University of Evansville

Front Oval in the Spring of 2005.

The University of Evansville began in 1854 when Moores Hill Male and Female Collegiate Institute was founded by John Moore in the small town of Moores Hill in southeastern Indiana. The first college building at Moores Hill, Moore Hall, was completed on December 1, 1856, although the opening day of classes for the new college was held in the unfinished building on September 9. The institution struggled financially during its time in Moores Hill, and a fire destroyed Moore Hall in 1915. The institution continued to operate in a second building, Carnegie Hall, until the move to Evansville. The former campus in Moores Hill continued operation as an elementary and high school. Carnegie Hall is now maintained as a museum.

On March 21, 1917, George S. Clifford made a presentation at a special session of the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Church, suggesting that the college be moved to Evansville, Indiana. Clifford produced a map that highlighted a lack of colleges in the Evansville area. After some deliberation and the city of Evansville raising $514,000 for the college, it was relocated to Evansville in 1919 and renamed Evansville College. It operated in temporary quarters in downtown Evansville until Administration Hall (now Olmsted Hall) was completed in 1922. This is the only building remaining on campus from before World War II.

In the period from World War II to 1960, Evansville College grew significantly. Enrollment grew from about 400 during the Great Depression to 1,500 in 1946. Also following the war, the Science and Engineering Building and Alumni Memorial Union were commissioned. The Clifford Memorial Library was completed in 1957. Five residence halls were built between 1958 and 1967, along with a fitness center, dining hall, and an art building. In 1967, due to the institution's growth and organizational changes, the name was changed to the University of Evansville with the approval of the Indiana State General Assembly. Also in 1967, a new theater building, Hyde Hall, housing Shanklin Theater was finished.

In 2010 The University of Evansville completed early its Endowment Campaign to raise $80 million after having raised an additional $60 million five years previous to the new campaign. On July 1, 2018, Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz became the University of Evansville's 24th president.

The University of Evansville athletic teams have the nickname the Purple Aces (originally the "Pioneers"). Both men's and women's varsity sports play at the NCAA Division I level and compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, except for the men's swimming and diving teams which compete in the Mid-American Conference

The university campus is characterized by its grassy open spaces and tree cover. The university landscape is well maintained, and many students take advantage of the spacious lawns and large shade trees. The campus is bounded on the north by the Lloyd Expressway, the south by Lincoln Avenue, west by Rotherwood Avenue, and on the east by Weinbach Avenue. Walnut Street bisects the campus. Sesquicentennial Oval, the ceremonial entrance to campus, opens off of Lincoln Avenue. The oval was named in 2004 in commemoration of the university's 150th anniversary. The Schroeder Family School of Business, McCurdy Alumni Memorial Union, Sampson Hall / Mann Health Center, Hyde Hall, Olmsted Administration Hall, Clifford Memorial Library, and Koch (pronounced Cook) Center for Science and Engineering (all sectors of the original and later additional science/engineering buildings) surround Sesquicentennial Oval. Most of the buildings follow an old limestone motif, and renovations generally emulate the rest of the building.

Evansville College
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	1800 Lincoln Ave., Evansville, Indiana
Coordinates	37°58′17″N 87°31′54″W
Area	7 acres (2.8 ha)
Built	1921
Architect	Miller, Fullenwider, & Dowling; Anderson & Veatch
Architectural style	Collegiate Gothic
NRHP reference No.	83000106[11]
Added to NRHP	February 3, 1983

The Administration Hall and the President's House and Circle were named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[12]

Koch Center was originally named the Engineering and Science Building when it was built in 1947. The motivation for the new building stemmed from WWII, after which UE expected a greater number of students to enroll with the intent of getting industrial degrees.[13] After renovations in the late 1970s, the building was renamed in November 1984 in honor of Robert Louis Koch who had been a member of the UE Board of Trustees since 1968; Koch had recently given a donation to the university's New Century Capital Campaign that was being used to build a new library.[14] (Not to be confused with the Kochs, Robert L. Koch was the chairman of the board of George Koch Sons, Inc.—an industrial company in Evansville—and son of Louis J. Koch, founder of the Holiday World amusement park.[15]) Koch Center experienced another renovation, including a large new addition on its south side, in 2001.[16]

In 2016, the Peters-Margedant House museum was moved to campus and then opened for tours in 2017.[17] The 552 square foot house was built by Evansville native William Wesley Peters[18] who was the son-in-law of, and right-hand man to, Frank Lloyd Wright.[19]

Sororities

• Alpha Omicron Pi 1951
• Chi Omega 1951
• Phi Mu 1952
• Zeta Tau Alpha 1964
• Alpha Phi 1974-1983 (closed)
• Delta Omega Zeta 2005 (local sorority on campus)

Fraternities

• Acacia 1950-1958 (closed)
• Sigma Phi Epsilon 1955
• Lambda Chi Alpha 1956
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon 1957
• Tau Kappa Epsilon 1957
• Phi Kappa Tau 1968
• Phi Gamma Delta 1997

WUEV started in 1951, was a noncommercial, 6100-watt FM Radio station located at 91.5 MHz, owned and operated by the University of Evansville. WUEV also streamed online and became the first internet radio station in Indiana in 1996.[20] The station was operated entirely by a student staff. In May 2019, the university announced plans to sell the station to WAY-FM, a nonprofit nationwide network that plays contemporary Christian music.[21] This decision had been protested by students who had objected that the plan has not been discussed with them despite being studied for two years by the university administration.[22][23][24][25] The sale to WAY-FM was consummated on November 25, 2019.

Alumni include numerous prominent entertainers, sports stars, and doctors. Among them are Matt Williams, producer and writer of The Cosby Show, Home Improvement, and Roseanne; actor Rami Malek, Emmy award winner for best drama series (Mr. Robot) and 2019 Golden Globe for Best Actor and Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Bohemian Rhapsody; Jack McBrayer, actor on 30 Rock; Jerry Sloan, NBA player and Hall of Fame head coach; David Weir, Scottish international soccer player; actress on The Wire, Deirdre Lovejoy; Jim Michaels, Golden Globe nominee and NAACP Image Award-winning television producer (Supernatural, Everybody Hates Chris); Ron Glass, actor on the TV series Barney Miller and Firefly; Carrie Preston, actress on a number of TV series including True Blood, The Good Wife, and The Good Fight; Toby Onwumere, actor on Empire and Sense8; Andy Benes, MLB pitcher, #1 overall draft pick (1988); Kyle Freeland, MLB top 10 draft pick, NL Cy Young top finisher and current pitcher for the Colorado Rockies; and Kelli Giddish, actor and longtime star of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

• Klinger, George; "We Face the Future Unafraid" (Evansville, Ind; University of Evansville Press, 2003). ISBN 978-0-930982-56-0

• Official website
• Evansville Athletics website