FAITH AND PERSERVEREANCE:

HOW QU ENDURED FOR 160 YEARS

by Fr. Joe Zimmerman

'THE DIFFICULT WE DO IMMEDIATELY. THE IMPOSSIBLE TAKES A LITTLE LONGER."

In its long history, Quincy University has fought to inspire, educate, and influence generations of students amid economic decline, wars, disease, and civil unrest. As the university celebrities its 160th year, it faces another crisis that will require it to persevere with the courage and tenacity that has brought it this far.

Quincy College has had its crises from its earliest days. Fr. Anselm Mueller, president for almost forty years, had to fight in the 1860s for a separate building for the school so that it could welcome boarding students. The result was the east section of what is today, Francis Hall.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression caused the school to cancel periodical subscriptions and cut back on heating fuel. The college consisted of a two-year college curriculum and a high school program referred to as “The Academy.” In 1939 Franciscan Province authorities in St. Louis ordered the faculty to discontinue the college and focus on the high school. The faculty defied the authorities, closed the high school, and kept the college.

Then came the Second World War. Enrollment was down to 50 students, almost all women. What saved the day at that time was a program for training naval reserve military. The tuition from this program helped tide the school over until the post-war burst of enrollment caused by returning veterans with their government tuition grants put the school on a more sure footing.

The 1960s saw two forces combine to explode enrollment. The “baby boomers,” children born to returning World War II veterans, reached college age, and the Vietnam War permitted young men to avoid the draft as long as they were in college.

Although American campuses expanded in the late 1950s and 1960s, enrollment began to decline in the mid to late 1970s. Enrollment decline combined with the energy crisis, inflation, and increased costs threatened the existence of many 4-year liberal arts colleges across the U.S. Quincy College prevailed, launching its first master's program and reinstating the Football Program in the early 1980s and becoming a university in the 1990s.

In addition to outside challenges, Quincy University’s Franciscan origins caused two long-term problems in its history. One was its failure to cultivate alumni support. Until the 1960s, the friars were the majority of the faculty and staff and received no pay; after 1970, they earned 50 percent of what their academic or staff positions warranted. Cultivating alumni seemed unnecessary, and even contrary to the Franciscan spirit. The saying was, “The Franciscans are our endowment.” Everyone assumed that the arrangement would never change. The assumption was wrong.

The second difficulty was the problem of leadership. Back in the 1960s, a Harvard sociologist named David Riesman pointed out that the biggest threat to the future of Black and religious colleges would be difficulty in recruiting effective leaders. Friars were appointed to lead Quincy College without administrative preparation. As a result, decisions were reactive, made in response to immediate problems, and often left deeper issues unresolved.

For 160 years, Quincy University has overcome external and internal challenges. Time has proven people are committed to Quincy University, and when people are committed to a project, they find resources to support it. Now the university faces a new crisis -Covid-19. The Franciscans hope that the pandemic will open the way for a greater expression of Franciscan and religious values.

1860

Classes begin in building at 8th and Maine. Interestingly, the school would not have a permanent residence for eleven years.

1871

Classes begin in the new building, now the eastern wing of St. Francis. Bishop Peter Joseph Baltes dedicated the building on September 12, 1871.

1912

The QU Chapel is completed and dedicated

1917

College name changed from St. Francis Solanus College to Quincy College and Seminary.

1930s

College survives the Great Depression and the college welcomes its first female students

1940s

World War II greatly reduces enrollment; the college survives by training naval cadets and army reservists.

1950s

College achieves first accreditation by the North Central Association.

1960s

Enrollment reaches an all-time high and the college expands by adding Brenner Library, McHugh Theatre, several residence halls, and the Soccer Program.

1970s

Despite facing the energy crisis, the decline in enrollment, and increased costs the college developed the faculty senate, established a full-time chaplain on campus, and built a new soccer field at North Campus.

1980s

College adds MBA, acquires North Campus and QU Stadium, and joins the NCAA, Division I, and II.

1990s

College renamed Quincy University

2000s

The university hires the first lay president in its history and builds the Health & Fitness Center.

2010s

The university adds the Connie Niemann Center for Music, a new Student Living Center, Quincy Media Inc. Broadcast Studio, Student Success Center, and renovates QU Stadium