August 21, 1820 – James Thomas Ward born in Georgetown, D.C.
1830 – Fayette Buell House built, property purchased by College in 1950s.
April 27, 1833 – Fayette Buell born in Lebanon, New York.
1841 – J. T. Ward becomes a Methodist Protestant minister.
1841-1842 – J. T. Ward serves as assistant to Dr. John S. Reese in Carroll County, MD.
1845 – J. T. Ward is married to Catherine Ann Light (1823-99).
1852 – Mary Miranda is born to J. T. Ward and his wife Catherine.
1854 – Fayette Buell arrives in Carroll County.
Fayette Buell, photograph.
1857-1860 – J. T. Ward returns to Carroll County.
1860 – Buell establishes the Westminster Male and Female School in Westminster, MD.
1863 – Westminster Male and Female School became Westminster Academy, renamed Westminster Seminary.
1865 – Buell decides to found a college in Westminster, MD.
1866 – J. T. Ward retires from active ministry and settles permanently in Westminster where he meets Buell.
1866 – The first College Prospectus is published; Buell is listed as proprietor of the College, and J. T. Ward as Secretary to the Board and Principal of the Faculty.
1866 – Buell purchases approximately eight acres on which to build the College; Buell received a loan from John Smith of Wakefield and Isaac C. Baile to start building; Main Hall cornerstone ceremony is conducted.
1867 – Buell proposed uniting his college with the Maryland Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church.
1867 – College named Western Maryland College at the suggestion of John Smith, President of the Western Maryland Railroad.
1867 – Annual Western Maryland College Circular 1867-1868 printed.
September 4, 1867 – First academic year begins at Western Maryland College.
J. T. Ward
1867 – Irving Literary Society formed.
March 30, 1868 – Western Maryland College charter approved by the State of Maryland.
June 25, 1868 – First Board of Trustees meeting under the charter; John Smith is elected President of the Board, and J. T. Ward elected Secretary of the Board.
1868 – The Board of Trustees authorizes the purchase of the College properties from Fayette Buell.
June 1869 – First commencement exercises (but no baccalaureate degrees awarded) and the first honorary degree, a Doctor of Divinity, awarded to Daniel Evans Reese (1810-77).
June 15, 1871 – First graduating class! Graduates were Charles H. Baughman, Thomas O. Crouse, William S. Crouse, Immogene L. Mitten, Harry E. Norris, Mary Miranda Ward, and Anna R.Yingling.
First Graduating Class, 1871.
Mary Ward Lewis is the first woman on the left.
1871 – First class annals written. These annals include the class history and the class prophecy.
1871 – Webster Literary Society formed.
1872 – Addition to “Old Main” completed. In 1894, it is renamed Owings Hall after Lottie Owings, Preceptress of the female department.
1872 – Alumni Association formed.
October 1, 1873 – President Ulysses S. Grant toured the college campus.
1873 – The first college library established; it is a room in the “Old Main” complex once used for receptions and by male students for recreation.
1873 – Carroll Hall built by the Reifsnider family; College purchased property in 1922.
Carroll Hall, circa late 1800s.
1875 – Thomas Hamilton Lewis graduates as valedictorian.
1880 – William Roberts McDaniel graduates as salutatorian.
1882 – Westminster Theological Seminary founded; Rev. T. H. Lewis becomes its first President.
1882 – First Ward Hall built; enlarged in 1886. It is razed and Ward Hall II built in 1895.
1884 - Ice house built. It is razed in the summer of 1908 and replaced by a “summer house,” later called “Carpe Diem.”
1885 – W. R. McDaniel is hired as mathematics professor.
Male Faculty, 1890.
William McDaniel is standing in the back row, first from left, and Lewis is sitting in the front row, second from left.
1886 – Ward retires as College President and becomes President of Westminster Theological Seminary; T. H. Lewis becomes new President of the College.
1886 – With the aid of Maryland Congressman Shaw, the College is made a general repository of United States Government documents.
1887 – Several apartments on the second floor of “Old Main” are reconstructed as a library, reading room, and museum.
1887 – First telephone installed on campus, in President's Office.
1887 – Smith Hall addition to Main Hall built.
1889 – Another addition to Main Hall; in 1907, the addition was named for Mamie M. McKinstry, Class of 1879; in 1935, it became a men’s dormitory.
1889 – President’s House completed, a gift of Daniel Baker; was the first of four campus buildings designed by Baltimore architect Jackson Gott.
The President's House, circa 1890.
1889 – Yingling Gymnasium built, a gift of Anna Yingling, Class of 1871, designed by Jackson Gott. It is renovated in 1904 to become the Yingling Hall of Science, and is razed in 1914. Materials from the building were used to make another gymnasium later used for R.O.T.C., and the building is razed completely in 1956.
1890 – Addition to Main Hall built and is named for Joshua Hering, charter member of the Board of Trustees; the addition included a library room on the second floor. Hering Hall is razed in 1959.
1890 – Hirata Tsune, the first international student, graduates; she returned to her native Japan where she was a missionary.
Hirata Tsune is seen here in kimono at the new Library, circa 1890.
1891 – Football introduced.
1891 – Levine Hall built to house the Primary Department; Dr. Charles Billingslea and his wife donated the Hall as a memorial to their son Levine. It is first renovated in 1899 to provide classroom space, with a third floor added in 1901. It is renovated in 1926 to become a men’s dormitory; in 1939, the building was again renovated and became the home of the Music Department. Levine Hall was enlarged again in 2002.
Levine Hall, circa 1900, photographer Sadie Kneller Miller, Class of 1885.
A third floor had been added and the building was extended in the back.
1891 – Observatory donated to the college by Trustees E. O. Grimes and William Starr. It is first placed in a small building on campus, then moved to the top of Yingling Hall of Science in 1912, moved to the roof of Lewis Recitation Hall in 1914. In 1965, it is named for Rembrandt Dewees Summers, physics professor from 1942-1964.
1891– T. H. Lewis embarks on the first of three trips around the world; his first trip was to study and report on the Methodist mission in Japan.
1892 – Electric plant and boiler house with meeting rooms for Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. constructed. They are enlarged in 1897, with a new power plant built in 1909. In 1935, another new power plant was built and named for Harvey A. Stone and moved to present location in 1965.
1893 – First printed yearbook is published, called The Aloha, after Dr. Lewis’s visit to the Hawaiian Islands during his trip around the world.
1895 – Baker Chapel given as gift of William G. Baker, a member of the Board of Trustees; designed by Jackson Gott.
Baker Chapel, circa 1900.
1896 – College moved from unified curriculum to three Courses of Study: Classical, Historical, and Scientific.
1896 – McDaniel House built for William Roberts McDaniel, who lived there until 1940; used as a dormitory and for Home Economics classes.
1896 – Last public appearance of James T. Ward at the laying of the cornerstone for Alumni Hall, designed by Jackson Gott. Alumni Hall was completed in 1899, and renovated in 1953 and 1976; the under-stage theater dedicated to Dorothy Elderdice in 1984. Alumni Hall was rededicated as Western Maryland College Alumni Hall in 2003.
1897 – J. T. Ward dies.
Yingling Gymnasium as seen through Ward Memorial Arch, circa 1899.
1898 – Ward Memorial Arch donated in memory of J. T. Ward by his niece Ulie Norment Hurley. Originally built between the President's House and McDaniel Hall, it was moved to its current site in 1937-1938. In 2004, the Arch was rededicated as part of a grand entrance to the College, which includes a stone wall with the College’s name; the grand new entrance was made possible through a gift from Trustee Emerita Catherine “Cassie” Schumann Kiddoo, Class of 1946.
1898 – Harrison House built. Purchased in the 1970s by the College, Harrison House was named for T. K. Harrison, Class of 1901, the College’s first Business Manager from 1930-1949, and Alumni Association Executive Secretary.
1908 – Library and administration building construction begins, beaux-arts design by Jackson Gott. It is renovated and a gallery added in 1963 for Art Department, and renovated again in 1995, when it is renamed the Peterson Fine Arts building in honor of Clementine Peterson, member of the Board of Trustees from 1969-1980. Its gallery was named Rice Gallery in 1996 for Esther Rice, and is a gift from Lee Rice, Class of 1948.
Interior of Library, circa 1910.
1908 – Course in Pedagogy is initiated; graduates who pass this course are certified by the Maryland State Board of Education to teach in Maryland without taking the State examination.
1909 – Harry Clifton “Curley” Byrd attends Western Maryland College; he is a favorite on the baseball and track teams. The College awards Byrd, University of Maryland President (1936-1954), an honorary Doctor of Science in Business Administration in 1938.
1914 – The College is asked to become the liberal arts college of the newly constituted University of Maryland, and for Dr. Lewis to be Chancellor. There were reservations by both institutions and plans waned.
1917 – Western Maryland College celebrates its fiftieth anniversary!
Mabel Garrison, Class of 1903, returned to her Alma Mater to celebrate.
A coloratura soprano, Garrison debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Frasquita in Bizet's "Carmen."
Hear her sing "Bell Song" from Delibes' "Lakme."
1914 – Lewis Recitation Hall is built and named for President Lewis. An addition, called Lewis Hall of Science, is added in 1966 to house the Physics, Biology, and Chemistry Departments; Decker Lecture Hall is named for Board of Trustee member Alonzo G. Decker.
Laboratory in Lewis Recitation Hall, circa 1920.
1919 – War Department authorizes ROTC at the College.
1920 – Trustees mandate department of Bible Study. Dr. Lewis retires.
1920 – Dr. Albert Norman Ward, Class of 1895, becomes third President after William Roberts McDaniel turns position down.
President Dr. Albert Norman Ward, circa 1935.
1920 – Westminster Seminary opens new building. When the Seminary moves to Washington, D. C., in 1958, it is renovated for administrative offices and student dormitories and named Elderdice Hall, after Dr. Hugh L. Elderdice, Class of 1882 and Seminary President from 1897-1932.
Elderdice Hall, circa 1920.
1921 – The College moves from three courses of study to seven majors: Biology/Chemistry, English, History/Political Science, Home Economics, Latin/Greek, Mathematics/Physics, French/German/ Spanish. The Economics Department is established. Psychology is added to the Department of Philosophy. By 1924, Biology and Chemistry are separate majors.
1921 – The College begins to publish an Alumni and campus news magazine named The Bulletin.
1922 – McDaniel Hall is built as a dormitory for women with a lounge for social activity; named for William Roberts McDaniel, Vice President and Treasurer of the College.
McDaniel Hall, photographer Don Swann, circa 1936.
1922 – Western Maryland College receives its first accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
1922 – First sororities and fraternities established.
1922 – Yearbook Aloha begins being published on a yearly basis.
1922 – New football field created and named Hoffa Field, after Arthur P. Hoffa, who donated money for the grandstand.
1922 – House for President of Westminster Theological Seminary built. When the Seminary moved to Washington, D.C., the building was purchased by the College and named Forlines house, after Charles Forlines, WMC Class of 1897 and Seminary President from 1936-1944.
1923 – American University proposes Western Maryland College move to Washington, D. C., and merge with them; the proposal was turned down by the Board of Trustees in 1924.
1924 – First College newspaper founded in January, named the Black and White after the club that founded the paper. The name changed to The Gold Bug in October, 1924; it is renamed the Scrimshaw in 1975, The Phoenix in 1981, and The McDaniel Free Press in 2004.
1925 – Physical Education for men and women is recognized as separate departments.
1926 – Music and speech move from supplementary into the regular curriculum; the preparatory school is closed.
1926 – Richard “Dick” Harlow is hired as Athletic director, football coach, and boxing coach. During his tenure, Western Maryland College became a nationally known football team with undefeated teams in 1929, 1930, and 1934.
Richard "Dick" Harlow (back row, far left) with his 1929 Football Team.
1929 – Science Hall built. It is renovated in 1969 and renamed Memorial Hall in recognition of "Old Main," which was razed 10 years earlier. It houses the Sociology, Social Work, English, History, and Political Science Departments. It is renovated again in 1995 and renamed Hill Hall after Trustee Martin K. P. Hill. It now houses the History, English, and Political Science departments, as well as the McDaniel College Writing Center and The McDaniel Free Press.
1932 – Nation’s 12th Beta Beta Beta (Tri Beta) Chapter founded at Western Maryland College; Beta Beta Beta is a national biological honor society. The Art Department is also established during this year.
1933 – First summer session offered. First earned master’s degree is also offered this year for Master of Arts.
1934 – Newly built park and pavilion on the edge of campus named for Harvey A. Stone, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds for 48 years.
Harvey Stone Park Pavilion, circa 1934.
1935 – Dr. Albert N. Ward dies suddenly. Dr. Fred G. Holloway, Class of 1918, resigns as President of the Seminary to become the College’s fourth President.
President Dr. Fred G. Holloway, circa 1936.
1935 – Blanche Ward Hall built and named for Ethel Blanche Murchison Ward, wife of President Dr. Albert N. Ward and Class of 1895. It is renovated after a fire in 1989, and a geothermal heating system is added in 2008.
1936 – Business Administration is added to the Economics Department.
1938 – Sociology, Dramatic Arts, and Psychology Departments are established.
1939 – Albert Norman Ward (ANW) Hall Dormitory built; named in memory of the College’s third President.
1939 – Gill Gymnasium built; named for Brigadier General Robert Gill, Class of 1910, and member of the Board of Trustees.
Gill Gymnasium, circa 1950.
1942 - The Board of Trustees voted to suspend acceptance of Japanese American students who applied to the school. This decision was reversed in 1944, with a provision that preferred admitted Japanese American students be women and Methodist.
1943 – Army Special Training Corps Program established and existed for nine months; 300 soldiers prepare for World War II.
A.S.T.C. marching to class, circa 1943.
1946 - Student government petitions the Board of Trustees to allow WMC to host inter-racial conferences. The proposal was turned down by the Board.
1947 – President Dr. Fred G. Holloway resigns to become President of Drew University; Dr. Lowell S. Ensor becomes fifth president.
1950 – Mid-Century Campaign begins; this is the College's first capital campaign.
President Dr. Lowell S. Ensor (right, in regalia), with Attorney General of the United States J. Howard McGrath, holding lion cub "Terrors" at Homecoming, circa 1950.
1950 – Thompson Infirmary dedication, named in memory of William J. Thompson, former Trustee. It is renovated in 1988 and renamed Thompson Hall.
1955 - Dr. Charles Crain, a professor of religion, urges the College at a faculty meeting to actively recruit African American students to campus.
1956 – Westminster Theological Seminary changes its name to Wesley Theological Seminary.
1956 – Daniel MacLea Hall (DMC), men’s dormitory, is opened, named in memory of the Chairman of the Board of Trustee’s Buildings and Grounds Committee.
1956 – First buildings of the “Old Main” complex are razed.
1958 – Wesley Theological Seminary moves to Washington, D.C.
1958 – Baker Memorial Chapel is dedicated. It is named for the Baker family, who had provided funds for Baker Chapel and the president’s house at the end of the 19th century. The organ for the chapel is donated by Roger Whiteford, Class of 1906, and his son Joseph Whiteford, Class of 1943. Organist Virgil Fox played at the dedication of the Baker Memorial Chapel organ.
1959 – Winslow Center opened, named after Trustee William R. Winslow.
The rest of “Old Main” is razed. The new Baker Memorial chapel is on the right. Circa 1959.
1962 – New library built. Dedicated in 1975 as Hoover Library, in honor of Dr. Samuel Hoover and his wife Elsie. Renovations and a new addition to the library began in 1989 and finished in October 1991 when the library was rededicated. It was renovated in 2013 with the addition of the Information Commons, student technology suites, and the Leon and Betty Wahrhaftig Conference Room. See the Hoover Library website for more on the library's history.
The College's new library, photographer A. Aubrey Bodine, circa 1962.
1963 – The Horace Mann League of the United States of America, Inc. et al. v. Board of Public Works of Maryland et al. court case challenges the validity of the State of Maryland to provide outright grants to sectarian colleges filed with Maryland courts. Western Maryland College is listed as a defendant.
1963 – Home Economics is removed as a course of study.
1963 - President Ensor affirms that the College would accept applications from Black students.
1963 - Charles Seabron and Raphael Mayamona, the first two Black undergraduate students, arrive on campus. Seabron was a Baltimore-native and transfer student from Morgan State College. Mayamona was a Congolese exchange student who had been attending high school in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Seabron would withdraw after one year, but not before he was elected president of the freshmen class. Mayamona would graduate in 1967 as the College's first Black graduate.
Raphael Mayamona, 1967 Charles Seabron (left) and 1963 Freshmen Class officers
1964 - Joseph Smothers and Victor McTeer enroll at WMC. They would graduate in 1969 as WMC's first African American graduates.
1965 – Maryland Supreme Court decision on Horace Mann et al. is made.
1965 - Charlene Williams becomes the first female Black student enrolled at WMC. She would graduate in 1970.
1966 – College purchases first computer and the first computer courses are offered.
The first computer comes to campus, circa 1966.
1967 – The Supreme Court of the United States refuses appeal on Horace Mann et al.; Western Maryland College is ineligible for the $500,000 appropriated by Maryland legislature.
1967 – Saturday classes are discontinued.
1968 – Program in Education of the Deaf begins.
1968 – Board of Trustees voted to delete a clause in the College Charter, added in 1941, stipulating that more than one-third of the Trustees be chosen from among the ministerial members of the Baltimore and Peninsula Conferences of the United Methodist Church.
1968 – Rouzer Hall men’s dormitory built, named for E. McClure Rouzer, Class of 1907 and member of the Board of Trustees.
1968 – Englar Dining Hall is completed, named in honor of Board of Trustee member David Roger Englar, Class of 1903 and honorary LL.D. in 1942, his wife Ethel Miller, Class of 1913, and the Englar family.
1968 – The new swimming pool is named Harlow Natatorium for Richard "Dick" Harlow, football coach from 1926 to 1935.
1968 - Whiteford Hall is named for Roger J. Whiteford, Class of 1906 and Trustee from 1934-1965, and his wife.
1969 - Parren J. Mitchell, future first African American Congressman from Maryland, joins the Sociology and Political Science departments part-time as the first Black faculty member.
1970 – Mandatory chapel is discontinued.
1970 - January Term ("Janterm") is introduced.
1970 - First national fraternity is chartered on campus. Pi Alpha Alpha becomes the Maryland Beta chapter of Phi Delta Theta international fraternity (founded in 1848).
1972 – President Dr. Lowell S. Ensor retires; Dr. Ralph C. John becomes sixth President of the College.
President Dr. Ralph C. John.
1972 – ACLU et al. v.d Board of Public Works of Maryland (later Roemer et al.) files to disallow state aid to the College because of “substantial involvement with the United Methodist Church.” Western Maryland College was one of four defendants in the suit. For more information on this court case, see Dr. Ralph John's papers.
1973 - Black Student Union forms on campus
Black Student Union, 1975
1974 – Garden Apartments, also called Avenue Apartments, are dedicated. The Frederick Memorial Apartment Building was dedicated in honor of William C. and Ella W. Frederick, benefactors to the College, and the other building was dedicated to Paul C. Whipp, Class of 1904.
1975 – College settles with ACLU. The College also officially disaffiliates from The United Methodist Church.
1975 – Ensor Plaza is dedicated, named in honor of Dr. Lowell S. Ensor, College President from 1947-1972.
1975 – Ella Frederick House is dedicated. It is a residence hall for full-time graduate students in the Deaf Education program.
1976 - Barbara Craig joins the WMC staff as the Assistant Director of Admissions, making her the first African American hired at the College in an administrative position.
1978 – College is accredited by The American Chemical Society and the National Council of Social Work Education.
1978 – Decker College Center is dedicated, named for the Decker family, including Alonzo Decker, Sr. (former Trustee), Fanny F. Decker (honorary member of the Board of Trustees), and Jane Decker Amis (Trustee).
South side of Decker College Center, circa 1980.
1979 - Professor Charles Neal becomes the first African American at WMC hired in a tenure track position. Professor Neal would stay in the Political Science department for thirty-four years, retiring Emeritus in 2014.
1980 – Delta of Maryland Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is installed.
Presentation of Phi Beta Kappa Charter.
From left to right: Dr. Kenneth Greene, Secretary, United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa; Catherine Sims, Vice President United Chapters; Dr. Cornelius Darcy; Dr. Ralph C. John, College President.
1981 – Frank Benjamin Hurt Tennis Courts are rededicated. Dr. F. B. Hurt was a professor and tennis coach at the College. The courts were removed in 2006.
1981 – Dedication of Scott S. Bair Stadium; Bair was on the Board of Trustees.
1982 – Communication courses are offered.
1984 – President Dr. Ralph C. John retires; Dr. Robert H. Chambers III becomes the seventh President of the College.
President Dr. Robert H. Chambers III.
1984 – Physical Education Learning Center (P. E. L. C.) is formally opened and named Robert Joshua Gill Physical Education Learning Center, after Brigadier General Gill, Class of 1910. In 2007, additions included the Klitzberg Pavilion, named in honor of Richard and Judith Callahan Klitzberg, both of the Class of 1963, and the Leroy Merritt Fitness Center, donated by Leroy Merritt, Class of 1952. The Klitzberg Pavilion connects the Leroy Merritt Fitness Center with Gill Gymnasium and P. E. L. C.
1986 - Kurt Schmoke, the first African American mayor of Baltimore, is elected to the Board of Trustees as its first Black member.
1986 – The McDaniel College Honors Program is established.
1991 – Library Memorial Garden is given in memory of L. Albert Beaver and Lloyd B. Thomas.
Hoover Library, circa 1991.
October 19, 1991 – The newly expanded Hoover Library is dedicated.
October 1, 1993 – The Carolyn Foutz Benson (Class of 1923) Fountain is dedicated, sculpted by Wasyl Palijczuk. Mrs. Benson was one of fourteen family members over three generations to attend the College.
1994 – College opens its first international campus in Budapest, Hungary.
April 16, 1994 – Dedication of the Jennie Gunn Parker Plaza.
1995 – A 4-course, 4-credit curriculum is instituted.
October 21, 1995 – Dedication of Memorial Plaza to the faculty and staff whose names are on the stones that circle the Plaza, and in honor of “Old Main” complex whose cornerstones make up the “Old Main” bell pedestal.
1996 – Ground broken for new science building.
December 31, 1996 – Gill Gymnasium is seriously damaged by fire.
Gill Gymnasium damaged by fire, circa 1996.
1997 – Graduate program in Human Resources Development is established.
1997 - The College introduces the first full-time directorship for the Office of Multicultural Services, led by James Felton.
1997 – Preston Field dedicated, named in honor of Wilbur Day Preston, Jr., Class of 1944, Board of Trustee member from 1967-1993, and Chairman of the Board from 1971-1982.
1999 – New science building dedicated. It is named Eaton Hall in 2001, in memory of Thomas Eaton, Class of 1927, and his wife Kitty, both honorary members of the Board of Trustees.
2000 – President Dr. Robert H. Chambers III resigns; Dr. Joan Develin Coley becomes the eighth and first female President of the College.
President Dr. Joan Develin Coley.
2001 - Professors Psyche Williams-Forson and Roxane Harlow as hired at WMC as the first two African American women in full-time faculty positions.
2002 – Western Maryland College changes its name to McDaniel College, honoring William Roberts McDaniel, Class of 1880, professor, Secretary of the Faculty, Vice President, Treasurer, Acting President, and member of the Board of Trustees of the College.
2002 – Opening of North Village Apartments. In 2005, Hart Hall in North Village was named in memory of Casper Hart, Class of 1929, and his wife Louise Orem Hart, Class of 1935. In 2007, Stackhouse Hall was named in memory of Margaret “Peggy” Stackhouse, Class of 1952, and Marshall Hall was named in memory of Thomas and Elizabeth Marshall, both former faculty and honorary Trustees.
North Village.
2005 – Warfield Tennis Courts are dedicated to Robert E. Warfield, Class of 1962, and Peggy Hoey Warfield, Class of 1963.
2005 – Academic Hall is dedicated. The building houses the Education, Deaf Education, Gerontology, Academic Skills, and Psychology Departments. The cornerstone ceremony was held on October 22, 2004. In 2013, Academic Hall was renamed Merritt Hall, in memory of Leroy Merritt, Class of 1952.
Academic Hall, now Merritt Hall.
2006 – Ground breaking for the Leroy Merritt Fitness Center addition, named for Leroy Merritt, Class of 1952.
Leroy Merritt Fitness Center and Klitzberg Pavilion.
2006 – Waldorf Way is dedicated to Robert "Bob" J. Waldorf, football coach, 1957-1965.
2007 – Klitzberg Pavilion is dedicated and named in honor of Richard and Judith Callahan Klitzberg, both of the Class of 1963; the pavilion connects Leroy Merritt Fitness Center with Gill Gymnasium and Gill Center.
2008 – Art studio is renovated and enlarged.
2008 – Blanche Ward Hall is renovated, and a new geothermal heating and cooling system is added.
Events from 2015-2020 added by Elise Simons '20
2010 – President Dr. Joan Develin Coley retires. Dr. Roger Casey named ninth President.
Dr. Roger Casey.
2010 - Asian Studies department is launched.
2011 – The newly renovated stone house, formerly known as the Fayette Buell House, is dedicated as the Rembert House in honor of Don Rembert, Class of 1961, and Judy Ellis Rembert, Class of 1960.
2012 – At an April Trustee-Faculty dinner, President Roger Casey announces a 6.7 million dollar bequest from the estate of Philip Henry Dorsey, Class of 1891; the bequest will fund an endowment for scholarships to McDaniel College.
2012 – On February 3, ground is broken for the new stadium, named for Kenneth R. Gill, Class of 1961. The new stadium is officially dedicated at Homecoming, 2012.
Kenneth R. Gill Stadium.
2012 – Grant from the Nora Roberts Foundation to advance research and study of romance literature sparks the addition of a five course online graduate program in Romance Literature and Popular Literature as a minor for undergraduates.
2012 – Graduate degree in Public Administration offered.
2012 – College launches new program partnership with Carroll County Schools and the National Institutes of Aerospace to help elementary teachers expand their skills in teaching science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or STEM.
2013 - Zeta Phi Beta, the first of the Divine Nine Greek organizations on campus, is founded
2013 – Casey's Corner opens. The café is located at the entrance to Hoover Library and is funded by a gift from College President Roger Casey and his wife Robyn Allers, in honor of Dr. Casey's parents, Ruskin and Barbara Casey.
2013 – Journalism and New Media is added as a new minor.
2013 – Extensive renovation of Hoover Library provides technology suites for group study and the new Information Commons and Research Lounge. Students are now able to have 24-hour access Sunday through Thursday of the Commons and Lounge.
2013 – The Wahrhaftig Room is completed on the first floor of Hoover Library. The room was funded by a donation from Suzanne and David Wahrhaftig, Class of 1980, honoring his parents Leon and Betty Wahrhaftig.
2013 – Blackouts hit McDaniel resulting in two days of canceled classes, power outages in dorms and academic buildings.
2014 – First Stop, the College's First Year program, is relocated to Hoover Library.
2015 – First Annual ‘I Love the Hill’ month.
2016 – Chosen Name Policy is enacted for students who wish to go by a name other than their legal one.
2016 – The first annual Innovation Challenge.
2016 – The Green (Terror) Revolving Fund Committee is created. The Jessie Ball DuPont Fund gifted McDaniel $100,000 to promote using less energy, improve sustainability, and educate the campus on environmental matters.
2016 – Elementary Education major is considered.
2017 – Campus Safety offices move to the corner of Pennsylvania Ave and Monroe St, this move comes with the change that the officers are now sworn police officers.
2017 – The Exercise Science and Physical Education Department requests name change to Kinesiology Department.
2017 – Renovations in talks for on Old and New Gill, set to update the Kinesiology Department and various facilities.
2017 – The Business Department redesigns requirements for the Business Administration and Accounting Economics majors.
2017 – The new Green Terror Mascot debuts at the Homecoming game, coinciding with the school’s sesquicentennial.
2018 – College rebrands itself with new messages and colors such as “Fear the Green Terror”, “What will you see at the top of the Hill?”, and “Tout the Tartan.”
2018 – Multimillion-dollar Gill renovations completed.
2018 – Budapest campus welcomes American students from different schools.
2018 – Administrative changes from the summer result in the dismissal of the Academic Affairs and Students Affairs divisions, they are combined and replaced by Academic and Campus Life.
2018 – The Strategic Thinking Group for Pedagogical Value (STGPV) is created to put all academic departments under review, brings high possibility of cutting programs and funds. Students are concerned over the possible loss in their departments, Religious Studies especially.
2019 – AVI Fresh, part of AVI Foodsystems Inc., is confirmed as the new ‘culinary services’ provider.
2019 – The Board of Trustees unanimously votes to suspend five majors, three minors, and the master’s in Deaf Education. Majors in Art History, Religious Studies, French, German, and Music, as well minors in German, Latin, and Music will no longer be offered. The school will still offer classes in the affected disciplines, except for Latin, German, and Music. Any student who has already declared a major or minor in these departments are assured that they will graduate on time. Current students are able to declare a major or minor in the affected areas until the end of the semester. President Casey and the Board of Trustees receive backlash from passionate students.
2019 – The largest class in the college’s history arrives, 587 first years and 50 transfers. This also brings logistical challenges, especially in housing.
2019 – Decker College Center’s construction displaces Pub, the rec lounge, offices, and meeting areas. Students criticize accessibility and monetary costs of the endeavor.
2019 – Faculty votes to cut physical activity requirement of the McDaniel Plan.
2019 – McDaniel announces eight new majors for the start of Fall 2020: Applied Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, Health Science, Criminal Justice, Marketing, and Writing and Publishing.
March 2020 – A Coronavirus Task Force (CVTF) is created to evaluate the changing situation involving the Coronavirus outbreak and make a webpage to help update concerned students, faculty, and parents.
March 11, 2020 – A two-week quarantine is enforced for students before returning after spring break.
March 17, 2020 – Classes move online for the rest of the semester, effectively closing the college and all events.
March 27, 2020 – Commencement for the Class of 2020, undergraduate and graduate, is canceled.
