Editing University of La Verne (section)

==History==

=== Lordsburg College ===
The University of La Verne was founded in 1891 as "Lordsburg College" by members of the [[Church of the Brethren]], a German Christian sect originating from the [[Schwarzenau Brethren]].  Historically, the Brethren are considered one of the "[[peace churches]]", like the [[Quakers]] and the [[Mennonites]],<ref>Bowman, Carl (1987). A Profile of the Church of the Brethren. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press. See also Bowman, Carl (2008), Portrait of a People: The Church of the Brethren at 300. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press</ref> and slots on the Board of Trustees are still held for members.<ref name="laverne">{{cite web|title=I. ULV Faculty Handbook: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION|url=http://faculty.laverne.edu/qm/ftfh/Ir.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125190318/http://faculty.laverne.edu/qm/ftfh/Ir.html|archive-date=2011-11-25|access-date=2011-10-06|publisher=Faculty.laverne.edu}}</ref> The [[bachelor's degree|baccalaureate]] ceremony is held at the local Church of the Brethren, and the holder of the post of campus minister must be a member of the Church of the Brethren.<ref>Herb Hogan and Gladdys Muir's The University of La Verne: A Centennial History: 1891–1991 (1990)</ref>

The Lordsburg College originally opened in a hotel building located on the corner of 3rd Street and D Street in La Verne, CA (then called Lordsburg). The land-boom hotel is said to never have hosted a single paying guest, as the interest in land around Southern California had subsided by the time the hotel was complete. In 1899, two members of the Church of the Brethren decided the hotel building could be repurposed as a college, so they purchased the hotel, along with 100 city lots, for $15,000.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Brief History of La Verne|url=http://www.lavernehistoricalsociety.org/a-brief-history-of-la-verne.html|access-date=2020-12-28|website=Historical Society of La Verne|language=en}}</ref> The Lordsburg College building was demolished in 1928, shortly after the completion of Founders Hall.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lordsburg Demo|url=https://digitalcollections.laverne.edu/digital/collection/p16212coll7/id/13/rec/15|website=University of La Verne Digital Collections}}</ref>

In 1901, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that the Lordsburg College "seems to be predestined to an early demise." Attendance had shrunk to only 12 students, just two more than the number of faculty, and the college had been burdened by multiple scandals involving its administration. The college's second president, E.A. Miller, had a scandal in Virginia which followed him to California. William Hoover, the school's fourth president, resigned in 1901.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1901|title=Dunker College's Latest Sorrows|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/image/380056550/?terms=lordsburg&match=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Past Presidents {{!}} President Devorah Lieberman {{!}} University of La Verne|url=https://laverne.edu/president/past-presidents/|access-date=2020-12-28|website=President Devorah Lieberman|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== La Verne College ===
[[File:Lordsburg College in Lordsburg (later, La Verne), ca.1910 (CHS-5313).jpg|thumb|left|200px|Lordsburg College c.1910]]
When the agricultural town of Lordsburg renamed itself to [[La Verne, California|La Verne]] in 1917, Lordsburg College renamed itself accordingly, becoming "La Verne College". The college reorganized in 1977, 87 years after its founding, to become the University of La Verne. Since then, the university has grown to consist of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Public Management, the LaFetra College of Education, the College of Law, and multiple regional campuses.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

The University of La Verne conferred its first [[Master's degree|master's]] degree in 1965 and awarded its first [[doctorate]] in 1969. In 1969, La Verne began its adult education program. The university opened its first regional campus, in [[Orange County, California|Orange County]], in 1981 and has since opened additional locations throughout the area, including [[Vandenberg AFB]] and [[Pt. Mugu]]. Despite its Church of the Brethren heritage, the university describes itself as non-sectarian.<ref>{{Cite news| url = http://sites.laverne.edu/chaplain/religious-life-at-la-verne/|title= Religious Life at La Verne|publisher=Office of Religious and Spiritual Life |access-date = April 20, 2015}}</ref>

===Athens, Greece===
La Verne extended to a campus in [[Athens]] in 1975, mainly for the children of US military personnel. By the time of the sudden closure of the Athens campus in 2004, the campus operated as a [[franchising|franchise]], sending back {{currency|690|EUR}} per graduating student to the main university in California. Students and faculty were given 48 hours' notice of the closure prior to the start of classes.<ref name="AthensNews_LaVerne_Athens" /> [[Stephen C. Morgan]], president of La Verne at the time, justified the closure on financial grounds. The Athens campus had by 2004 gained a reputation as "one of the best private, English-language institutions in Greece".<ref name="ChronicleHighEd_LaVerne_Athens" />