Colby–Sawyer College

New London Academy

A legislative charter was granted by the State of New Hampshire in 1837 to 11 New London citizens for the purpose of establishing a school in the town. The eleven men who were named as the academy’s incorporators were Joseph Colby, Anthony Colby, Perley Burpee, Jonathan Greeley, John Brown, Jonathan Herrick, David Everett, Samuel Carr, Walter Flanders, Jonathan Addison, and Marshall Trayne.

It was a coeducational secondary school, for which Susan Colby served as the first teacher and principal. It opened with a student body of 26 girls and one boy, but soon enrolled 54 more male students.

In 1858 the New Hampton Literary and Theological Institution moved to Fairfax, Vermont, and the New Hampshire Baptists, with encouragement from former Governor Anthony Colby and New London’s Baptist minister, Ebenezer Dodge, assumed responsibility for the Academy. The name was changed to the New London Literary and Scientific Institute. The new Board of Trustees was made up of twenty-four members, three-fourths of whom had to be from New Hampshire but not from New London and three-fourths of whom also had to be Baptists in good standing.

New London Literary and Scientific Institution

In 1854, the Ladies Boarding House (later called Heidelberg) was built (on what is now the New London green) to accommodate up to forty female students and the female faculty. Anthony Colby also purchased the original New London town meeting house and moved it to campus, where it was renovated to provide twenty double rooms for the male students. The building is called Colby Hall. In 1870 the new brick Academy building was dedicated, located on the present site of Colgate Hall. The building provided dormitory space for one hundred female students as well as classrooms, laboratories, library, gymnastic facilities, chapel, dining room, kitchen, and laundry facilities.

Colby Academy

The New London Literary and Scientific Institution was in 1878 renamed Colby Academy in tribute to the ongoing support of the Colby family of New London.

Financed by Mary (”Mellie”) Colgate, Colgate Hall was completed and dedicated in 1912, named in honor of the Colgate family whose members were dedicated supporters of the college. Colgate Hall housed female students, administrative offices, a library, dining room, kitchen, chapel, classrooms, and laundry. The male students continued to reside in Colby Hall.

Colby School for Girls to Colby Junior College for Women

After 90 years as a secondary school, Colby Academy trustees voted in 1927 to transform Colby Academy into a junior college and preparatory school for women. In 1930 fourteen women received the first associate degrees conferred by Colby School for Girls.

McKean Hall was built in 1930, named for Dr. Horace G. McKean, Colby Academy’s headmaster from 1899 to 1905. In 1931 Colby Hall was built, a residence hall named in honor of the Colby family. In 1931 Shepard Hall was built in honor of one of the original New London families who were trustees of the Academy and the College. In 1934 Burpee Hall was built, dedicated to the Burpee alumni, and trustees. The hall housed the library collection until 1949.

In 1933, by an act of the New Hampshire Legislature, Colby School for Girls was changed to Colby Junior College for Women. The preparatory courses were phased out.

On October 18, 1941, Eleanor Roosevelt visited the college and gave a speech to the community at the Baptist church.

In 1943, the college charter was amended by the New Hampshire General Court to allow the granting of baccalaureate programs.

Colby-Sawyer College

The Board of Trustees changed the name of the college to Colby College-New Hampshire in 1973. In 1974, it was reported to the Board of Trustees that the college faced a lawsuit by Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, regarding its name, and so in 1975, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name to Colby–Sawyer College.

The Windy Hill School, a child study lab school, was established in 1976 as a site for teacher internships and student practica. The Windy Hill School is now housed in the college's first building designed to be LEED certified (opened 2010) and remains one of the few lab schools in northern New England.

In 1989, the Board of Trustees announced that Colby–Sawyer College would begin admitting male students beginning in the fall of 1990, returning the college to its coeducational roots.

In 1990, the Ware Campus Center, formerly the Library-Commons building, was dedicated to Judge Martha Ware. In 1991 the Hogan Sports Center, dedicated to Daniel and Kathleen Hogan, and the Kelsey Tennis courts opened, and in 1994 the Mercer Field was dedicated in honor of William and Ramona Mercer. In 1995 the Baker Communications Center was dedicated, named for Elbert H. Baker, distinguished in the communications industry and father of Martine Baker Anderson, class of 1959.

In 2004, the Curtis L. Ivey Science Center opened, and the student lodge was renamed the Lethbridge Lodge in honor of trustee and friend, George “Bud” Lethbridge. In fall 2010 the new Windy Hill school opened, and in summer 2011 Colby-Sawyer introduced online summer courses.

Colby-Sawyer was featured in the 2007 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "Great Schools, Great Prices" category of the top comprehensive baccalaureate colleges in the North.

Presidents

Dr. Sawyer served as president until his retirement in 1955, followed by Presidents Eugene M. Austin (1955–1962) and Everett M. Woodman (1962–1972). The college began its transition to a senior institution during the administration of Louis C. Vaccaro (1972–1978) and completed this change under the presidency of H. Nicholas Muller, III (1978–1986). Peggy A. Stock (1986–1995), sixth president of the college, increased enrollment, completed a successful capital campaign, and constructed or renovated several buildings, including Rooke Hall. Anne Ponder became the seventh president of the College in March 1996. Dr. Ponder extended the college's contiguous land holdings to 190 acres (0.77 km²), to build and dedicate Lawson Hall, and to enhance academic facilities and programs. Tom Galligan joined Colby–Sawyer College as its eighth president in August 2006. In July 2016, President Galligan was succeeded by Dr. Susan D. Stuebner as the ninth president.

Mission

That all Colby–Sawyer College students will:

Academic departments

Special programs and services

Honor societies

Accreditation

New England Association of Schools and College (NEASC); Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP); commission Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE); New Hampshire Board of Nursing; New Hampshire Board of Education.

Science Center and Library

The Curtis L. Ivey Science Center opened in September 2004. The 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m²) building houses the Community and Environmental Studies and Biology Programs, as well as faculty in the Natural Sciences Department. The Center includes Clements Hall, the 182 seat auditorium, and the geographic information systems (GIS) laboratory.

Cleveland Colby Colgate Archives

In addition to institutional records, the Archives maintains the Colby Sawyer College's Special Collections which consists of the college's selection of rare books as well as manuscript collections of notable men and women from New Hampshire, including the late New Hampshire Congressman James C. Cleveland's papers and the Pillsbury Family papers.

Notable alumni and faculty

Campus initiatives

Athletics

The Colby-Sawyer athletics program consists of intercollegiate, club, intramural and recreational sports. Colby–Sawyer College competes as an NCAA Division III institution, and is a member of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), the Division I United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) and the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA). From 1995 to 2011, Colby-Sawyer competed as a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). In 2018-19, Colby-Sawyer will leave the NECC to become members of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC).

Colby-Sawyer offers seven varsity men's sports: alpine skiing, baseball, basketball, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track & field. Colby-Sawyer offers eight varsity women's sports: alpine skiing, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Colby-Sawyer offers one co-ed sport: equestrian. In 1989, the equestrian team won a share of the IHSA national hunt-seat championship, tying with Penn State.

Active club sports at CSC are cycling, golf, ice hockey, outing club, men's and women's rugby, cross county running, snowboarding, softball, men's lacrosse, and fencing. Also: Flag Football, Co-Rec Volleyball, 3 on 3 Basketball, and Fall Golf, 5 on 5 Basketball, Floor Hockey, Co-Rec Dodgeball, Co-Rec Indoor Soccer, and Spring Golf.