Beginnings • The Post-War Years • The New Millennium • Student Work Off-Campus
Founded in 1866 by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches, many of Carleton’s first engagements with the wider world were associated with its Christian mission. A number of Carleton’s earliest graduates went on to undertake missionary work in China, Japan, India, Turkey, as well as throughout the United States. Some of Carleton’s earliest international students first become acquainted with Carleton through these missionary connections.
The study of foreign languages at Carleton also has its roots in Carleton’s earliest years: initially, Latin and Greek, with French and German joining them soon thereafter. The early 20th century saw an international dimension introduced to new areas of Carleton’s curriculum, from international relations to geology, with the help of notable figures like Frank B. Kellogg and Laurence M. Gould.
Erwin Hertz ’24 and high school choir
1924
Erwin Hertz ’24 with members of the high school choir he directed.
The Fenchow mission, including a hospital and school, was led by Carleton alumni Watts Pye ’03, Gertrude Chaney Pye ’08, Percy Watson ’03, and Clara French Watson ’03. Over time, the board’s focus moved increasingly towards the support of the mission’s educational work. Beginning in 1922 and lasting into the 1940s, Carleton students were sent to teach English at Ming I Middle School for two-year appointments in what became known as the “Carleton-in-China” program.