With the Entrepreneurship program winning the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Model Emerging Program Award, Entrepreneurship is a hot topic on campus. Professor English, Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I) at Grove City College said, “The award has already generated greater awareness and interest in our Entrepreneurship program. I was mobbed after the gala with inquiries and requests from other schools and programs to see our center and collaborate with us. It’s an exciting time for Entrepreneurship at Grove City College.” It is truly an exciting time for Grove City College.
Grove City College students, and students from all over the nation now look to Grove City for its entrepreneurial expertise. With an excellent entrepreneurship program, many people see great ideas and creations in future generations. However, many people fail to recognize the greatest entrepreneur in Grove City’s history: Dr. Issac C. Ketler. Like most entrepreneurship students at Grove City, Ketler (who had no entrepreneurial training himself) was filled with excitement to create and maintain his own business. Contrary to GCC students, Ketler desired to start his own college, originally called Pine Grove Normal Academy, but most of us know it as Grove City College.
Fresh out of National Normal School, a college specifically for aspiring teachers, Ketler instituted Pine Grove Normal Academy (Grove City College) at 23 years old in 1876. The first year’s class was filled to the brim with 26 students, but when people heard about Pine Grove’s unique mission, attendance steadily began to rise. By the 1900’s, the attendance of Pine Grove skyrocketed to over 650 students. How did these numbers increase so quickly, one may ask? Well, Ketler did what any excellent entrepreneur would do: He came up with a unique selling proposition. His vision was to create a Christian, educational society that transcends all denominations and belief systems.
Without any type of degree or class on how to start a college, Isaac Ketler showed confidence and brilliance in instituting a now famous conservative college where students today can pursue their passions. Whether one is an education major or an electrical engineer major, Grove City College is a non-government controlled environment where students learn about Christianity in tandem to their classes of choice. Grove City College is truly a place “Where faith and freedom matter.”
Thank you for sharing this story with us. There’s lots of students on this campus who don’t really know the story behind the creation of Grove City College. It’s really a unique way of looking at entrepreneurship, but it’s no less true. Nice to see Grove City coming full circle, from an entrepreneurial start to a recognized leader in entrepreneurship.