Dickinson Firsts

The first athletes were inducted into the Red Devils Hall of fame at the 1969 Homecoming football came.

A flight training course sponsored by the Civil Aeronautics Authority began operation on Tuesday, October 15, 1940.  Twenty student applicants were accepted into the course, including two female students.

ALLIES, a support and activist group for LGBTQ students and their allies, is established under the leadership of Judy Bennett, the College's Director of Health Services.

For the first time in its history, Dickinson received applications from all 50 U.S. states. More than 40 foreign countries were also represented in what the Admissions Office called "one of the most culturally-diverse" applicant pools to date.

A cooperative agreement was struck between Dickinson and the People's University in Beijing, China to provide a study abroad opportunity for Dickinson students. The program was language-based and included an independent study project. Additionally, three professors from the People's University were invited to Dickinson to teach as visiting faculty.

Improv troupe "Run With It" staged their first performance at #10 Cherry Street in to a "relatively small audience," but "the laughter was always booming."

For the first time in College history, Dickinson students registered for classes using computer software owned and operated by the Office of the Registrar. The unnamed "management information system" also stored data about finance, alumni, and admissions.

Alpha Sigma Gamma, an honorary journalistic fraternity, was formally created at a meeting held on May 17th.  The new fraternity, which planned to remain a solely Dickinson institution, aimed to further the interests of the three campus publications (The Dickinsonian, the Microcosm, and the Freshman Handbook).

An Inter-Religious Harmony Seminar was held on the Dickinson campus on February 24, 1932.  Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish representatives discussed their differences in a round-table discussion.  According to The Dickinsonian, Dickinson was the first Pennsylvania college to hold such a gathering.

An International Relations Club held its first meeting on January 14, 1932.  The purpose of the club was to study world politics, the League of Nations, and other problems of international scope.  The Carnegie Foundation helped create the club.

The Department of Music presented the first Noonday Concert of 1969, featuring works-in-progress by  students and performances by faculty. The student compositions featured in this program were "Song" by Juliann Davidson and "Counterpoint for Voices" composed by Davidson, Jim Drake, and Stephen Bain. Malcolm Goldstein, Truman Bullard and Beth Alice Bullard, members of the faculty, played Morton Feldman's "Intermission 6" and Johann Joachim Quantz's "Trio Sonata in C Major". 

The German Club’s first annual dinner at the Cold Springs Inn featured German music, dancing, and a banquet. Special guest Dr. Wilbur K. Thomas, secretary of the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation, spoke about this foundation and its goal of facilitating a better understanding between Germans and Americans. In addition, President James Henry Morgan awarded the first-place and second-place German Scholarship awards to Elwood Disque and Wesley Oler, respectively.

A radio set recently built by students J. Howard Blair, Edward Minnich, and Charles Fagan was on exhibition in the physics lab.  Licensed as station W3YC, it was Dickinson's first transmitting radio.

The faculty and College YMCA led what they claimed to be Dickinson's first-ever Freshman Week program beginning Monday, September 15th, one week before the start of term.  Over the course of the week, students learned the Dewey decimal system, were given physical and psychological examinations, met faculty and prominent student leaders, and enjoyed a doggie roast.

On Saturday, September 28, Nancy A. Roseman, former dean of Williams College, was inaugurated as the 28th president of Dickinson College on the John Dickinson Campus in front of Old West. President Roseman was the first women to be chosen to serve as president of the College. Morton Shapiro, president of Northwestern University and former president of Williams College, gave remarks at the ceremony, which also featured a performance by a student/faculty string quartet and a reunion of past members of the Glee Club and the Octals to sing the Alma Mater.

The 223rd opening convocation ceremony was held on Monday, August 28, 1995. Beginning in the Library Plaza at 4:15 pm, the academic processional advanced to the John Dickinson campus. There, President Fritschler officially opened the college. The new Dean of the College was introduced, along with all new faculty, academic professionals, and administrative staff. The new students were also introduced. Next, in a new tradition, all new students proceeded up the stone steps of Old West to sign into the college.

Judith Rogers (Class of 1965) and her roommate Maureen Newton (Class of 1965) moved into Metzger Hall in the Fall of 1961.