“If this College stands for anything it stands for the integrity of the Bible and for the Gospel of the Son of God.”
Isaac Ketler, 1910
Grove City College will mark its 150th anniversary in 2026 with a year-long celebration of the College’s rich history of faith and freedom.
The College traces its founding to April 11, 1876, when the Select School at Pine Grove, Pa., began its spring term under a new principal, 23-year-old Isaac C. Ketler. A red-headed farm boy from nearby Blacktown, Ketler was a gifted teacher, devout Presbyterian, staunch patriot, and entrepreneurial administrator whose vision encompassed something more for the school that had just 13 students and met in a rented schoolhouse.
“Ketler embodied the relentless quest for higher knowledge” that was fueling a revolution in higher education in the latter 19th century, Dr. Paul Kemeny, dean of the Calderwood School of Arts and Letters, wrote in Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge: Grove City College and the Quest for Christ-Centered Learning.
The founder’s vision for Grove City College encompassed both the professionalization and specialization then reforming American higher education, an unbending faith in Biblical truth, and what Kemeny called, “egalitarian aspirations” that a college education was not just for the growing nation’s elites. “Ketler’s vision was to establish a Christian college that promoted the common good of the region,” according to Kemeny.
Less than a decade after Ketler arrived, the rechristened Pine Grove Normal Academy had more than 500 students enrolled in ever-expanding academic programs and, on Nov. 21, 1884, Grove City College was formally established with a name change registered in the county courthouse and a new charter establishing “an undenominational but evangelical Christian” institution of higher learning.
And, as they say, the rest is history.
More than two years ago, Professor Emeritus of History Dr. Gary Scott Smith ’72 began digging into that history after the College commissioned him to research and write a new and definitive history of Grove City College. Smith poured over archival records, letters, oral histories, old Collegians, legal documents, news clips, web pages, and social media posts to produce Standing Strong: Grove City College's 150-Year Journey in Faith, Freedom, and the Pursuit of Excellence, which will be published in March.
The work has given Smith, who spent decades on campus as a student and professor, a greater appreciation and understanding of the College’s story and significance.
“From its Reformed theological foundation, focus on Western civilization and the humanities, teaching of Austrian economics, low tuition cost, refusal to provide tuition discounts, commitment to biblical orthodoxy and traditional moral values, to its lengthy battle with the federal government over financial aid culminating in a 1984 Supreme Court case, Grove City College has often cut again the grain,” Smith said. “Moreover, it is one of the few schools in history to start down the road toward secularization and reverse course and reclaim its historic Christian mission. This heritage makes Grove City College unique in the annals of American higher education.”
The College has faced and overcome a number of challenges over its history, from the impact of two world wars, a depression, and a global pandemic to cultural headwinds, enrollment declines, fundraising, the battle with the U.S. government, and more recent controversies, Smith notes. But the College has remained “a vibrant, highly respected, Christ-centered institution of higher education,” Smith said.
Acknowledging its “flaws and failures,” he said Grove City College’s “overall record of educating students and serving as light and salt in the United States and beyond is very impressive.” Working on the book reinforced Smith’s understanding of how the College’s leaders “used their talents, treasure, and time to faithfully serve the College and help make it the vibrant institution it is today.”
“Even a 450-page book barely begins to highlight the tremendous contributions that Grove City trustees, administrators, faculty, and graduates have made to the world and the kingdom of God. It is an inspiring story, which was delightful to research and tell,” Smith said.
The College will be holding a series of special anniversary events on- and off-campus to celebrate that story throughout 2026.
Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod, senior director of Alumni and College Relations, is coordinating the College’s observances. “The anniversary theme will be a part of everything we do in 2026, from Family Weekend and Commencement to Homecoming to the inauguration of Bradley J. Lingo ’00 as the College’s 10th president.”
Lingo, who began his presidency this summer, will be officially installed in office during a ceremony on March 19 on campus, making a bit of history in a year devoted to celebrating it.
The next day, the College will host Celebrate 150, a formal anniversary reception at Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland that will feature a musical tribute by the Touring Choir, GCC Singers, Wind Ensemble, and the Symphony Orchestra in the historic hall.
“We’re looking forward to a spectacular evening centered on our legacy, community, and shared values that characterize this remarkable place,” MacLeod said.
The College will be holding a massive birthday party for students and the campus community on Friday, April 10. Plans are still coming together for that event on the Quad, but it’s likely to include a lot of cake and 150 candles.
Other anniversary efforts include a new, self-guided campus tour and corresponding website exploring the places, people, and milestones that made history at Grove City College, and a gallery show featuring images, information, and artifacts from the College Archive that can be taken on the road to alumni events.
“Celebrating 150 years of faith and freedom is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our College and we want to make it unforgettable,” MacLeod said.