Macalester College

Macalester College is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution with an enrollment of 2,174 students in the fall of 2018. The college has Scottish roots and emphasizes internationalism and multiculturalism. The college offers 38 majors, 40 minors, and 10 concentrations. Students also have the option to design their own major. Macalester's sports teams compete in the NCAA Division III-level Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The college's 60-acre main campus is bordered by Summit Avenue to the north and St. Clair Avenue to the south. The 300-acre Ordway Field Station, a nature reserve and research station, is on the outskirts of the Twin Cities, along the Mississippi River. History Macalester College was founded by Rev. Dr. Edward Duffield Neill in 1874 with help from the Presbyterian Church in Minnesota. Neill had served as a chaplain in the Civil War and traveled to Minnesota Territory in 1849. He became connected politically and socially. He went on to found two local churches, was appointed the first Chancellor of the University of Minnesota, and became the state's first superintendent of public education. In leaving the University of Minnesota Board of Regents he desired to build a religious college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church that would also be open to other Christian church members. The college's original name was Baldwin College; it was affiliated with the Baldwin School, a Presbyterian secondary school. After a large donation from Charles Macalester, a prominent businessman and philanthropist from Philadelphia, the institution was renamed Macalester College. Macalester donated a hotel, the Winslow House, as the first permanent classroom building. With additional funding from the Presbyterian Church and its trustees, Macalester College opened for courses in 1885 with five teachers, six freshmen, and 52 preparatory students.