Q: Alisons New London Academy
had many students in its first class who would go on to great things,
including three signers of the Declaration of Independence [George Read,
who also signed the U.S. Constitution, and Thomas McKean of Delaware
and James Smith of Pennsylvania]. How remarkable was this?
A: Francis Alison was teaching classical languages, as well as
subjects like philosophy and ethics. There werent many schools at that
time, certainly not in this area, where students could get that kind of
very demanding education. So his students, and especially that first
class, were really the intellectual elite.
And he wasnt just training people who were going to be Presbyterian
ministers. He was training people who were going to be sitting in the
pews too, and who would go on to have very distinguished careers as
lawyers and judges and civic leaders.
Q: Alison actually moved to Philadelphia in 1752, but the school
he founded continued through various name and location changes. Did his
influence and interest continue?
A: Yes, I think so. I think his interest continued, although he also had responsibilities at other schools and as a minister.
I think there was a time when it stopped being particularly
Presbyterian. Once people recognized that the way to get aheadthe way
for their sons to get aheadin life was to get a good education, they
looked around and saw that the place where that was available in this
area was the school in Newark. [The school moved to Newark in the 1760s
and was chartered as the Academy of Newark in 1769.] Thats when it
started attracting a wider range of students.
Q: The University today values innovation, and it sounds like
Francis Alison could be considered an innovator himself in many ways
because he started the kind of school that just didnt exist in this
area at the time. Is that one way to view him, in addition to his
accomplishments as a scholar?
A: I think the whole history of the University of Delaware, beginning with Francis Alison, is about innovation and change.
History is all about change; if things didnt change, you wouldnt
need it. Its really about how people foresee and adapt, and thats
especially so with the creation and involvement of schools and
universities. You see needs, and you adapt. In a sense, youre always
creating a new world.
Looking at the University today, I see it continuing to adapt and
change and develop. Ive been so impressed, especially in terms of
opportunities for women and minorities. I see innovation, and thats a
good thingnot resting on your laurels but continuing to grow and expand
in this new environment.
Q: Has this been a theme throughout UDs history?
A: Yes, I sincerely believe that. Ive looked at some leaders through the years who were real innovators:
Theres Francis Alison, of course.
Willard Hall [an original trustee of Newark College, chartered in
1833], who came from Massachusetts to a state [around 1803] that didnt
have any real public schools or training for teachers, and he brought
ideas to Delaware about the importance of public education. That would
go on to be really significant later in starting the Womens College, in
educating women in order to produce the teachers for the public
schools. And the University of Delaware has ever since been a major
factor in public education in the state.
H. Rodney Sharp and P.S. du Pont, because it was their financial
support that helped the growth of the sciences and also the development
of the Universitys physical facilities. The construction of buildings
[beginning around 1915] on The Mall [now called The Green] also brought
the Mens and Womens Colleges closer together.
Emalea Pusey Warner, who was an activist in the community and
really beat the drum for the creation of the Womens College [in 1914].
You know, it didnt become the University of Delaware until the Mens
College and the Womens College got together. And that didnt happen
until 1921later than many students today might think.
Q: Where do you see UD heading? Is that an appropriate question for a historian?
A: Absolutely appropriate. The point of studying the past is to show
how it led to the future, how it produced the future from its time. And
thats true no matter what kind of history youre studying.
I think one of the things you can say about the University of
Delaware is that its always stayed a step ahead in producing students
who are capable of moving on and fulfilling the needs of their time, and
as long as it keeps doing that it will continue to be successful.
For example, I know theres an emphasis today on entrepreneurship.
When I was a student, no one thought about entrepreneurship. We all
wanted to go work for a company like DuPont. The big companies were the
entrepreneurs, and we were going to be the workers. Today, in the
current situation, were evolving into a time when starting your own
business is a real career path for many people.
History is about change, how people foresee and adapt. Thats
especially so with a university; It can direct the development of
society.
Q: Youve had such an impressive career. After you graduated from
UD and went to Harvard for your Ph.D., you must have had many options.
Why did you choose to come back to Delaware to work?
A: I loved Cambridge, and I loved Harvard. I did my doctoral
dissertation on Harry Truman. The dissertation was OK, but I couldnt
put my heart into it. I just knew that I wanted to study Wilmington. So I
contacted Hagley [Museum] and asked if they had a scholar position.
That was around the time of the 1968 riots in Wilmington, a time of
extreme racial tensions, and I wanted to understand how this had all
come to pass. I was interested in how Wilmington had undergone such
dramatic changes in the nature of its employment and housing and how
that had resulted in changes such as white residents hostility to black
residents. I wanted to understand how the city had evolved.
I wrote Wilmington, Delaware: Portrait of an Industrial City, 1830-1910. Then I joined the University faculty in 1973 and stayed for 30 years.
More about Carol Hoffecker, Richards Professor Emerita of History
Hoffecker went to graduate school at Radcliffe College and Harvard
University, where she earned her doctorate in history. She taught at
Northeastern University and Sweet Briar College before returning to her
native state as a resident scholar at Hagley Museum and then as a member
of UDs history department faculty.
While at UD, Hoffecker served as president of the Faculty Senate,
chairperson of the Department of History and associate provost for
graduate studies, in addition to her duties in teaching and research.
She is the author of several books, including Wilmington,
Delaware: Portrait of an Industrial City, 1830-1910; Brandywine Village;
Corporate Capital: Wilmington in the Twentieth Century; Delaware: A
Bicentennial History; Beneath Thy Guiding Hand: A History of Women at
the University of Delaware; Familiar Relations: The Du Ponts and the
University of Delaware; Honest John Williams: U.S. Senator from
Delaware; Federal Justice in the First State; anda book familiar to many from their early school daysDelaware, The First State.
At Commencement in May 2009, the University awarded Hoffecker an honorary doctor of humanities degree.
Celebrating 275 Years of UD
In 2018, the University of Delaware celebrates 275 years
since its founding in 1743, when Presbyterian minister Francis Alison
opened his "Free School" in his home in New London, Pennsylvania. At the
dawn of our countrys founding, UD helped change history, and now its
changing the world. As a time marker in the middle of the milestone
250th and 300th anniversary dates, 275 provides the perfect moment for
the University to look back on its roots and past successes; take stock
of what it has become today; and stand on the edge of tomorrow to peer
into its third century and beyond.
To learn more about UDs history
The University of Delaware: A History is a comprehensive
account by noted Delaware historian John A. Munroe, a UD alumnus and
member of the faculty from 1942-1982, who died in 2006. The book was
published in 1983, in connection with the 150th anniversary of the 1833
charter granted by the Delaware state legislature to the institution
then known as Newark College.
Detailed information about UDs history is also available on the University Archives website.
The site includes a list of additional resources about UD and its predecessor institutions and materials from a series of exhibitions focusing on the history, activities and accomplishments of the University.
Article by Ann Manser; photos by Kathy F. Atkinson