Macalester College

Macalester Bagpipe Band
The Macalester Bagpipe Band performs at Minneapolis department store Donaldson’s in 1953.

Founded in 1874, Macalester College began as a Presbyterian college with few resources and only six students. The private liberal arts college became known for its rigorous academics and commitment to internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society.

Macalester College, named for benefactor Charles Macalester, was founded in 1874 by Minnesota education leader Edward Neill. After bobbling between locations, including the elegant Winslow House, Macalester found a permanent home on forty acres of land between Minneapolis and St. Paul. The surrounding sprawl was named Macalester Park. The college’s first building, the east wing of Old Main, was completed there in 1884. It opened for classes the following fall to just five professors and six students.

The college’s beginnings were rocky, slammed with falling enrollment and rising debt. Yet president James Wallace helped the college gain financial footing with a vigorous fundraising campaign. Figures like George Dayton, James J. Hill, and Andrew Carnegie chipped in to keep the college afloat.

James Wallace’s son and daughter-in-law, Dewitt and Lila Wallace, followed to become some of Macalester’s most generous and consistent donors. The Reader’s Digest founders helped the college through the Great Depression and many other financial setbacks in the decades to follow.

Though founded as a nonsectarian college, Macalester has always held ties to the Presbyterian Church. Early on, its religious focus attracted Presbyterian students and led many to work in religious fields after graduation. Charles Turck, president from 1939 until 1958, began to shift the college toward a more religiously welcoming and less explicitly evangelical atmosphere in the 1940s. He also began to define the set of values for which the school became known: internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society.

Macalester’s ties with internationalism reach back to 1893, when the college admitted its first international student. Many domestic students also travelled abroad during those early years, though their trips were often fueled by a desire to evangelize or provide humanitarian aid. By the 1930s, the curriculum had expanded to include subjects like international law and additional world languages. In 1950, Macalester became the first Minnesotan college to fly the United Nations flag. In the 2010s, international students made up about 12 percent of the student body, and 60 percent of students studied abroad during their college career.

Multiculturalism, too, has a long history with the college. In 1915, Catharine Lealtad became Macalester’s first African American graduate. Esther Suzuki followed as its first Japanese American graduate in 1946. In 1969, Macalester joined the Expanded Educational Opportunities (EEO) program. EEO admitted more than 300 students of color before approaching an end in 1975, a year after substantial budget cuts sparked a twelve-day student protest.

In its earlier years, Macalester focused heavily on religion and the sciences. The curriculum expanded to include the arts when women were admitted in 1893. A school of music opened soon after. Later, during Turck’s presidency, the college focused on preparing students for work with a variety of vocational programs. Macalester is known today for its liberal arts curriculum, which was introduced in 1964.

Outside of classes, students can play for a sports team or choose from a variety of campus clubs. The student newspaper, the Mac Weekly, has published student work since 1914. WBOM (now WMCN) became Minnesota’s first campus radio station in 1948. In honor of its Scottish roots, the college also offers free bagpipe lessons to any interested student. Macalester celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year with a game of pushball, first played on campus in 1914.

In the 1990s, Macalester’s Reader’s Digest shares rocketed in value. The college has used the funds in the decades since to remodel much of the campus, as well as diversify the faculty and strengthen academic programs.

Notable alumni include Kofi Annan, Danai Gurira, Joan Adams Mondale, Walter Mondale, Tim O’Brien, and John S. Campbell founder of Malt-O-Meal Company, as well as members of the music groups Sounds of Blackness and Hüsker Dü. Notable professors include former vice president Hubert Humphrey and Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James.

Cite
Loetscher, Elizabeth. "Macalester College." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/place/macalester-college
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First Published: September 07, 2018
Last Modified: April 22, 2025

Bibliography

Haebig, Steve. “Macalester’s Old Main and Its First Century.” Ramsey County History 25, no. 3 (Fall 1990): 35.

Kilde, Jeanna Halgren. Nature and Revelation: A History of Macalester College. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

Macalester College. Macalester’s History.
https://www.macalester.edu/about/mission/history/

Macalester College, a Century and Beyond. St. Paul: Macalester College, 1985.

Swanson, Edward. “Macalester and its First Forty Years.” Ramsey County History 11, no. 1 (Spring 1974): 3–11.

Related Resources

Related Images

Macalester Bagpipe Band
The Macalester Bagpipe Band performs at Minneapolis department store Donaldson’s in 1953.
Photograph of the Winslow House
Winslow House, where an early version of Macalester College held classes for a short time (ca. 1870).
Photograph of Macalester in 1886
Macalester College eight years after its founding (ca. 1886).
Photograph of Macalester Park

Drawing of Macalester Park from the Northwest Magazine (1886).

Photograph of Macalester College Baseball Team
The Macalester baseball team (ca. 1888).
Photograph of students in a chemistry class at Macalester College, 1886
Students in a chemistry class led by Dr. Forbes (1889).
Photograph of Pledge Drive form for Macalester College, 1890
A pledge form asking for help with Macalester’s debt (1890).
Womens Basketball Team_cropped
The Macalester women’s basketball team (ca. 1899).
Photograph of student in Macalester Library
Student Nicholas Seffinger in the library (undated).
Photograph of Macalester Dorm Room
A student in her dorm room (undated)
Students performing Macbeth at Macalester, 1907
Students perform a scene from Macbeth (1907).
Photograph of May Day Celebration at Macalester, 1915
May Day celebration in front of Carnegie Hall (1915)
aerial photograph of Macalester College campus, 1921
Aerial view of the college (ca. 1921).
Photograph of Geology field trip, Macalester, 1923
Students on a geology field trip (1923).
Photograph of students playing pushball, Macalester, 1924
Students play pushball, an annual Macalester tradition (1924).
Photograph of swim class at Macalester College, 1930
A swim class (ca. 1930).
Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Charles Turck
Two future Vice Presidents of the United States — Professor Hubert Humphrey (center) and student Walter Mondale (right) — chat with Macalester president Charles Turck (left) in 1947.
Photograph of Macalester students with accordion and ukuleles
Students play music together on campus (undated).
Photograph of anti-war protest, Macalester, 1970
Macalester students march for peace from campus to the Capitol building (1970).
Hüsker Dü
Handbill for a Hüsker Dü show at the Macalester Student Union (1982). Member Bob Mould started the band when he was a student at Macalester.
Photograph of cricket game at MAcalester College, 2000
Students play a game of cricket on campus (2000).
Macalester Bagpipe Band

Macalester Bagpipe Band

The Macalester Bagpipe Band performs at Minneapolis department store Donaldson’s in 1953.

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Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of the Winslow House

Winslow House

Winslow House, where an early version of Macalester College held classes for a short time (ca. 1870).

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of Macalester in 1886

Macalester in 1886

Macalester College eight years after its founding (ca. 1886).

Public domain

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Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of Macalester Park

Macalester Park

Drawing of Macalester Park from the Northwest Magazine (1886).

Public domain

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Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of Macalester College Baseball Team

Baseball Team

The Macalester baseball team (ca. 1888).

Public domain

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Macalester College
Photograph of students in a chemistry class at Macalester College, 1886

Chemistry class

Students in a chemistry class led by Dr. Forbes (1889).

Public domain

Photograph of Pledge Drive form for Macalester College, 1890

Pledge Form

A pledge form asking for help with Macalester’s debt (1890).

Public domain

Holding Location

Macalester College
Womens Basketball Team_cropped

Women’s basketball team

The Macalester women’s basketball team (ca. 1899).

Public domain

Holding Location

Macalester College
Photograph of student in Macalester Library

Library

Student Nicholas Seffinger in the library (undated).

Public domain

Photograph of Macalester Dorm Room

Macalester Dorm Room

A student in her dorm room (undated)

Public domain

Holding Location

Macalester College
Students performing Macbeth at Macalester, 1907

Student performance of Macbeth

Students perform a scene from Macbeth (1907).

Public domain

Holding Location

Macalester College
Photograph of May Day Celebration at Macalester, 1915

May Day at Macalester College

May Day celebration in front of Carnegie Hall (1915)

Public domain

Holding Location

Macalester College
aerial photograph of Macalester College campus, 1921

Aerial view of Macalester College in 1921

Aerial view of the college (ca. 1921).

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of Geology field trip, Macalester, 1923

Geology field trip

Students on a geology field trip (1923).

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Macalester College
Photograph of students playing pushball, Macalester, 1924

Macalester "Pushball"

Students play pushball, an annual Macalester tradition (1924).

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Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of swim class at Macalester College, 1930

Swim Class at Macalester

A swim class (ca. 1930).

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Minnesota Historical Society
Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Charles Turck

Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Charles Turck

Two future Vice Presidents of the United States — Professor Hubert Humphrey (center) and student Walter Mondale (right) — chat with Macalester president Charles Turck (left) in 1947.

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Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of Macalester students with accordion and ukuleles

Instruments

Students play music together on campus (undated).

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of anti-war protest, Macalester, 1970

Macalester Student Peace March

Macalester students march for peace from campus to the Capitol building (1970).

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü

Handbill for a Hüsker Dü show at the Macalester Student Union (1982). Member Bob Mould started the band when he was a student at Macalester.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Photograph of cricket game at MAcalester College, 2000

Cricket Game at Macalester College

Students play a game of cricket on campus (2000).

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Turning Point

In 1939, Charles Turck becomes college president. He steers Macalester toward a more nonsectarian identity and begins to define its key values.

Chronology

1853
Baldwin School, the college preparatory school associated with Macalester in its early days, opens.
1874
Edward Neill founds Macalester College, naming it after benefactor Charles Macalester.
1881
A group of investors purchases 160 acres between Minneapolis and St. Paul, then gifts forty of those acres to Macalester College for its campus.
1884
Macalester’s first building, the east wing of Old Main, is completed.
1885
Macalester opens for its first day of college-level classes to just six first-year students.
1893
Women are admitted to the college for the first time. Macalester also admits its first international student: Joseph Koshaba, from Persia.
1901
After years of fundraising, president James Wallace eliminates Macalester’s debt and restores its financial security.
1915
Catharine Lealtad becomes Macalester’s first African American graduate.
1931
Dewitt and Lila Wallace, the founders of Reader’s Digest, make the first of many donations to Macalester College.
1939
Charles Turck becomes president of the college, driving it towards a more nonsectarian, international focus.
1950
Macalester becomes the first Minnesotan college, and one of the first in the nation, to fly the United Nations flag.
1961
College officials approve a plan to fully convert to a liberal arts curriculum and build more residence halls on campus.
1970
The religion requirement, in effect to some degree since the college’s founding, is eliminated.
1990
Macalester’s Reader’s Digest shares explode in value, allowing the school to begin a campus-wide revitalization including widespread building renovations and new faculty positions.

Bibliography

Haebig, Steve. “Macalester’s Old Main and Its First Century.” Ramsey County History 25, no. 3 (Fall 1990): 35.

Kilde, Jeanna Halgren. Nature and Revelation: A History of Macalester College. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

Macalester College. Macalester’s History.
https://www.macalester.edu/about/mission/history/

Macalester College, a Century and Beyond. St. Paul: Macalester College, 1985.

Swanson, Edward. “Macalester and its First Forty Years.” Ramsey County History 11, no. 1 (Spring 1974): 3–11.

Related Resources