-goods.html |date=2022-04-29 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 4, 1949. Accessed April 28, 2022. "Msgr. Kelley had been president of Seton Hall since 1936, when at the age of 33 he became one of the youngest college presidents in the nation. Under his leadership the school, which is operated by the Archdiocese of Newark, grew from an enrollment of 423 students to its present total of more than 6,000"</ref> [[File:Presidents Hall of Seton Hall University.jpg|thumb|right|Presidents Hall, one of the university's oldest buildings]] The college was organized into a university in 1950 following the unprecedented growth in enrollment. The College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of business, nursing, and education comprised the university; the School of Law opened its doors in 1951, with Miriam Rooney as the first woman dean of law in the United States.<ref name="history" />
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