History: Highlights 1917-1935

1917

• Governor signs the Bill incorporating Providence College.
• Master General receives the Blessing of Pope Benedict XV for the “establishment of a House in the City of Providence to educate youth in Religion and letters.”
• Master General signs the Papal Document permitting the establishment of the College.
• Bishop Harkins provides approximately seventeen acres of land for Providence College.
• First Providence College Corporation meeting.
• Providence Visitor reports on the beginning of construction of Harkins Hall.
• Groundbreaking for the first campus building, Harkins Hall.

1918: The Casey Era

• Corporation election of Dennis Albert Casey, O.P., as the 1st President of Providence College.
• Opening delayed due to WWI; the faculty conducts the 1st PC courses to sisters at local convents.  These sisters were the pioneers in what evolved into the School of Continuing Education.

1919

• Bishop Harkins Hall dedication.
• The College opens its doors to 71 male students and nine Dominican faculty.

1920

• PC (6) plays in its first official Athletic Competition, a baseball game against Rhode Island School of Design (4).
• College’s 1st theatrical production, “A Thief in the House.”

1921

• Closing Day exercises include awarding of the 1st Pre-Medical certificates.

1921: The Noon Era

• William Dominic Noon, O.P., begins his term as the 2nd President of Providence College.

1922

• Over 3,000 attend the opening football game on Hendricken Field (U.S. Submarine Base- 42, PC-13.)

1923

• PC holds its first commencement.
• The Providence College Alumni Association is formed.
• Approval of the original Alumni Association Constitution, which provides for a Board of Governors.

1924

• PC athletes gain national attention by playing in and eventually winning the longest (4 hours and 17 minutes) scoreless intercollegiate baseball game (Brown University-0, PC- 1.)
• The College graduates its first summa cum laude student.
• First lay faculty member begins teaching.

1926

• PC wins its first NCAA-recognized basketball game.
• At the 1st Sisters’ College Commencement, the College graduates its 1st alumnae, 2 Dominican and 9 Mercy Sisters, including several of the pioneering October, 1918, students.
• After extensive renovations and construction of a 3-story addition, Bradley House, the Italian villa-style residence on the recently purchased Bradley Estate, opens as Guzman Hall, a residence for Dominican Pre-Ecclesiastical students.

1927: The McCarthy Era

• College confers its first master of arts degree.
• Corporation election of Lorenzo Cornelius McCarthy, O.P., as the 3rd President of Providence College.

1928

• Largely through the efforts of John E. Farrell, the Charter Members of the Friars Club, the College’s social representative, hold their organizational meeting.

1929

• Harkins Hall Addition Dedication Ceremony marks the first expansion of academic and administrative facilities.
• First appearance of “Friars” as a nickname for the athletic teams. 1930
• Incorporation of Providence Club of New York, the first Alumni territorial group.
• Providence College purchases the Wardlaw Avenue Tract, including what became Thomas Hall, or “The Dog House.”

1931

• College awards its first Ph.D. degree. 1933
• Providence College admitted to membership in the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

1934

• Adoption of a new Alma Mater based on “Finlandia” by Jan Sibelius.

1935

• PC confers its first masters of science degrees.
• An Official College Mascot, the Dalmatian “Friar of What-Ho,” makes its 1st campus appearance.
• Inaugural issue of The Cowl.