Howard W. Hewitt – President Patrick White, the College’s 15th president, presented a special Chapel Talk Tuesday commemorating the 175th anniversary of the College. He harkened back to 1832 and the schools’ first teacher, Caleb Mills.
You can hear the entire speech in a Podcast here.
The President talked about the importance of history and asked the students gathered to join him with a ‘historical imagination’ to ponder what Mills would think of Wabash today.
“What would Caleb Mills do if he walked among us,” the President asked. “What would he say?”
White noted Mills’ first class was just 12 men. He ruminated on what Mills might think as he discovered his old home, Hovey Cottage, and Forest Hall where the first classes were held. What would he think of Hays Hall, the Chapel, or the Allen Center, the president wondered aloud.
He shared that Caleb Mills was known as a shy and quiet man but would get quite angry with Indiana’s Legislature until they began free public education. He shared Mills’ writing with the students. He noted Mills left Wabash in 1854 to become Indiana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. He also talked of the tough life he had living on the frontier and trying to establish this small school.
Listen to the entire talk by clicking the link above.
