Milestones at Reinhardt University

1883
Captain A. M. Reinhardt and his brother-in-law, Mr. John J.A. Sharp, ask the North Georgia Methodist Conference in Dalton, Georgia, to provide a teacher and preacher for the children of Cherokee County.

1884
Reinhardt Academy opens in a cabinet shop near the present campus in January. The school is named for Reinhardt’s father. The first pupils range from elementary to college ages.

1885
First administration building built.

1888
First commencement held. Early commencements are community events, lasting several days and including pageants and military drills.

1891
Academy is incorporated as Reinhardt Normal College.

1903
First business class offered.

1904
Telephone installed in Waleska at President’s Home.

1906
First car driven on Campus.

1911
Reinhardt becomes a college.

1912
Water system installed.

1916
Campus power plant built.

1924
The first issue of The Hiltonian, the student newspaper, was published in May.

1925
Public school system assumes responsibility for the grammar school, but the classes continue to meet on the Reinhardt campus until 1948.

1926
Samuel C. Dobbs Science Center built.

1927
Reinhardt is accredited as a junior college.

1929
Electricity from Georgia Power comes to Reinhardt. Stock and dairy barns built. Students often work on the College farm to pay their way.

1939
Paul Jones Hall built.

1942
Road paved from Canton to Waleska.

1949
U.S. Vice President comes to “Soil Conservation Day.” In one day, 1000 U.S. veterans and volunteers made almost $100,000 in improvements.
 
1951
Burgess Administration Building completed.

1956
High school grades transfer to Cherokee High School.

1957
Student government association founded.

1969
Hill Freeman Library, Cobb Hall and Roberts Hall built.

1975
Chatsworth Center opens.

1977
Hal B. Wansley President’s Home built.

1980
Lake Mullenix built.

1982
Brown Athletic Center built. Intercollegiate men’s basketball reinstated. The Eagle was selected as the College's official mascot

1983
Women’s basketball and softball added. Centennial Celebration held.

1985
W. Frank and Evelyn J. Gordy Center opens.

1986
Bratton Carillon Tower built.

1987
Hagan Chapel (Waleska United Methodist Church) built. North Fulton Center opened in Roswell.

1988
Joseph Baxter Recreation Center built. First A Day for Reinhardt raises scholarship funds for local students.

1989
Herbert I. and Lilla W. Gordy Hall completed. (Was named in 1994.)

1991
Evelyn Gordy Hospitality House moved from Atlanta to Campus. Intercollegiate soccer added.

1992
Baccalaureate program in business administration began. Innovative campus-wide computer/video/phone network installed.

1993
George M. Lawson Academic Center and McCamish Broadcast Center open.

1994
First two bachelor’s degrees awarded in business, and  Reinhardt is accredited as a baccalaureate institution.

1995
North Fulton Center moves to Roswell Mall.

1996
Norman W. Paschall Plaza completed. Chatsworth Center closes. Dr. Newt Gingrich, who began co-teaching a Reinhardt history course in 1994, is named U.S. Speaker of the House.

1997
Baccalaureate programs in biology, communication and liberal studies added. Dobbs Science Building renovated. Cartersville Center opened.

1998
College switches to semesters. Baccalaureate program in education begins. $20 million Capital Campaign concludes and raises $30.5 million. William W. Fincher Jr. and Eunice L. Fincher Visual Arts Center built.
 
1999
Added baccalaureate programs in art and psychology, as well as accounting and information systems concentrations. Began athletic competition against other four-year schools and added tennis and cross country.  Opened the F. James and Florrie G. Funk Heritage Center. Launched  institutional and athletic logos.

2000
Added sociology, sports information and communications. North Fulton Center moves to Alpharetta, Ga. Women’s soccer added. Cartersville Center closed.

2001
Student programming expands to include outdoor program. Dedicated the Fred H. and Mozelle Bates Tarpley Education Center, the George M. McClure Water Treatment Plant and the renovated Varsity Room.

2002
The Floyd A. and Fay W. Falany Performing Arts Center, which included the relocated McCamish Media Arts Center, opens. Added baccalaureate programs in English, history, music, religion, as well as a management concentration.

2003
Added women’s volleyball. Dedicated the renovated and expanded James & Sis Brown Athletic Center and the Jim & Syble Boring Sports Complex and the expanded and renamed Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center.

2004
Apartment-style residence halls open at capacity.  Baseball and fast-pitch softball added.

2005
Added public relations and advertising; marketing; media, culture and society; and public safety leadership, thus bringing the number of degree programs to 33. The $15 million Capital Campaign announced.

2006
Ground broken for Hasty Student Life Center. New baccalaureate programs in biology, English and music education approved. Capital Campaign goal raised to $17 million. Recruiting begins for women’s golf team. Record number of new students welcomed to campus.

2007
SACS approved first graduate program – master of business administration. Hasty Student Life Center completed.  Women’s golf added. First endowed faculty chair, the William W. Fincher, Jr. Chair of the Visual Arts, was funded. Baccalaureate programs in math and digital art and graphic design, and concentration in special education, added.

2008
Celebrates 125th anniversary and concludes an $18.7 million capital campaign. SACS reaffirms Reinhardt's undergraduate accreditation and, later in the year, accredits Reinhardt as a level III-graduate institution. Adds new programs in World Languages and Cultures, criminal justice, and professional communication leadership.

2009
Holds 1st Convocation of Artists and Scholars. Adds associate degrees in criminal justice and a Public Safety Institute. Intercollegiate athletic teams switch to the Appalachian Athletic Conference and add men’s lacrosse. Launches math secondary education program.  Offers selected programs in Cartersville.  Adds Master of Music and Master of Arts in Teaching in Early Education.

2010
Becomes Reinhardt University on June 1, 2010. Adds women’s lacrosse. Master of Education in Elementary Education and Master of Education in Special Education approved to start in 2012. Adds baccalaureate program in theatre studies. Lights were added to the Ken White Athletic Fields.

2011
Approves the addition of football to begin practice in 2012 and competition in 2013.  Adopts plans to build a field house, turf football field and residence hall. Adds baccalaureate program in political science.

2012
Hubbard Residence Hall, turf field, field house and Ken White Music Center open fall 2012. MBA offered at new off campus site, The Chambers at City Center in downtown Woodstock, Ga.  Degree completion program in criminal justice added. Football players begin practice. Construction begins on new Science Building. Monument sign at corner of Highways 108 and 140 replaced. Plans finalized for two new residence halls, part of the Hubbard Hall complex. Plans are developed for a theater to be built on Lake Mullenix. Construction will begin when $4 million funding is secured.

2013
Master of Public Administration approved by SACS - classes to start in fall 2013.  Marching band will be added.  Intercollegiate football will begin competition.