History

1975- 1999

1976 January

Student and professor exchange program begins with Aarhus University (Denmark)

1976 February

Meadows Museum of Art dedicated

1976 March

KSCL 91.3 FM radio station begins broadcasting

1976 March

First annual Free Enterprise Conference held. Funded by the Frost Foundation.

1976 May

Nellie P. Kilpatrick Auditorium dedicated

1976 fall

Master of Business Administration and Master of Education classes begin

1976 October

Frost Foundation awards $1 million grant to establish School of Business.  Department of Business renamed the School of Business by faculty in October 1977.  Renamed the Frost School of Business in January 1988.

1977 May

Donald A. Webb elected president by trustees

1977 circa June

Centenary State Commemorative Area (Jackson, La.) dedicated by the Louisiana Office of State Parks. Renamed Centenary State Historic Site circa 2000.

1977 August

William Talbot Handy, Jr. and Alfred Lloyd Norris become the first African Americans to join the Centenary board of trustees

1977 August

Cultural Perspectives program begins

1977 November

Women's tennis team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport

1978 January

Centenary College Quiz Bowl television series begins airing on KSLA

1979 May

Maroon Jackets induct the first male students.

1979 September

Men's soccer team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport.

1980 February

Zeta Phi Beta (Sigma Iota chapter) sorority chartered. First historically Black women's sorority on campus.

1980 circa March

Pegasus literary society journal first published. Renamed as Pandora in fall 1993.

1980 September

Rosalynn Carter, First Lady of the United States, holds a public rally at the Gold Dome

1980 October

Ronald Reagan, United States presidential candidate, holds a public rally at the Gold Dome

1980 November

Women's basketball team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport.

1981 September

Women's cross country team has first intercollegiate competition as a varsity sport

1981 September

Senior Adult Education program begins. Renamed the Centenary Forerunners Lifetime Learning Program circa 2001.

1981 October

Centenary sign dedicated at intersection of Centenary Boulevard and Kings Highway (also known as Harry V. and Barbara Balcom Landmark)

1982 October

Greenhouse installed on the Mickle Hall of Science auditorium roof. Replaced a smaller greenhouse built in 1974.

1983 April

Co-ed volleyball team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport.  Becomes men's team in following seasons.

1983 May

Phi Alpha Theta (Alpha Alpha Omega chapter) installed. Honor society for history students.

1983 August

A fire destroys the Choir Loft on the Mickle Hall of Science fourth floor.

1983 October

Hodges Rose Garden dedicated

1983 circa December

Camerata chamber singers hold first concert

1984 February

Centenary Film Society organized

1984

Centenary Muses women's organization established. Formed to recruit students, raise endowment, and improve the quality of life for students.

1984

Women's Endowment Quorum established

1985 February

Arboretum established. Renamed the Ed Leuck Louisiana Academic Arboretum in April 2011.

1985 September

Women's volleyball team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport.

1986 May

May Module program begins

1987 February

Athletic Hall of Fame created

1987 March

Women’s softball team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport

1987 September

First annual Book Bazaar held by Centenary Muses

1987 circa September

Student Activities Advisory Board forms. Renamed the Centenary Activities Board in 1988.

1989 circa April

First annual Student Research Forum held

1989 June

Centenary joins the Associated Colleges of the South

1990 October

Gladys Hurley Memorial Music Library dedicated

1990 November

Samuel P. Peters Research Center dedicated. From 1990 to 2001, it housed Archives and Special Collections, which included the Centenary Archives, the archives of the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Jack London collection, and the John William "Bill" Corrington papers. In 2001, the building became the Office of Admission and the office of local illustrator William Joyce. In 2015, the Marketing and Communication Office moved to the second floor.

1990 November

Kappa Alpha Psi (Xi Alpha chapter) fraternity chartered. First historically Black men's fraternity on campus.

1991 May

John William Corrington Award for Literary Excellence first presented. Corrington (Centenary class of 1956) was a film and television screenwriter, novelist, poet, professor, and lawyer.

1991 August

Kenneth L. Schwab elected president by trustees

1991 fall

Centenary Plan implemented. Consisted of requirements in community service, intercultural experience, and career exploration. Program renamed Trek in April 2009.

1992 September

Women’s soccer team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport

1993 October

Leading Ladies dance line first performs

1995 June

“La Fuerza” (“Force”) sculpture dedicated

1996 January

Le Tintamarre, a French language student newspaper, begins publication

1996 October

Patrick Peavy Jr. Memorial Climbing Wall dedicated

1997 April

“Grace” sculpture dedicated

1997 August

First Year Experience begins

1997 October

Rotary Residence Hall Suites dedicated after a major renovation of the building. It becomes the first co-ed dormitory.

1997 October

Centenary receives an anonymous donation of $10 million. It is the largest contribution in the college’s history.

1997 December

Centenary Choir sings at the White House for the first time

1998 spring

Gateway Project begins to expand campus one block eastward. It includes the purchase of Centenary Square, constructed in 1950.

1998 circa November

Centenary OutReach founded. Student organization supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

1999 circa March

Centenary Environmental Citizens student organization founded

1999 October

Centenary Feminist Organization student group founded

2000 - 2025

2000 January

Students organize the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony at Centenary

2000 February

Black Student Alliance organized

2000 April

Intramural field installs lights and rededicated the Jones-Rice Intramural Field

2000 May

Barbara Bush speaks at commencement held in Hirsch Memorial Coliseum.

2000 August

Dr. Dana Kress inducted into the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, the highest academic distinction offered by the French government.

2000 October

Mickle Hall of Science auditorium renovated and dedicated as the Ken and Celia Carlile Auditorium.

2000 October

Centenary Fitness Center opens. Formerly known as Haynes Memorial Gymnasium.

2001 February

W. Peyton Shehee Jr. Baseball Stadium dedicated

2002 September

Ratcliff Gazebo moved to campus. Constructed in 1925 at 3000 Fairfield Avenue.

2002 October

Dedication of Anderson Choral Building, Feazel Instrumental Hall, Anderson Auditorium, Broyles Choral Room, Broyles Choral Lounge, and Carruth Choir Room

2002 November

Women's and men's swimming teams have first intercollegiate competition as a varsity sport.

2002 December

Donald A. Webb Seminar Room dedicated in Magale Memorial Library

2003 January

Men's lacrosse team plays first intercollegiate game as a varsity sport

2003 spring

Les Éditions Tintamarre, a heritage language press, begins publishing books.

2004 May

Center for Family-Owned Business launched by the Frost School of Business

2005 February

Minority Student Alliance organized. Renamed the Minority Student Association within the first year. Renamed the Multicultural Student Association in September 2011.

2005 March

George W. Bush, President of the United States, holds a town hall meeting about Social Security in the Gold Dome

2005 August

Centenary hosts Dillard University students evacuated ahead of Hurricane Katrina

2005 October

Irene K. Wright Math Building opens. Originally constructed as the Baptist Center in 1968 by District 6 of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

2006 April

Alpha Phi Alpha (Tau Beta chapter) fraternity chartered

2006 May

Escaped Images Dance Company performs at the National College Dance Conference taking place at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

2007 February

Camerata sings at Carnegie Hall in New York

2007 circa September

Diversity Committee forms. Members include students, faculty, and staff.

2007 December

Catahoula mascot introduced

2008 January

Centenary celebrates 100 years in Shreveport

2008 March

First annual Big Event community service project occurs

2008 September

David Womack hired as Dean of Student Life. First person of color to serve on the Centenary president's cabinet.

2009 January

First annual Dream Week occurs commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2009 April

Trek program begins

2009 May

B. David Rowe elected president by trustees

2011 October

Centenary's chapter of the American Association of University Professors reorganized

2012 January

National Organization for Women student group forms

2012 January

Jones-Rice Intramural Field adds scoreboard and pavilion

2014 August

First annual Centenary in Paris

2014 September

Centenary achieves full membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III

2015 June

First annual Summer Orientation and Registration (SOAR)

2016 April

Christopher L. Holoman elected president by trustees

2016 September

Women's triathlon team has first intercollegiate competition as a varsity sport

2017 May

First annual Beast Feast held by the Centenary Alumni Association

2020 March

Classes move to remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 March

Women's track and field team has first intercollegiate competition as a varsity sport.

2021 November

Centenary announces the return of football (first scrimmage in August 2023, first intercollegiate game September 2024)

2021 November

Andia Augustin-Billy becomes the first faculty member of color to receive tenure

2022 January

Latoya Pierce hired as the college's first Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

2022 summer

The Learning Commons open in Magale Memorial Library

2025

Centenary celebrates 200 years of higher education