page_title: Saint Joseph's College (Indiana)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Saint Joseph's College (Indiana) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of flowers, fountain, and the Chapel Building of Saint Joseph's College, taken in summer of 2011.
context_page_description: Saint Joseph's College was a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Rensselaer, Indiana. It closed in 2017 with approximately 1,100 students enrolled.
context_section_description: The College was founded in 1889 by Father Joseph A. Stephan, a missionary from Germany as a secondary school to educate Native Americans. In 1962, President Eisenhower dedicated the Halleck Center (named after Republican representative Charles Halleck).
  From 1944 to 1974, the Chicago Bears held their training camp at Saint Joseph's College. The 1971 film Brian's Song—about Brian Piccolo, a Chicago Bears running back who died from carcinoma in the 1970s—was filmed on campus. A charity game for Joy Piccolo, with the Bears versus college all-stars, was played on July 23, 1971. During training camp one year, Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus was reportedly seen out on a tractor in the cornfield adjacent to the campus. The College football all-star game was played at the College's football stadium, Alumni Stadium, for many years.
  The main academic building burned to the ground on February 3, 1973. At the time, many thought the fire would close the school, but the school recovered.
  After much discussion, on February 3, 2017 the school announced its closure at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year, as the school needed $100 million to continue operating: $27 million in debt, $35 million in infrastructure improvements, and $38 million to "re-engineer" the college.  Outgoing president Robert Pastoor noted hopes of reopening, although his resignation was to take effect in May 2017.
  In May 2017, the school also announced that it was resigning its accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission.
  In October 2018, it was announced that St. Joseph's would reopen as a junior college in July 2019 through a partnership with fellow Roman Catholic Marian University. The college would first begin operations in Indianapolis, where Marian University is located, under the name Saint Joseph's College of Marian University-Indianapolis and could later restart operations at its Rensselaer campus.
  In October 2019 the announcement of the resignations of a number of key members of the administrative team and board has raised a number of questions about the future viability of the closed Rensselaer Campus, further dimming the hopes of former alumni and the local community. However, in February 2020 the college announced a plan to resume some classes and academic operations in partnership with other colleges and universities beginning in the fall of 2021.
caption: The Chapel is one of the oldest buildings on campus, and is where regular religious events are held.
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