Historical Timeline

PA established common schools, or public elementary schools

PA passed the Normal School Act establishing state teacher training schools The state was divided into 12 districts, each with its own normal school. A district was added in Clarion, later. The schools were state-licensed private schools, and remained that way until 1920. Among other things, each school had to have a practice, or model school for at least 100 local children. Each school was controlled by a private Board of Trustees.

PA begins subsidizing normal schools.

Tradition says that Reverend Chandler Oakes, pastor of East Stroudsburg Presbyterian Church, George P. Bible, the first ESSN principal, Seeley Rosenkrans, a local businessman, and other businessmen began talking about establishing a normal school in East Stroudsburg.

The cornerstone laying for the original Stroud Hall was on July 4.

East Stroudsburg State Normal School opened on land donated by the Knapp family. George P. Bible was the principal, and Ellwood L. Kemp was the vice-principal and a faculty member

East Stroudsburg State Normal School opened on land donated by the Knapp family. George P. Bible was the principal, and Ellwood L. Kemp was the vice-principal and a faculty member.

Students selected the school colors of red and black within a few weeks of the school's opening.

Students started two literary societies: the Minisink, and the Shakespearean.

YMCA and YWCA form. They are the only student organizations to have their own meeting rooms on campus. YMCA met every Sunday.

A choral society, directed by Mary Bradley, formed

The Delawares, a men's debating society, formed. The name changed to the Delaware Lyceum.

Board of Trustees offered to pay part of the cost if the borough would pave Ridgeway Street to make it easier for students walking from the train station.

A porch was added to the front of old Stroud Hall.

A pay phone is installed on campus.

Students can participate in exhibitions that include gymnastics, indoor track, and basketball.

An athletic association is formed.

The first football game is played in the fall.

In June, 62 women and 12 men became the first graduating class.

First student publication, the Conglomerate, appears. Later the name is changed to the Normal Echoes.

The first baseball game is played in the spring.

Wayne Gymnasium is completed. It stands in the location of the present University Center.

Edna Rosenkrans, daughter of Seeley Rosenkrans, graduates from ESSN at the age of 15. She later becomes a member of the faculty.

Oakes Hall, or Recitation Hall, a 3-story classroom building, is completed. It stands across from the location of the present Rosenkrans buildings, and in front of the north wing of old Stroud Hall.

George Bible resigns

Ellwood Kemp becomes principal.

Training program was extended to three years.

The first men's and women's basketball games are played.

Edna Rosenkrans is hired. She later becomes the head of the English department.

Elizabeth Kurtz joins the faculty as a professor of mathematics and science.

Cornerstone laid on May 20 for Shawnee Lodge, on the other side old Stroud Hall from Oakes Hall. Shawnee Lodge is torn down in the 1950s.

Normal Echoes ceases publication, probably because of lack of funds.

Faculty load is six classes a day, plus coaching athletics, advising students, and advising extracurricular activities. PA Normal Schools are criticized for the heavy workload expected of the faculty.

Daniel LaRue, a psychologist who eventually became the head of the English Department, is hired.

Training program extended to four years

Land at front of campus along Prospect Street is cleared to allow for a proper campus entrance. A gate with pillars is constructed in the location of the present College Circle.

The first yearbook, the Minispearean, is published.

Excelsior Society is established for day students, but it doesn't last long.

Student publication, The Birch Bark, appears

Stockholders approve the sale of ESSN to the state because declining enrollment and wartime inflation led to deficits. There is a 10-year mortgage on the property. The school is in danger of becoming bankrupt.

Julia is dedicated in November

The formal transfer of ESSN to the state takes place in January.

Ellwood Kemp announces his retirement in August.

In September, all students entering state normal schools had to have graduated from a 4-year high school. The normal schools can provide preparatory training for rural students who have no access to a 4-year high school, but the schools are to end the prep program as soon as possible.

In March, the state approves a new curriculum for teacher training: kindergarten to third grade, fourth to seventh, and seventh to ninth.

Frank Baker becomes ESSN's third principal.

ESSN begins offering a summer program for teachers who want to continue their education.

A new nine-member Board of Trustees is appointed by the state, including the first women to serve on an ESSN board.

The Birch Bark ceases publication

Wayne Gymnasium is officially named.

A physical education program with a 3-year curriculum is approved for ESSN.

A new yearbook is published under the name of the Mountaineer. After 1921, no yearbook is published until 1936.

Annual state examinations are discontinued because the state Department of Instruction carefully monitors admissions, and the curricula for each normal school is standardized.

An education reform package, the Edmonds Act, is passed. Teachers' minimum wages are raised, and they are given incentives for continuing education. State Board of Education is replaced with the State Council of Education. The state superintendent is in charge.

In May, the buildings on campus are given their official names; Main Building becomes Stroud Hall, Recitation Hall becomes Oakes Hall. It is unclear what Shawnee Lodge was called before it got its name.

Elizabeth Kurtz dies.

In May, LeRoy Koehler is hired. He goes on to succeed Helen Bell Trimble as the head of the Social Studies Department.

ESSN's enrollment of high school prep students is down to one.

Frank Baker resigns.

Tracy Allen becomes the next principal. He works to improve the standards of the faculty by making an effort to hire Ph.D.s.

Genevieve Zimbar is hired. She takes over most of the women's programs, and coached women's athletics.

Legislation is passed to allow the State Council of Education to designate state normal schools as 4-year teachers colleges.

ESSN completely phases out high school prep.

Enrollment reaches 625 students.

Oscar Liljenstein is hired. He starts a co-ed gymnastics team that does not compete, but holds demonstrations at high schools and is used as a recruiting tool for ESSN.

Hen Walther's, a local student hangout, opens on Normal Street.

All normal school faculty presents the Board of Principles with a new four-year curriculum.

In June, ESSN becomes a 4-year state teacher's college.

ESSN purchases land from the Roop Estate, part of the land is the location of the present Eiler-Martin Stadium, for athletic fields.

Soccer becomes an intercollegiate sport.

In June, ESSN becomes State Teachers College at East Stroudsburg, but most people refer to it as East Stroudsburg State Teachers College.

Students have the option of earning a B.S. in education or a 2-year normal certification in elementary education.

An auditorium, possibly Abeloff, is built.

First issue of the Stroud Courier is published.

Richard Hayes leaves ESSN.

A. Lester Crapser becomes head of the health and physical education department.

A facilities plant is built on Normal Street.

Construction begins on the President's residence.

Tracy Allen exchanges the title of principal for that of president.

Wrestling becomes an intercollegiate sport.

Kappa Delta Phi, for many years the only honorary at ESSTC, is established.

The 2-year normal certification for elementary education is no longer offered by the state. The state replaces the Normal School Certificate with the State Standard Limited Certificate which can still be completed in two years, but 12 additional credits earned during the next six years after earning the certificate are required.

In April, a Stroud Courier columnist begins referring to the athletic teams, which have always been referred to as the Red and Blacks, as the Warriors.

Students begin to pay an annual student fee of $20 so the student body now has money of its own.

Rudy's becomes a hangout for the male students.

The Student Loan Fund is started to help needy students who can borrow a maximum of up to $200 without interest until a year after graduation.

The state legislature votes to eliminate ESSTC, and three other teachers colleges because of the Depression. The community begins a campaign to lobby legislators to keep the school.

Ruth Jones becomes Dean of Women.

After a 15-year hiatus, another yearbook, The Stroud, is published.

A professional association that lobbies for the 14 state teachers colleges, the Association of State Teachers' College Faculty, a precursor to APSCUF, is founded.

Ellwood Kemp dies at age 81.

A new football stadium, later to be called Eiler-Martin Stadium, is dedicated.

All students entering state teachers colleges for education are required to complete a four-year degree.

A. Lester Crapser is dismissed, along with other faculty.

The entire Board of Trustees is replaced.

Tracy Allen resigns.

Daniel LaRue becomes interim president.

Joseph Noonan becomes president.

Enrollment begins to decline and continues throughout most of WWII.

Monroe Hall, originally a men's dormitory, and Zimbar-Liljenstein, originally a gymnasium, open.

In October, 48 men and 16 women enroll in a 4-credit aviation program sponsored by the Civil Aeronautics Authority.

On October 12, classes are canceled so that male students and employees can register for the draft.

Eugene Martin, football coach and Dean of Men, is hired.

DeNike, originally a laboratory school, and the Center for Hospitality Management, originally a dining hall, open.

The College Defense Council is formed in November. Its committees are: Air Raid Warning, Fire Protection, American Unity, First Aid Classes, Conservation of Defense Essentials, and Men in Service.

Field hockey becomes the second women's sport.

College begins offering a Red Cross course.

In February, faculty and students sign up for first aid classes organized by Howard DeNike.

Retrenchment occurs because of declining enrollment. It happens again in 1943.

William Grady Moore, Ph.D. in Biology, is hired.

Football, basketball, baseball, and soccer seasons are canceled.

Homecoming is canceled.

The weekly dances stop, but resume sometime after WWII.

Hen Walther's closes and is later replaced by Fred's “Old College” Inn on Normal Street.

For the first time, all four officers and the president of the Student Senate are women.

Enrollment increases.

Homecoming Day is restored.

Limited football practice begins in preparation for the next season.

The soccer team, coached by Howard DeNike, begins to play in the junior varsity league and plays local high schools.

In December, men's varsity basketball is reinstated.

The gymnastics team puts on exhibitions again.

Madelon Powers is hired.

Women's sports are expanded to include tennis.

The first baseball game since 1942 is played.

The ban on women smoking on or off-campus is relaxed, and a room in Stroud Hall is designated for smoking.

In response to legislation brought before PA lawmakers, and to lobbying by private colleges, on February 9, alumni, citizens, presidents of eight teachers colleges, and sympathetic state lawmakers gather at Slippery Rock for a meeting. The presidents' wish list includes the following: the elimination of fees (tuition); the preparation of teachers exclusively in state-owned or state-aided institutions; the restriction of any future scholarship program to graduate students; the extension of course offerings to include other types of education.

Kurt Wimer is hired to teach German and social studies.

Katherine McFarland from the speech department is hired.

T. Edward Terrill of the english department is hired.

Walter Stein is hired to teach chemistry part-time.

Edna Rosenkrans retires.

Students begin living under faculty supervision at two hotels: the Fenner in East Stroudsburg, and the Bellevue in Delaware Water Gap. There is a campus housing shortage because no new buildings have been constructed in many years, and enrollment has increased.

An infirmary is built. The building was not named in the source material, “Pride and Promise,” but at the time of publication it housed ROTC and Upward Bound.

By the 1947-48 academic year, administration-supported male hazing has stopped. Most male students are war veterans who have no time for or interest in hazing.

George Ockershausen is hired as a football coach.

Helen Brown begins teaching physical education and becomes the adviser to Women's Recreation Association.

George Gessner begins teaching physics.

David Corson begins teaching music and becomes the director for the chorus and the band.

Mary Whitenight becomes a physical education instructor.

Marie Brown is hired to run the Laboratory School kindergarten.

Daniel LaRue retires.

John Wildrick joins the faculty. He has been a cooperating teacher in the Laboratory School since 1940.

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education accredits ESSTC.

On April 28, ESSTC receives accreditation from Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

Seven faculty are retrenched in anticipation of decreasing enrollment because of the draft for the Korean War.

Enrollment declines.

In the fall, weekly dances are canceled for the rest of the year because the students are showing too much public affection.

Hazing returns.

Act 600 of the PA General Assembly creates a salary schedule that ranks faculty according to degree and experience, and it allows for sabbatical leave. There are four ranks ranging from instructor to full professor. An earned doctorate is the minimum qualification for full professor.

Degrees in dental hygiene and public health nursing are added. Trained professionals in these fields can earn a degree in two years.

A concentration in recreation within the health and physical education department is added.

A small laundry building is completed. At the time of publication, the building housed the computer center.

Shawnee Lodge is demolished.

Shawnee Hall is built as a men's dormitory.

John Appel is hired to teach history.

Russell Emele is hired to join the library staff. He later becomes its director.

Rose Mekeel joins the education department.

Mildred Wheatley becomes the assistant dean of women.

Enrollment begins to increase.

Women's archery is added to the sports program.

Joseph Noonan resigns in September. Theodore Moore, professor of English and dean of instruction becomes acting president.

The Indian Queen Hotel on Main Street becomes a residence hall for first-year women because of the housing shortage on campus. They are supervised by Janet Simpson, supervisor of women.

Board of Trustees is fired.

Harold Wiggins, politically powerful head of buildings and grounds, is fired. He is replaced by Carl Woolever, head of Stroudsburg CIO.

LeRoy J. Koehler becomes president.

On January 29, five students are killed when their car is hit head-on by a Greyhound bus.

ESSTC advises the Department of Instruction to condemn Rosie's College Inn on Normal Street because the college wants to extend its heating plant, and Rose Morrie, who has been running the diner since the 1930s, does not want to sell.

The administration approves a Newman Club.

Rosie's College Inn on Normal Street closes.

The college hires Wood's Catering to take over food service from ESSTC.

Rosie's II opens on Normal Street about where Dansbury Commons is today.

Rosenkrans Hall opens.

Oscar Liljenstein retires. Frank Sills becomes the head of the health and physical education department.

George Ockershausen becomes the first athletic director.

ESSTC becomes a comprehensive state college.

The dormitory Laurel Hall is completed.

Gessner Hall opens.

LaRue Hall opens.

The library moves from Stroud Hall to Rosenkrans.

Golf is added.

Frank Baker dies.

Forty-six men are living at the Castle Inn in Delaware Water Gap because of the housing shortage. Twenty-two men are living in Professor Joseph Kovarick's summer house.

SAT scores become a requirement for admission to ESSC.

Sigma Pi becomes the first social fraternity on campus.

Fifty-five first-year women are living in Willow Dell, a resort in Minisink Hills, because of the continuing housing shortage.

John Appel becomes the director of the liberal arts program.

The college begins offering courses leading to master of education degrees in biology, in general science, and in health and physical education.

The Women's Recreation Association buys Stony Acres.

Men's cross-country is added.

The dining hall switches to cafeteria-style dining instead of sit-down meals.

Forty-five students enroll in courses leading to the newly offered B.A. degrees in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Martin Buck takes over Fred's College Shop on Normal Street.

The Women's Recreation Association donates Stony Acres to the student body.

Act 484 creates the state community college system.

Women's lacrosse is added.

Linden Hall opens.

The Graduate School opens with Eugene Stish as director.

Joseph Noonan dies.

Hawthorn Hall opens.

Minsi Hall opens.

ESSC purchases a computer.

Temple University receives state-related status.

The Board of Trustees approves a tenure policy. Koehler had been following an informal tenure policy of his own for years.

Sigma Tau becomes the first sorority on campus.

In January, draft deferments for college students are lifted.

The University of Pittsburgh receives state-related status.

Competitive gymnastics for women is added.

Denny Douds joins the football coaching staff.

The razing of Stroud Hall causes the displacement of 200 women, who are sent to live in Minsi Hall, a men's dormitory on campus, which displaces men. The men are sent to live in the American House on Main Street in Stroudsburg.

Koehler Fieldhouse opens.

College offers Master of Education degrees in history, political science, and elementary education. The master's in health and physical education continues to draw the largest number of graduate students.

Students protest in front of Monroe Hall in May. It is the first student protest on campus. Their demands are for later hours for women, and for relaxing the rules for students who live in off-campus housing.

Genevieve Zimbar dies.

Increased crime leads ESSC to hire Globe Security.

Old Stroud Hall is torn down to make way for new Stroud Hall.

Student Center opens.

LeRoy Koehler retires.

Madelon Powers retires.

Eugene “Puffer” Martin retires.

Ruth Jones retires.

Frank Sills becomes president.

Sills convenes a committee of students, faculty, and administrators to create a Student Code of Conduct, a Student Bill of Rights, and a Student-Faculty Disciplinary Board.

Tracy Allen dies.

Howard DeNike retires.

The Office of Institutional Research is created to provide data for the college.

Accusing the state higher education system of being de facto segregationist, the Department of Housing, Education, and Welfare threatens to cut off funding if PA does not rectify the problem.

Leon Zinkler is asked to start a minority recruiting program to work at attracting minority students from outside of mostly white Monroe County.

The administration begins to relax dormitory curfew and off-campus housing rules for women.

Competitive gymnastics for men is added.

The theatre group Mask and Zany becomes Stage II. ESSC's theatre group is recognized internationally as one of the top five American college and university theatre groups.

Hemlock Hall opens.

Faculty senate is established to allow faculty to have a voice in ESSC governance.

Faculty senate approves a new 60-credit general education program.

Louis Murdock, ESSC's first black faculty member, is hired to direct the special students program.

Women's dormitory curfew and off-campus housing rules are relaxed further.

The last freshman hazing takes place.

The campus underground newspaper, the Loyal Opposition, is first published. It lasts a few issues.

On the night of May 5, students gather in the Student Center lobby to hold an all-night vigil for the students killed at Kent State.

Students meet the next Monday to voice their opinions on Cambodia and Kent State. The administration does not cancel classes, and there is no riot.

Frank Sills has a heart attack and spends 26 days in Pocono Hospital.

Act 13 grants more autonomy to state college and creates a Board of College and University Directors to oversee the system.

Act 195, the Public Employees Relations Act, is passed. It allows state employees to bargain collectively.

Women's archery team participates in the United States Intercollegiate Championships for the first time.

LeRoy Koehler dies.

In December, the faculty senate disbands because APSCUF is made the exclusive collective bargaining group for state college faculty. APSCUF's origins can be traced back to the Association of State Teachers' College Faculty which was created in 1937.

Campus radio station, WESS, receives its final license.

Frank Sills asks for sabbatical leave and to be reassigned to the Physical Education Department upon his return.

Darrell Holmes becomes president.

Office of Minority Affairs is created to provide counseling and tutoring services to minority students. Over time, it evolves into the Center for Educational Opportunity, and includes services to white students.

The College Shop on Normal Street is razed to make room for the Moore Biology Building.

Lincoln University receives state-related status.

The first contract between the state and APSCUF is passed during the summer. It is retroactive to November 2, 1971.

Construction on Reibman is completed.

Students march from the Student Center to the president's house on Tuesday, February 6 to demand 24-hour dorm visitation.

ESSC's first African-American fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, opens.

Winter break is lengthened to February 4 to conserve energy.

Student drug-use and littering in Koehler Fieldhouse after an Earth, Wind & Fire concert is used as a rationale for banning rock concerts in the future.

ROTC is established at ESSC.

On July 11, the Office of Education issues concept documents based on reports from the 14 colleges. The report reaffirms the colleges' commitment to teacher education and basic liberal arts, but adds new missions in human services, public administration and public services, business, and technology. Harrisburg wanted the colleges to concentrate the new missions on avoiding duplication with PA's private institutions, but instead, the 14 colleges concentrate on avoiding duplication with each other. ESSC is placed in a block with Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, and Bloomsburg. It cannot offer major new programs that are already offered by the other colleges in the same block.

Men's archery is added.

Softball is added.

Women's track and field is added.

Women's volleyball is added.

The PA Department of Education orders the college presidents to prepare retrenchment lists. Darrell Holmes feels that he does not have to retrench faculty because he has been careful with ESSC's budget. ESSC is one of the state colleges that does not send retrenchment letters to permanent faculty.

Frank Sills retires.

The Communications Center is named after Francis McGarry.

Men's volleyball is added.

The Human Services building is named after Howard DeNike.

The Fine Arts Building opens.

Oakes Hall is demolished.

Trustees approve 24-hour dorm visitation.

Holmes administration sends retrenchment letters to 18 faculty.

Darrell Holmes retires on September 15, 1979.

Eric Schaar becomes interim president.

The hospitality management program is established.

The nursing program loses its accreditation because of students' poor performance on exams.

Kemp Library is completed.

The Middle States Association defers accreditation renewal for two years to give ESSC time to resolve its issues.

Dennis Bell becomes president on August 1, 1980.

Nursing program accreditation is reinstated.

Middle States grants accreditation to ESSC for five years.

Act 188 is passed on November 12. It establishes the State System of Higher Education. It creates a Board of Governors and a chancellor whose responsibility is to govern the 14 state institutions without having to obtain approval from the Department of Education. Act 188 also allows the universities to accept private gifts.

The Women's Center opens in Rosenkrans.

ESSC becomes ESU on July 1.

Men's and women's archery is eliminated.

The college foundation is established again as the ESU Foundation with Lawrence Naftulin as its director of university advancement.

The Alumni Association merges with ESU and is overseen by Lawrence Naftulin.

Dennis Bell retires.

James Gilbert becomes president.

Honors program is established.

Men's and women's gymnastics is eliminated.

Men's and women's swimming and diving is eliminated.

Golf is eliminated.

Women's soccer is added.

The newly renovated University Center opens.

The university store moves to University Center.

ESU Foundation publishes “Pride and Promise: A Centennial History of East Stroudsburg University,” written by Peter Nevins, Dr. Lawrence Squeri, and Dr. Neil Hogan.

Field hockey team wins the ECAC Division II title.

Men's volleyball team wins the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Division II title

Women's and men's soccer teams, and the basketball team win PA State Athletic Conference championships.

Men's volleyball team wins the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Division II title.

Field hockey team wins ECAC Division II title.

The newly renovated Dansbury Commons opens.

The food court in University Center becomes part of dining services.

The University Health Center is renovated.

The Horizon computer system with a Windows interface is purchased for Kemp Library.

A committee is formed to investigate the construction of a student recreation center.

A committee is formed to study the feasibility of co-locating the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of the Registrar, and the Office of Business Services.

A grant provides funds to construct a park, Driebe Park, near Kemp Library.

Another grant provides funds for renovating the Alumni Center, scheduled to begin in 1996.

A grant provides funds to renovate the interior of Abeloff.

The Office of Public Affairs and Conferences creates a website for the university, www.esu.edu.

The Master of Public Health program is reaccredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.

James Gilbert retires.

Robert Dillman becomes president.

Beers Lecture Hall opens.

Mattioli Recreation Center opens.

Marching band is reinstated and directed by Otis French.

University Ridge opens.

Funding Year in Review begins publication. The publication reviews grants awarded to ESU during the previous fiscal year.

ESU's Research and Economic Development division is established to address the role higher education plays in economic development and to position ESU as a leader in research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce training.

Science and Technology Center opens

The Innovation Center opens.

ESU Foundation reorganizes and encompasses alumni engagement and development.

Robert Dillman retires.

Marcia Welsh becomes president.

The Sterling Strauser Gallery is established at the Innovation Center.

Hawthorn and Hemlock Suites open.

The Lehigh Valley Center opens

Robert Dillman dies.

Richard Santoro becomes ESU Foundation executive director.

Sycamore Suites open.

2017- Launched a new brand identity which included two new logos (one institutional, one athletic) a new Warriors mascot, and the tagline, “Where Warriors Belong”.

The 125th Anniversary Celebration of the university

Launch of Doctorate in Health Sciences

President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., announces her retirement.

PASSHE Board of Governor’s appoints Kenneth Long, M.B.A., as interim president

COVID Pandemic forces campus to move to remote instruction

Koehler Fieldhouse addition of a generator and air conditioning system

Field Hockey team wins NCAA DII Title

After a national search, Kenneth Long, M.B.A., installed as the 14th President