Alumni News
The first 110 Years of Waldorf College Most of the content below comes from the book, Continuity and Change: 100 Years – Waldorf College, written by Dr. James Hamre, Professor Emeritus. Dr. Hamre is credited with researching Waldorf’s history for the college’s centennial. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of his book, please contact the Waldorf Library. It is impossible to capture 110 years in one article. However, the following attempts to serve as a brief review of Waldorf’s history, as we continue to honor and celebrate our super-centennial. Waldorf originally began life as a luxurious hotel, built in 1901 to accommodate the many salesmen and other folks traveling to the county seat via the railroad. It was built for a costly $69,000, and was not able to make ends meet due to the competition of a second new, luxurious hotel known as The Summit located across town. Therefore, it closed its doors after only four months of operation. The Rev. C.S. Salveson was a pastor at several congregations in the area at the time, including Immanuel Lutheran Church, known then as Luther Church in Forest City. It was Salveson’s vision to purchase the Waldorf Hotel and establish a Lutheran educational institution. In 1903, he purchased the building for $18,000 and recommended that an association of area churches be formed for the purpose of founding and maintaining a Lutheran college. The Waldorf Lutheran College Association was formed, and Salveson transferred ownership of the building to them for what it had cost him. The Association became the legal owners and founders of an academy institution known as Waldorf Lutheran College with C.S. Salveson serving as the first president.
Rooted in the traditions of Lutheranism as expressed by Norwegian immigrants in America, Waldorf has continued to be shaped by the values and beliefs of its Norwegian Lutheran founders: veracity, discipline, the dignity and responsibility of the individual, a commitment to service, and faith in God. Over the course of the next century, Waldorf would serve as a high school academy, two-year junior college, fouryear junior college (last two years of high school and first two years of college), a three-year BA granting institution, fouryear BA college and online college. The 1904 catalog listed the cost of tuition as $1. Board was $1.75 per week and room rent was 50 cents to $1 per week, depending on the term. In the early years, dorm rooms, classrooms, the library and cafeteria were all contained within Salveson Hall. The Alma Mater, sung by generations of students, faculty and staff, was composed in 1915 by a committee of students and has remained unchanged ever since. In 1920, Waldorf added a junior college to the academy, and the Waldorf Choir was organized. Enrollment numbers experienced hills and valleys on a rather consistent basis, often linked to the state of the country at the time. In 1917, during WWI, Waldorf enrolled more women than men for the first time. In 1942, men’s enrollment numbers plummeted due to WWII. An enrollment burst in the mid1960s led to a building phase on campus. In 1969, 300 students locked themselves in the campus center and held a “dance-in” protest for a right to have dancing on campus and won! That year, chapel was no longer required and the first woman was elected to the College Board of Regents.
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In the 1970s and 80s the college benefitted greatly from the generosity of John K. and Luise Hanson. John K. was the CEO of Winnebago Industries and an alumnus of Waldorf. During those two decades they gifted the land for many of our athletic programs. In 1987, the John K. and Luise Hanson Fieldhouse was built, connecting it to a brand new YMCA. Many years later, at Waldorf’s centennial celebration, it was announced that the John K. and Luise Hanson Foundation would fund a new library, named in honor of Luise. The 1990s brought the building of the Atrium and link connecting Salveson and Thorson Halls. The mid90s was known as the technological age and it was during this time the media center was built and internet became available in the dorm rooms. KZOW, the college radio station, went on the air in 1995, and laptop computers were first provided to all students in 1996. The Honors College was formed that same year. In the mid-to-late 90s, threeyear BA degrees were first offered in communications, business, management information systems, and humanities. In 2001, the North Central Association (NCA) approved Waldorf as a BA granting institution in a fouryear format and Waldorf was listed as one of the top 500 colleges in the nation in the “Best Colleges” issue of the U.S. News & World Report. By 2002, twelve BA degree programs were offered at Waldorf. The Waldorf Lutheran College Foundation was first incorporated and granted nonprofit status in 2006. The world experienced an economic downturn in 2008 and as a result, Waldorf’s enrollment dropped and major donors were unable to fulfill