125 Years of Friends University

In 1897, James M. Davis, a wealthy Quaker businessman, seeing a full page advertisement in a St. Louis newspaper offering the Garfield University campus for sale, said to his wife, “Anna, I believe this is our chance to give a college to the world.” The story is better told by..Read More

Albert Sickner was chosen by the university’s board of directors to organize the music program at Friends. He created a curriculum that would provide students with the proficiencies needed to be competent music participants and performers. He was responsible for organizing the Friends University Chorus, the Women’s Glee Club and..Read More

So begins the incredible legacy that is the Student Body of Friends University. The university had 53 students enrolled at the beginning of the first year, and by the end of the 1898-1899 term, enrollment had grown to 102 students – 57 men and 45 women. The classes that were..Read More

Most of the first publication on athletics argued for a better athletic program at Friends. They provided some pretty convincing arguments for strongly encouraging exercise within the student body. “It is a pity that any bright, intelligent student must need to succumb to so called overstudy. A foolish pity! but..Read More

Lucy Francisco became the head of the music department. She expanded the music program to attract the general student in addition to music degree-seeking students. Under Francisco, the University Chorus focused their performances on selections from oratorios, operas, and other works of classical merit. The Glee Clubs, contrastingly, performed show..Read More

New classes offered at the beginning of the 1901-1902 term included shorthand, typewriting, penmanship, and physical culture for women.

The women’s basketball team was established. Frederic Cahoon was the first coach.

“Yes, football is dead at F.U.” In 1907, university decides to shut down the men’s football program. Devastated by the news, students organized a funeral held on October 11. The service was complete with a casket draped in black, a funeral march performed by the university orchestra, and a solemn..Read More

The art department opened in September with Miss Ruth Sturgeon instructing in crayon, watercolor, pastel, oil, china painting, and decorative work.

Under the direction of new physical director, Verne F. Swaim, Friends University added men’s soccer to the athletic roster.

The football program is resurrected! Dr. John Q Banbury assumed the role of head coach.

By 1914, the two Glee Clubs were well-established as entertaining touring ensembles. Students would help organize the annual tours and concerts which featured a mix of choral works and popular tunes, often interspersed with dramatic readings, elaborate costumes, and intricate staging. The tours were an effective recruiting tool that sparked..Read More

Construction began on Edmond Stanley gymnasium, a facility that would include a basketball court, running track, dressing rooms, locker rooms, and offices.

In the spring of 1921, the Board of Directors voted to spend $5,000 on laboratory equipment for the physics department of which Professor Samuel S. Kirby was the head.

The YMCA-YWCA were influential since 1898 in helping Friends University maintain Christian ideals. In 1922, Y members at Friends furnished the large room above as a lounge as one of their projects.

Roy Campbell, new head of the Friends University Music Department, combined the Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs, following a national trend among universities during the 1920s. Instead of performing popular music, Campbell took cues from university a cappella choirs, leading the Singing Quakers to perform sacred music for memory in..Read More

The Garfield College Building, known as University Hall was renamed the Davis Administration Building after Friends University founder, James M. Davis.

“Upon a sunny Kansas plain, our college towers rise high.” The Friends University Hymn by Dean and Mrs. O. B. Baldwin made its debut appearance on page 7 of the Talisman. Upon a sunny Kansas plain, Our college towers rise high, Her massive walls, her lofty heights Stand etched against..Read More

For the first time, the name “Singing Quakers” appeared in the Home Concert program: The Singing Quakers: The Friends University Musical. It was listed again in the Friends University Catalogue under the subheading “Musical Organizations” in 1929.

Higher standards set by the North Central Association of College and Secondary Schools required Friends University to have an endowment of $650,000. A fundraising campaign started in January 1927 raising only $400,000. The university was dropped from North Central’s accreditation list.

With the looming Great Depression plaguing the U.S. economy, Friends University students were also experiencing financial hardship. The number of students who held part time jobs increased. Out of 175 freshman enrolled that year, 76 had employment. Out of 98 sophomores, 58 worked. Out of 64 juniors, 39 worked. By..Read More

Campbell continued to use the name “Combined Glee Clubs” for an unidentified amount of time. But concert programs revealed that after 1930, only the name “Singing Quakers” was used to identify the ensemble.

The famed clock was added to the tower of the Davis Administration Building! In order to raise money for the tower, the seniors sponsored a play, “Adam and Eva” as a benefit. The 7 foot clock itself was made from E. Howard and Company of Boston, Massachusetts. The clock was..Read More

Alan Irwin replaced Roy Campbell as department head. Described as a “jolly little round man with a great love for opera,” Irwin led the Singing Quakers through seven years of opera performances that included elaborate staging, lighting effects, and costumes.