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