History
Willard Residential College
Founded in 1972, Willard Residential College is one of the oldest and largest members of Northwestern Univerty's residential college system. Built in 1938, and existing as a female dormitory until 1970, when it became the first undergraduate co-ed housing on campus, Willard Hall was named after Frances Willard, president of the Evanston College for Ladies and a founder in the late nineteenth century of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
The former home of actors Stephen Colbert, David Schwimmer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and playwright Charles Busch, Willard has a long history as the social center of Northwestern's south campus. From special firesides by Charleton Heston and Jimmy Carter to the annual Polka Party to some of the more creative campus pranks, Willard is imbued with what has been described as a "spirit of social innovation".
1998 marked the 60th anniversary of Willard's construction. The occasion was marked with the invitiation of all the previous Masters, Faculty Associates, dorm government, and residents of Willard, along with a noted Frances Willard historian, to relive and discuss Willard's illustrious past.
Frances Willard
Born in 1838 in Churchville, NY, Frances Willard has been hailed as one of the most famous women in the English-speaking world during the 1800's. Willard became president of Northwestern Female College in 1871, which later merged with the larger University. Three years later she helped found the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, a prohibitionist organization which also concerned itself with women's suffrage, prison reform, and prostitution abolition.
Frances Willard was well known as a lecturer, writer, journalist (she was at one time the editor of the Chicago Daily Post) and all around virago in the best sense of the word. She wrote an autobiography called Glimpses of Fifty Years in 1889.
Near the end of her life, Willard became a whole-hearted socialist, much to the surprise of her friends and supporters. On February 17th, 1898, she died of the flu in New York City. So much for sweet home Chicago.
WHAT IS A RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE ANYWAY?
Willard is one of the many residential colleges at Northwestern. What is a residential college you ask? Well, let me tell you about it: A residential college tends to have a more "community oriented" feel than a normal dorm does. For example: whereas many students in dorms tend to know people they live next to or around, many people in residential colleges know pretty much the whole building. Residential colleges are smaller and tend to do more "community" activities, such as munchies, exploring downtown Chicago, having guest speakers and performers, having faculty members come to lunch, and the like.
One aspect that makes Willard different (and quite frankly, better) than most residential colleges, is that it is "multi-thematic." While some residential colleges tend to have a theme (i.e. they tend to accept students of a certain area of study), you'll find people in all of Northwestern's schools in Willard; everyone from Pre-Med students and Engineers to History majors and Theatre majors call Willard home. When you combine this multi thematic aspect of Willard with the community oriented feel of a residential college, you get one hell of an awesome place to live!
