A small group of men in a tiny Butler County community stood at a crossroads in 1888 and discussed plans to sell shares to build a local academy.
On March 26, 1889, they celebrated the grand opening of Slippery Rock State Normal School, enrollment 168.
On Wednesday, alumni, faculty, staff and community leaders will gather to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of Slippery Rock University, enrollment 8,347.
The university is at a crossroads again.
After decades of growth and expansion, university administrators, staff, faculty and officials with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education are scrambling to deal with the triple demons of declining enrollment, increasing costs and stagnant state subsidies.
Although she hails the commitment of faculty, students, staff and alumni in marking the successes of the past 125 years, Slippery Rock President Cheryl Norton warns that the school, which had an 8 percent decline in enrollment last fall, could be confronted by a $10 million deficit in 2014-15, a number that could nearly triple by 2015-16.
That's a long way from the $15,000 goal the Slippery Rock State Normal School Association set out to raise in 1888 through the sale of stock.
The investment that established the school wouldn't cover a single year's tuition, room and board, estimated at more than $18,000 a year.
It's unclear how many $100 shares of stock the school's founders sold, but records uncovered in a history penned by Robert Watson, a great-grandson of original association member John Watson, revealed there were 197 3⁄4 shares outstanding when the state of Pennsylvania purchased the school in 1915.
Watson's history details the school's evolution and the community's commitment to an institution that started out as a two-year school for candidates studying for a state teaching certification.
Although the school became an economic engine in the small town, stockholders saw no return when the state bought them out at the original share price.
“They didn't make a profit on it,” said Slippery Rock spokesman Karl Schwab.
A 1970 Slippery Rock graduate who later served as a university vice president, Watson detailed everything from fees for the school's inaugural term in 1889 — $32.50 for tuition and room and board, including steam heat and gas lights — to its development into a comprehensive university as part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in 1983.
Watson's book resolves the mystery of the iconic name that has attracted attention from college paraphernalia collectors far and wide: The school was named for nearby Slippery Rock Creek.
John Hicks, retired Slippery Rock professor of education and immediate past chairman of the school's council of trustees, had a ringside seat to many of the school's more recent developments.
Hicks earned his undergraduate degree in 1962 from what was then Slippery Rock State Teachers College and returned to join the faculty in 1973 after completing his doctorate at Penn State. While he has heard about all of Slippery Rock's challenges, Hicks said he is optimistic Slippery Rock will survive and thrive.
“I was really impressed with the development of facilities,” he said. “But the greatest things have been the quality of the faculty I got to work with, and the different programs we have.”
Debra Erdley is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7996 or derdley@tribweb.com.
