Dear UE Friends and Family,

It is an exciting and busy time at the University of Evansville as we commemorate 150 years of dedicated service to our heritage and future – our Civic Mission…Sacred Trust. Over the years, many dedicated, hard-working hands - like yours - have brought the University from its simple origin in Moores Hill to the stature of today's University of Evansville. This journey would not have been possible without philanthropy, persistence, labor, love and compassion of our forefathers, as well as those who continue to support us today. We are grateful.

The University's history began with the dream of one man – John C. Moore – a resident of Moores Hill, Indiana, a small town west of Cincinnati. Moore wanted a college for his community and he made it a reality on February 10, 1854 when the original charter for Moores Hill Male and Female Collegiate Institute was drafted. The college was the fifth coeducational college in the United States. The college's name was officially changed to Moores Hill College on September 20, 1887.

In 1917 George Clifford, a prominent Evansville businessman who later became a University trustee, convinced the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Church that the college should be moved to Evansville since it was the only city in Indiana without an accredited college within a 50-mile radius. Evansville residents of the city raised $500,000 in one week in 1917 to move the college to Evansville, Indiana. It reopened in 1919 as Evansville College, and in 1967 the college was renamed and incorporated by the Indiana General Assembly as the University of Evansville.

I look forward to celebrating our sesquicentennial with you, and I invite you to take part in the many events planned over the coming year.

Sincerely,

Stephen G. Jennings,
President

UE Sesquicentennial Home