Hillsdale College

{{Short description|Christian college in Hillsdale, Michigan, US}} {{POV |date=February 2026 |talk=Balance Issues}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2015}} {{Infobox university | name = Hillsdale College | image = Hillsdale College seal.svg | image_upright = .6 | motto = {{langx|la|Virtus Tentamine Gaudet}} | mottoeng = Strength Rejoices in the Challenge | established = {{start date and age|1844|12|4}} | type = Private liberal arts college | religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian Christian <br />Baptist (historical) | endowment = $900&nbsp;million (2021)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2021/09/endowment-tops-900-million-with-600000-per-student// |website=Hillsdale Collegian |publisher=Hillsdale College |access-date=September 10, 2021 |title=Endowment tops $900 million, with $600,000 per student |date=September 2, 2021 |archive-date=September 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910224842/http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2021/09/endowment-tops-900-million-with-600000-per-student/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | president = Larry P. Arnn | provost = Christopher VanOrman | undergrad = 1,573<ref>{{cite web|title=US News College Rankings|work=US News and World Report|url= https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/hillsdale-college-2272#:~:text=Hillsdale%20College%20is%20a%20private,a%20semester%2Dbased%20academic%20calendar|accessdate=November 28, 2023}}</ref> | city = Hillsdale, Michigan | country = U.S. | campus = Rural, {{cvt|400|acre}} (84 buildings)<ref>{{cite web |title=College Profile |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/profile |website=Hillsdale College website |publisher=Hillsdale College |access-date=September 2, 2015 |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905032225/http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/profile |url-status=live }}</ref> | former_names = Michigan Central College (1844–1855) | athletics_affiliations = NCAA Division II – G-MAC | sports_nickname = Chargers | website = {{URL|https://www.hillsdale.edu/|hillsdale.edu}} | logo = Hillsdale College logo.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert | logo_upright = 1.1 | coordinates = {{Coord|41|55|59|N|84|38|01|W|type:edu_region:US-MI|display=inline,title}} | faculty = | colors = {{Color box|#002855}}{{Color box|#FFFFFF}} Navy blue and white }} '''Hillsdale College''' is a private, conservative, Christian<ref>[https://www.hillsdale.edu/about/mission/ Mission]</ref><ref name=moral>[https://www.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Founding-Docs-Mission-Moral-Commitments.pdf ''Guidelines Regarding the Mission and Moral Commitments of Hillsdale College''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330211255/https://www.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Founding-Docs-Mission-Moral-Commitments.pdf |date=March 30, 2018 }} July 2010</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ceballos |first1=Ana |title=Conservative Hillsdale College is helping DeSantis reshape Florida education |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/07/01/conservative-hillsdale-college-is-helping-desantis-reshape-florida-education/ |access-date=11 April 2023 |publisher=Tampa Bay Times |date=July 1, 2022 |archive-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411192015/https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/07/01/conservative-hillsdale-college-is-helping-desantis-reshape-florida-education/ |url-status=live }}</ref> liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists.<ref name="Moore" />

Women were admitted to the college from its foundation, making the college the second-oldest coeducational institution in the United States, after Oberlin College (1837).

Hillsdale's required core curriculum includes courses on the Great Books, the U.S. Constitution, theology, biology, chemistry, and physics.<ref name="shining" /> The college's mission statement identifies it as a "nonsectarian Christian institution".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hillsdale.edu/about/mission/ |title=Mission - Hillsdale College |date=2025 |author=Hillsdale College |accessdate=August 23, 2025}}</ref> Since the late 20th century, in order to opt out of government mandates tied to funding, Hillsdale has declined both state and federal financial support. Instead, Hillsdale depends entirely on private donations to supplement students' tuition.<ref name="shining">{{cite news |last1=Eckholm |first1=Erik |title=In Hillsdale College, a 'Shining City on a Hill' for Conservatives |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/education/edlife/hillsdale-college-great-books-constitution-conservatives.html |access-date=9 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=February 1, 2017 |archive-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710013238/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/education/edlife/hillsdale-college-great-books-constitution-conservatives.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="scandal">{{Cite web |last=Lloyd |first=Alice |date=2018-05-12 |title=The College That Wants to Take Over Washington |url=https://politi.co/2I8zvHr |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=POLITICO Magazine |language=en |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909031550/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/12/hillsdale-college-trump-pence-218362/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/hillsdale-college-subject-of-senate-debate-is-known-for-rejecting-federal-funds/2017/12/04/126f94ca-d91b-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html |title=Hillsdale College, subject of Senate debate, is known for rejecting federal funds |last1=Anderson |first1=Nick |date=2017-12-15 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=2018-05-14 |last2=Douglas-Gabriel |first2=Danielle |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514141647/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/hillsdale-college-subject-of-senate-debate-is-known-for-rejecting-federal-funds/2017/12/04/126f94ca-d91b-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History== ===Founding=== Members of the Free Will Baptist Church founded their denomination's first collegiate institution, Michigan Central College in Spring Arbor, Michigan,<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|6}} in 1844.<ref name="Moore">{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Vivian Elsie Lyon |title=The First Hundred Years of Hillsdale College |date=1944 |publisher=The Ann Arbor Press |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |oclc=4819396}} 588 pp.</ref>{{rp|4}} The state of Michigan incorporated the college the following year, during which the college enrolled 25 undergraduates.<ref name="Gilbert-Pioneer">{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Arlan K. |url=https://archive.org/details/historichillsdal0000gilb |title=Historic Hillsdale College: Pioneer in Higher Education, 1844–1900 |date=1991 |publisher=Hillsdale College Press |isbn=978-0916308797 |location=Hillsdale, Michigan |page=274 |oclc=24636032}}</ref>{{rp|12}}<ref name="presidents">{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/history/pastpresidents.asp |title=Hillsdale College: Past Presidents |access-date=2010-12-23 |archive-date=June 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624024824/http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/history/pastpresidents.asp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Moore" />{{rp|11}} The college was officially non-sectarian.<ref name="BaptistHistory1897">{{cite book |last=Vedder |first=Henry Clay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gcISAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA273 |title=A Short History of the Baptists |publisher=American Baptist Publication Society |year=1897 |page=273 |author-link=Henry Clay Vedder |access-date=2010-12-23}}</ref> Its first president was Daniel McBride Graham, who held the office from 1844 to 1848.

Edmund Burke Fairfield assumed the school's presidency in 1848, and in 1850, the college was chartered to confer degrees.<ref name="Gilbert-Pioneer" />{{rp|12–14}}<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|116}} Black students were admitted immediately after the college's founding,<ref name="funding fathers">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJ7phRjZmUsC&q=hillsdale+first+college+to+prohibit+discrimination&pg=PA177 |title=Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement |via=Google Books |year=2008 |access-date=August 27, 2014 |isbn=978-1596985629 |last1=Hoplin |first1=Nicole |last2=Robinson |first2=Ron |publisher=Simon and Schuster |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909031612/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJ7phRjZmUsC&q=hillsdale+first+college+to+prohibit+discrimination&pg=PA177 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the college became the second school in the nation to grant four-year liberal arts degrees to women.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OERI/PLLI/webreprt.html |title=Women's Colleges in the United States: History, Issues, and Challenges |author1=Irene Harwarth |author2=Mindi Maline |author3=Elizabeth DeBra |publisher=United States Department of Education, National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning |access-date=2010-12-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614175420/http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OERI/PLLI/webreprt.html |archive-date=June 14, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Gilbert-Pioneer" />{{rp|12–14}}

Outgrowing its space by 1853, the school moved to Hillsdale, Michigan, in part to have access to the railroad that served the city. It received financial support from residents who wanted to develop the 20-year-old town.<ref name="Gilbert-Pioneer" />{{rp|30}} <ref>{{cite web |title=History – Spring Arbor Township |url=http://www.springarbor.org/spring-arbor-mi-about/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117130718/http://www.springarbor.org/spring-arbor-mi-about/history.html |archive-date=November 17, 2014 |access-date=2014-09-18}}</ref><ref name="Moore" />{{rp|24}} Construction was completed and the school reopened as Hillsdale College in 1855.

Fairfield led Hillsdale for 25 years, from 1848 to 1869.<ref name="presidents" /><ref name="fairfieldobit">{{cite news |date=November 19, 1904 |title=Dr. E. B. Fairfield Dead |newspaper=New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/11/19/101349330.pdf |access-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-date=August 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828112635/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/11/19/101349330.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1854, he attended the first convention of the new Republican Party with Ransom Dunn in neighboring Jackson, Michigan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Birth of the Republican Party |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1879/07/07/80687236.html?pageNumber=1 |work=NY Times |date=July 7, 1879 |access-date=March 9, 2023 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909031549/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1879/07/07/80687236.html?pageNumber=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Fairfield served in the Michigan Senate from 1857 to 1859, and was elected that year as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. Hillsdale's early anti-slavery stance and its pivotal role in founding the Republican Party led to the invitation of several notable speakers on the campus, including Frederick Douglass (who visited the school on two occasions) and Edward Everett, the orator who preceded Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg.<ref name="Gilbert-Pioneer" />{{rp|xxv, 49}} On August 8, 1860, Hillsdale conferred its first degrees. On March 20, 1863, the Michigan legislature formally legalized Hillsdale's change of name and location.<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|33}}

===Later 19th century=== In 1861, many Hillsdale students joined the ranks of the Union Army during the American Civil War. A higher percentage of Hillsdale students enlisted than from any other Michigan college.<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|60}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.co.hillsdale.mi.us/index.php/county-history |title=A Brief History of Hillsdale County, Pioneer Period: 1825–1843 |author=Dan Bisher |year=1999 |access-date=September 26, 2013 |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928111011/http://www.co.hillsdale.mi.us/index.php/county-history |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Gilbert-Honor">{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Arlan K. |title=Hillsdale Honor: The Civil War Experience |date=1994 |publisher=Hillsdale College Press |isbn=978-0916308728 |location=Hillsdale, Michigan |oclc=29816536}} 88 pp.</ref>{{rp|1}}

In 1869, James Calder succeeded Fairfield as president. Calder served through 1871. During his administration, the commercial school opened, a theological department was established, and the college enrolled around 750 students.<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|73, 292, 411}} He resigned to become president of Pennsylvania State University.<ref name="presidents" />thumb|left|250px|Hillsdale in the nineteenth centuryHillsdale's first president, Daniel McBride Graham, returned for a brief second term in 1871, notably rebuilding the campus after the catastrophic "Great Fire" of March 6, 1874.<ref name=Gilbert-Pioneer />{{rp|139–66}}<ref name=Moore />{{rp|77}} DeWitt Clinton Durgin, a Union College alumnus, was president from 1874 to 1884.<ref name="presidents" /> In 1878, the ''Hillsdale Herald'' was launched, becoming the second oldest college newspaper in Michigan, behind Kalamazoo College's ''The Index'' (1877). In 1896, this paper merged with ''The Collegian'' (founded in 1893) to become ''The Herald-Collegian'', soon simplified to ''The Collegian''.<ref name=Moore />{{rp|page needed}} In 1884, Spencer O. Fisher became the first Hillsdale alumnus elected to Congress.<ref name=Moore />{{rp|119}}

George F. Mosher served as president of Hillsdale from 1886 to 1901.<ref name="presidents" /><ref>{{cite news |title=George Frank Mosher; Former Consul at Nice, Educator and Bay State Legislator Dies |newspaper=New York Times |date=November 19, 1904 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1081EF73C54127A93CAA81783D85F4D8285F9 |access-date=2010-12-23 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003003904/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1081EF73C54127A93CAA81783D85F4D8285F9 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kGziAAAAMAAJ&q=dewitt+clinton+durgin&pg=PA311 |title=Lives of the Founders and Builders of Hillsdale College |work=google.com |access-date=March 10, 2015 |year=1885 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909031549/https://books.google.com/books?id=kGziAAAAMAAJ&q=dewitt+clinton+durgin&pg=PA311 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Moore />{{rp|116, 125}} During this time, the college grew in size and in 1891, the ''Chicago Herald'' wrote, "Hillsdale has a college second in standing to no denominational college in the country."

===20th century=== {{stack|thumb|Central Hall (1908).}} In 1900, Hillsdale ceased grazing livestock and removed the agrarian fence circling the campus.<ref name="Gilbert-Permanent">{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Arlan K. |title=The Permanent Things: Hillsdale College 1900–1994 |date=1998 |publisher=Hillsdale College Press |isbn=978-0916308629 |location=Hillsdale, Michigan |oclc=39113606}} 320 pp.</ref>{{rp|xxiii}}<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|135}} It began an era of institutional growth and professionalization. In 1902, Joseph William Mauck became the college's sixth president, the first Hillsdale graduate to return as president of his alma mater.<ref name="presidents" /> Beloved by the college community and an early and outspoken advocate for women's suffrage, Mauck served for two decades.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leading Men Take Up the Question of Women's Right to Vote |newspaper=New York Times |date=December 20, 1908 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/12/20/104816205.pdf |access-date=2010-12-23 |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829154708/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/12/20/104816205.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=George Dr. Joseph Mauck, educator, Was 84 |newspaper=New York Times |date=July 8, 1937 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00614FC3C5D12738DDDA10894DF405B878FF1D3 |access-date=2010-12-23 |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928221913/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00614FC3C5D12738DDDA10894DF405B878FF1D3 |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the women's dormitories is named after Mauck. In 1907, the college amended its Articles of Association, no longer requiring the president and trustees to be Free Will Baptists. This led to a decline in the theological department's prestige but an increase in the number of Christian denominations represented on campus.<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|166}}<ref name="Gilbert-Permanent" />{{rp|xxiii}}

William Gear Spencer succeeded Mauck as president, serving from 1922 to 1932, when he departed to lead Franklin College.<ref name="presidents" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Spencer Heads Franklin College |newspaper=New York Times |date=March 31, 1933 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/03/31/archives/spencer-heads-franklin-college.html |access-date=2010-12-23 |archive-date=July 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723214428/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/03/31/archives/spencer-heads-franklin-college.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Under Spencer, Hillsdale acquired its {{convert|14|acre|adj=on}} Slayton Arboretum, built new dormitories, constructed a new field house for its developing athletic programs, and, in 1924, chartered its chapter of Chi Omega.<ref name="Gilbert-Permanent" />{{rp|60–69}}

{{stack|thumb|250px|Central Hall was rebuilt after a fire in 1874.}} During the Great Depression, Willfred Otto Mauck, Joseph Mauck's son and also an alumnus, was selected as the eighth president, serving from 1933 to 1942.<ref name="presidents" /> Throughout this era, the college struggled financially, was forced to cancel its new construction projects, and cut the pay of its faculty and staff by nearly 20%.<ref name="Gilbert-Permanent" />{{rp|72–83}}<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|210}} Succeeding Mauck, Harvey L. Turner became Hillsdale's ninth president, serving from 1942 to 1952.<ref name="presidents" /> Despite its financial difficulties, the college built a new library, had an undefeated and untied football team in 1938, and celebrated its centennial in 1944, when more than 1,000 alumni returned to campus for the commencement ceremony.<ref name="Gilbert-Permanent" />{{rp|113}}<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|267}}

J. Donald Phillips next assumed the presidency, holding the position from 1952 to 1971.<ref name="presidents" /> During his administration, Hillsdale constructed the Simpson and McIntyre Student Residences in 1966.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mullins |first1=Julia |title='Unpredictable Timeline' for Naming New Dorm |url=https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2019/01/unpredictable-timeline-naming-new-dorm-2/ |publisher=Hillsdale Collegian |date=24 January 2019 |access-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113035855/https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2019/01/unpredictable-timeline-naming-new-dorm-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In these years, Hillsdale began to resist federal civil rights regulations, particularly Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, concerning affirmative action.<ref name="Gilbert-Permanent" />{{rp|167, 212}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.hillsdalechargers.com/athletics/HOF/JDonaldPhillips |title=Hillsdale College Athletics |website=hillsdalechargers.com |access-date=April 13, 2015 |archive-date=April 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414011830/http://www.hillsdalechargers.com/athletics/HOF/JDonaldPhillips |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/history/presidents |title=College History/Past Presidents – Hillsdale College |work=hillsdale.edu |access-date=April 13, 2015 |archive-date=March 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316013205/http://hillsdale.edu/about/history/presidents |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi3tYmHHOco |title=Hillsdale College and Affirmative Action |date=2017-02-24 |last=Hillsdale College Online Courses |access-date=2025-03-23 |via=YouTube}}</ref> In 1962, the college's trustees adopted its own "Declaration of Independence". It affirmed Hillsdale's stance against what it called governmental control.<ref name="Gilbert-Permanent" />{{rp|191}}

{{Infobox historic site | name = Hillsdale College | image = Hillsdale College state historic marker.jpg | image_size = 250 | caption = | locmapin = | map_relief = | map_width = | map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan | location = 33 East College Street<br />Hillsdale, Michigan | coordinates = {{coord|41.932531|-84.633966|format=dms|display=inline}} | built = | architect = | architecture = | designation1 = Michigan State Historic Site | designation1_date = January 16, 1962 }}

A marker designating the college as a Michigan State Historic Site was erected by the Michigan Historical Commission in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |title=Michigan Historical Markers – Hillsdale College |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34216 |access-date=August 4, 2022 |website=www.hmdb.org |publisher=Historical Marker Data Base |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804190958/https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34216 |url-status=live }}</ref>

George Roche III became the 11th president of Hillsdale College in 1971. During the Roche years, Hillsdale became nationally known, in part because of its withdrawal from federal and state-assisted loan programs and grants. Colleges that receive federal funding are required by law to report data on racial integration as part of the US affirmative action student loan program. Hillsdale announced that it refused to do so, and the college's trustees instead stated that the institution would follow its own non-discrimination policy and "with the help of God, resist, by all legal means, any encroachments on its independence."<ref name=Gilbert-Permanent />{{rp|237–39}}

During Roche's presidency, the college dramatically increased its endowment, established the Center for Constructive Alternatives, and hosted prominent national speakers, including Ronald Reagan. It also began publishing ''Imprimis'', a monthly speech digest.<ref name="presidents"/><ref name=Gilbert-Permanent />{{rp|222–23}}

Russell Kirk taught at Hillsdale for one semester per year beginning in 1973.{{citation needed|date=December 2025}}

Roche resigned his position at Hillsdale in late 1999, following a scandal surrounding the suicide of his son's wife.<ref name="scandal" /> Hours prior to her suicide, she said in front of her Roche and other witnesses that the two of them had engaged in an on-and-off<ref name="Sex, lies and suicide">{{cite news |last=Ellis |first=Jonathan |title=Sex, lies and suicide |url=http://www.salon.com/2000/01/19/hillsdale/ |work=Salon |date=January 19, 2000 |access-date=September 15, 2014 |archive-date=November 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115092745/http://www.salon.com/2000/01/19/hillsdale/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 19-year sexual affair.<ref name="Horror at Hillsdale">{{cite news |last=Miller |first=John |date=November 12, 1999 |title=Horror at Hillsdale |work=National Review |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/1999/11/horror-hillsdale-john-j-miller/ |access-date=August 9, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612212013/https://www.nationalreview.com/1999/11/horror-hillsdale-john-j-miller/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Married to Roche's son, who taught at the school, she had been employed as managing editor of Hillsdale College Press for 14 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/11/13/controversy-builds-as-college-chief-quits/db8e2c6e-6390-4ac0-b77a-5b006e814b75/ |title=Controversy Builds as College Chief Quits |newspaper=Washington Post |last=Claiborne |first=William |date=November 13, 1999 |access-date=July 31, 2023 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909031621/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/11/13/controversy-builds-as-college-chief-quits/db8e2c6e-6390-4ac0-b77a-5b006e814b75/ |url-status=live }}</ref> President Roche, who had recently divorced his first wife and married his second, denied the alleged affair, but was suspended by the college on November 1 and resigned his post on November 10th.<ref name="Horror at Hillsdale"/><ref name="Scandal Rocks a Conservative Campus">{{cite news |last=Meredith |first=Robyn |title=Scandal Rocks a Conservative Campus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/15/us/scandal-rocks-a-conservative-campus.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 15, 1999 |access-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-date=July 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170723041324/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/15/us/scandal-rocks-a-conservative-campus.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===21st century=== {{Disputed-section|date=May 2026}} Larry P. Arnn has served as president of the college since 2000.<ref>{{cite news |title=National News Briefs; Conservative College Names New President |newspaper=New York Times |date=April 7, 2000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/07/us/national-news-briefs-conservative-college-names-new-president.html |access-date=2011-02-26 |archive-date=April 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408173454/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/07/us/national-news-briefs-conservative-college-names-new-president.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Hillsdale's K–12 Initiative developed a full liberal arts K–12 curriculum for use in the charter schools and its private school in Michigan, Hillsdale Academy. In 2021, Hillsdale K–12 released a Civics "1776 Curriculum."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saul |first1=Stephanie |title=A College Fights 'Leftist Academics' by Expanding Into Charter Schools |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/hillsdale-college-charter-schools.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |work=New York Times |date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113045242/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/hillsdale-college-charter-schools.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, Hillsdale had schools following its K–12 liberal arts curriculum across 19 states and Barney Charter Schools in 9 states.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Strauss |first1=Valerie |title=How Hillsdale College-affiliated charter schools spread |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/07/30/hillsdale-affiliated-charter-schools-spread/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=30 July 2022 |access-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815164313/https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/07/30/hillsdale-affiliated-charter-schools-spread/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After several decades of maintaining a semester program in Washington D.C., Hillsdale established a permanent presence with the establishment of the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship on Massachusetts Avenue. The facility was dedicated on Constitution Day 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mission and History |url=https://dc.hillsdale.edu/About/Mission-and-History/ |website=Hillsdale in DC |access-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113045243/https://dc.hillsdale.edu/About/Mission-and-History/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2023}} Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, ran the Washington center's speaker series at this time.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Toobin |first=Jeffrey |date=2011-08-22 |title=Partners |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/29/partners-jeffrey-toobin |access-date=2022-06-25 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2015, the Boyle Radio Studio at the Kirby Center was dedicated.<ref>{{cite web |title=Boyle Radio Studio |url=https://dc.hillsdale.edu/About/Boyle-Radio-Studio/ |website=Hillsdale in DC |access-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113045244/https://dc.hillsdale.edu/About/Boyle-Radio-Studio/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:Hillsdale College George Washington statue, 2016.jpg|thumb|A statue of George Washington on campus]]

In 2012, Hillsdale founded the Van Andel Graduate School for Statesmanship on its Michigan campus offering both an M.A. and PhD in Politics. Its first M.A. students graduated in 2014, and its first PhD students graduated in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship |url=https://gradschool.hillsdale.edu/ |website=Hillsdale College |access-date=13 January 2023 |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928142708/https://gradschool.hillsdale.edu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=July 2023}} In 2020, Hillsdale founded the Van Andel Graduate School of Government on its DC campus offering an M.A. in government.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dodge |first1=Samuel |title=Hillsdale College establishes D.C.-based Graduate School of Government |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/09/hillsdale-college-establishes-dc-based-graduate-school-of-government.html |publisher=Michigan Live |date=22 September 2019 |access-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113045241/https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/09/hillsdale-college-establishes-dc-based-graduate-school-of-government.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, Hillsdale founded its Graduate School of Classical Education offering an M.A. in Classical Education.<ref>{{cite web |title=Graduate School of Classical Education |url=https://classicalgrad.hillsdale.edu/ |website=Hillsdale College |access-date=13 January 2023 |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311013225/https://classicalgrad.hillsdale.edu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2013, Arnn was criticized for remarks about ethnic minorities he made while testifying before the Michigan legislature, against the Common Core curriculum standards. Expressing concern about government interference with educational institutions, he noted having received a letter from the state Department of Education early in his presidency that said his college "violated the standards for diversity." He added, "because we didn't have enough dark ones, I guess, is what they meant." After being criticized for calling minorities "dark ones," Arnn explained that he was referring to "dark faces". He stated: "The State of Michigan sent a group of people down to my campus, with clipboards ... to look at the colors of people's faces and write down what they saw. We don't keep records of that information. What were they looking for besides dark ones?"<ref name="Dark Ones">{{cite news |last=Klein |first=Rebecca |title=Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn Under Fire For Calling Minority Students 'Dark Ones' |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/larry-arnn-dark-ones-hillsdale_n_3691839.html |work=Huffington Post |date=August 1, 2013 |access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220143815/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/larry-arnn-dark-ones-hillsdale_n_3691839.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/31/michigan-college-president-calls-minorities-dark-ones/2605723/ |title=Mich. college president calls minorities 'dark ones' |work=USA Today |access-date=2017-12-04 |archive-date=December 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204114615/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/31/michigan-college-president-calls-minorities-dark-ones/2605723/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Michigan House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel condemned Arnn's comments, calling them "offensive", "inflammatory and bigoted", and asked for an apology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.housedems.com/news/article/statement-from-house-democratic-leader-tim-greimel-d-auburn-hills-on-hillsdale-college-president-larry-arnn-s-racist-remarks#sthash.GxMIW6u2.dpuf |title=Statement from House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) on Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn's racist remarks: &#124; Michigan House Democratic Caucus |publisher=Housedems.com |date=July 31, 2013 |access-date=2014-08-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107132148/http://www.housedems.com/news/article/statement-from-house-democratic-leader-tim-greimel-d-auburn-hills-on-hillsdale-college-president-larry-arnn-s-racist-remarks#sthash.GxMIW6u2.dpuf |archive-date=January 7, 2014}}</ref> In response, the college issued a statement apologizing for Arnn's remark, while reiterating his concern about "state-endorsed racism", as Arnn called affirmative action.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hillsdale president get heat over racial remark |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20130731/NEWS06/307310116/Hillsdale-president-gets-heat-over-racial-remark |access-date=September 26, 2013 |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |date=August 1, 2013 |author=Higgins, Lori |author2=Jesse, David |quote=No offense was intended by the use of that term except to the offending bureaucrats, and Dr. Arnn is sorry if such offense was honestly taken. But the greater concern, he believes, is the state-endorsed racism the story illustrates. |archive-date=September 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905060407/http://www.freep.com/article/20130731/NEWS06/307310116/Hillsdale-president-gets-heat-over-racial-remark |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019, S. Prestley Blake donated his former home, an exact replica of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, in Somers, Connecticut to Hillsdale College. In May 2021, Hillsdale dedicated the property as the Blake Center for Faith and Freedom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blake Center for Faith and Freedom Hosts First Event |url=https://www.hillsdale.edu/news-and-media/press-releases/blake-center-for-faith-and-freedom-hosts-first-event/ |website=Hillsdale College |access-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817124643/https://www.hillsdale.edu/news-and-media/press-releases/blake-center-for-faith-and-freedom-hosts-first-event/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2021, Hillsdale purchased land in Placer County, California for nearly $6M with plans for a new educational center.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 27, 2022 |title=All about Hillsdale College's plan to build a campus near Roseville |url=https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/roseville/hillsdale-college-roseville-placer-county/103-3e63ce22-0064-43dd-ad06-ba82c8e76bba |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=abc10.com |language=en-US |archive-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030063935/https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/roseville/hillsdale-college-roseville-placer-county/103-3e63ce22-0064-43dd-ad06-ba82c8e76bba |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A conspiracy-peddling college is coming to Placer County. That should scare us all |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-conspiracy-peddling-college-is-coming-to-placer-county-that-should-scare-us-all/ar-AAT3QmA |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=MSN |language=en-US |archive-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030063934/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-conspiracy-peddling-college-is-coming-to-placer-county-that-should-scare-us-all/ar-AAT3QmA |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 23, 2022 |title=See drone video of proposed Hillsdale College site in Placer County |work=Sacramento Bee |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article257601938.html |quote=Drone video from January 2022 shows the planned site west of Roseville for a college campus built by Michigan's conservative Hillsdale College on land once owned by the family of Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos. |access-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-date=January 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126050605/https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article257601938.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The college has been at the center of a national political and cultural debate about K–12 curriculum.<ref name="NBC News 2023 f092">{{cite web | first=Tyler | last=Kingkade | title=Conservatives are changing K-12 education, and one Christian college is at the center | website=NBC News | date=20 July 2023 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hillsdale-college-1776-curriculum-k12-education-conservative-rcna93397 | access-date=20 July 2023 | archive-date=July 20, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720221129/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hillsdale-college-1776-curriculum-k12-education-conservative-rcna93397 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Hillsdale College is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advisory Board |url=https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119034220/https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/ |archive-date=November 19, 2023 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |publisher=The Heritage Foundation}}</ref> a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from The Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power, since Trump won the 2024 presidential election.<ref name="Mascaro-20234">{{Cite news |last=Mascaro |first=Lisa |date=August 29, 2023 |title=Conservative Groups Draw Up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump's Vision |url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922112031/https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981 |archive-date=September 22, 2023 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |work=Associated Press News}}</ref>

Game show host Pat Sajak has served as the chairman of the board of trustees since April, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hillsdale.edu/news-and-media/press-releases/hillsdale-college-welcomes-pat-sajak-as-new-board-of-trustees-chairman/ |title=Hillsdale College Welcomes Pat Sajak as New Board of Trustees Chairman |date=2019-04-29 |website=Hillsdale College}}</ref>

==Academics== ===Undergraduate admissions=== In 2023, Hillsdale College accepted 20.6% of undergraduate applicants.<ref name= collegesimply>{{cite web |title=HIllsdale College|url= https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/michigan/hillsdale-college/ |publisher= Peterson's Data | website= CollegeSimply.com| quote= Public domain college data is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics survey for academic years 2023–2024. |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> Admitted applicants had an average 3.93 GPA (over 60% had 4.0 GPAs) and, on average, scored 1430 on the SAT or 31 on the ACT.<ref name= collegesimply />

===Rankings=== {{Infobox US university ranking | USNWR_LA = 50 of 211 }}

In 2025, Hillsdale was ranked 50th (tied) out of 211 ranked "National Liberal Arts Colleges" by ''U.S. News & World Report''.<ref>{{cite web |date= |title=Hillsdale College |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/hillsdale-college-2272 |access-date=January 7, 2025 |work=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> The ''Princeton Review''{{'}}s ''The Best 384 Colleges 2023'' ranked Hillsdale as first for "most engaged in community service," seventh for "students love these colleges," eighth for "professors get high marks," and thirteenth for "students study the most."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Best 384 Colleges |url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college/hillsdale-college-1022659#!academics |access-date=2022-09-28 |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928184105/https://www.princetonreview.com/college/hillsdale-college-1022659#!academics |url-status=live }}{{registration required}}{{Update inline|date=November 2018}}</ref>

===Graduate programs=== As of 2022, the college offers three graduate programs: the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship, offering both an M.A. and a Ph.D. program in Politics;<ref>{{Cite web |title= The Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship |url=https://gradschool.hillsdale.edu/ |website= gradschool.hillsdale.edu |publisher= Hillsdale College |language=en-US |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220928142708/https://gradschool.hillsdale.edu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-01}}</ref> the Steve and Amy Van Andel Graduate School of Government, based in Washington, D.C., and offering an M.A. in government;<ref>{{Cite web |title= School of Government Overview |url= https://dc.hillsdale.edu/School-of-Government/Program-Overview/ |website=dc.hillsdale.edu |publisher= The Steve and Amy Van Andel Graduate School of Government, Hillsdale College |language=en-US |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220928142707/https://dc.hillsdale.edu/School-of-Government/Program-Overview/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-01}}</ref> and the Graduate School of Classical Education, offering an M.A. in classical education.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Graduate School of Classical Education |publisher= Hillsdale College |url=https://classicalgrad.hillsdale.edu/ |website= classicalgrad.hillsdale.edu |language=en |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230311013225/https://classicalgrad.hillsdale.edu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-01}}</ref>

==Campus== thumb|Christ Chapel thumb|Delp Hall and the Liberty Walk, facing Central Hall Hillsdale's {{cvt|200|acre|adj=on}} campus contains multiple instructional and office buildings, 13 residence halls, seven fraternity and sorority houses, an athletic complex, a library, a music hall, an arts center, a conference center, a hotel, and a preschool.<ref name="Hillsdale College: About Hillsdale">{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/collegeprofile.asp |title=Hillsdale College: About Hillsdale |access-date=2011-04-15 |archive-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613203726/https://www.hillsdale.edu/about/collegeprofile.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Hillsdale College also operates Hillsdale Academy, a private K–12 liberal arts school.<ref name="Hillsdale Academy">{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/academy/default.asp |title=Hillsdale Academy |access-date=2010-12-23 |archive-date=September 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929003858/http://www2.hillsdale.edu/academy/default.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> The college opened the classical-style Christ Chapel in 2019, in a dedication ceremony led by Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nester |first1=Alex |title=Clarence Thomas salutes 'faith' at Hillsdale College chapel dedication |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/10/03/clarence-thomas-salutes-faith-hillsdale-college-chapel-dedication/3857723002/ |access-date=November 1, 2022 |work=The Detroit News |date=October 3, 2019 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909032550/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/10/03/clarence-thomas-salutes-faith-hillsdale-college-chapel-dedication/3857723002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The campus features the Liberty Walk, a walkway lined with bronze depictions of famous politicians including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan.<ref name="shining" /><ref>{{cite web | title=College holds dedication for James Madison statue | date=September 24, 2020 | url=https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2020/09/college-holds-dedication-for-james-madison-statue/ }}</ref>

==Policies and funding== {{Conservatism US|expanded=other organizations}} thumb|The Richardson Heritage Room, housed in Mossey Library The school has been described as conservative.<ref name="shining" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kruesi |first1=Kimberlee |title=Tennessee's embrace of Michigan's conservative Hillsdale College sours |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/30/hillsdale-college-teachers-dumb-tennessee-charter/50544733/ |access-date=11 April 2023 |publisher=The Detroit News |date=July 30, 2022 |archive-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411192015/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/30/hillsdale-college-teachers-dumb-tennessee-charter/50544733/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the early 1980s, a controversy over the school's admissions practices threatened federal student loans to 200 Hillsdale students. Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives federal money. The federal government required colleges where students received federal funding to document their compliance with Title IX, but Hillsdale refused, arguing that the government could not deny federal funds to its students because the college received no direct federal funding and there was no allegation of actual sex discrimination.<ref name="6thCir">{{Cite court |litigants=Hillsdale College v. Department of Health, Education and Welfare |vol=696 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=418 |court=United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit |date=7 December 1981 |url=http://openjurist.org/696/f2d/418/hillsdale-college-v-department-of-health-education-and-welfare |access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0ObMag1aZMC&q=Assurance+of+Compliance+forms+mandated+by+Title+IX+hillsdale+college&pg=PA340 |title=Essentials of Sports Law |author=Glenn M. Wong |page=340 |access-date=August 9, 2016 |isbn=978-0313356759 |year=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909031549/https://books.google.com/books?id=H0ObMag1aZMC&q=Assurance+of+Compliance+forms+mandated+by+Title+IX+hillsdale+college&pg=PA340 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/06/archives/colleges-in-conflict-over-federal-role-research-funds-and.html |title=Colleges in Conflict over Federal Role |last= Maeroff |first=Gene I. |date=September 6, 1977 |website=The New York Times |access-date=February 12, 2021 |quote=Hillsdale College in Michigan has steadfastly refused to agree to indicate it will comply with a 1972 education law that denies Federal funding to any college or university that discriminates by sex. |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230410113705/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/06/archives/colleges-in-conflict-over-federal-role-research-funds-and.html |url-status= live }}</ref> When the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) sought to terminate federal financial assistance to Hillsdale's students in 1978, an Administrative Law Judge denied HEW's request; both HEW and Hillsdale appealed to HEW's Civil Rights Reviewing Authority.{{citation needed| date= July 2023}}

In October 1979, the Reviewing Authority rejected Hillsdale's arguments and the ALJ's decision, ruling that HEW could require Hillsdale to sign the Assurance of Compliance as a condition of its students receiving federal financial assistance. The college appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; in 1982, the Sixth Circuit ruled that government aid to individual students could be terminated without a finding that a college actually discriminated, but nevertheless upheld Hillsdale's refusal to sign the compliance forms because only its student loan and grant program is subject to Title IX regulation, not the entire college.<ref name="6thCir" />

In the related 1984 case ''Grove City College v. Bell'', the Supreme Court required every college or university to fulfill federal requirements if its students received federal aid.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Grove City College v. Bell |vol=465 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=555 |date=28 February 1984 |court=Supreme Court of the United States |url= https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/465/555/ |access-date=12 February 2021}}</ref> As a result of this decision, Hillsdale withdrew from all federal assistance beginning with the 1984–85 academic year; Grove City College, the plaintiff in that case, followed Hillsdale's lead four years later.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/the-controversial-reason-some-religious-colleges-forgo-federal-funding/490253/ |title= The Controversial Reason Some Religious Colleges Forgo Federal Funding |website=The Atlantic |last1=Caputo |first1=Ibby |last2=Marcus |first2= Jon |date=July 7, 2016 |access-date=April 1, 2020 |archive-date=March 30, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200330142444/https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/the-controversial-reason-some-religious-colleges-forgo-federal-funding/490253/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning in the 2007–08 academic year, Hillsdale stopped accepting Michigan state assistance, instead matching with its own aid any funds that a student would have received from the state.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hillsdale rejects Michigan grants |newspaper=The Detroit News |date=August 14, 2007}}</ref> Since 2007, Hillsdale's entire operating budget, including scholarships, has come from private funding and endowments.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://diverseeducation.com/article/9055/ |title=Hillsdale College replaces state scholarship aid with private funds |date= August 13, 2007 |newspaper=Diverse: Issues in Higher Education |agency=Associated Press |access-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909032619/https://www.diverseeducation.com/students/article/15085105/hillsdale-college-replaces-state-scholarship-aid-with-private-funds |url-status=live }}</ref> Conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon is among the supporters of Hillsdale College; in 2016, readers who downloaded his autobiography could choose to make donations to the Military Scholarship Fund for veterans attending Hillsdale.<ref name="mancuso">{{Cite web |last=Mancuso |first=Christina |date=2016-02-09 |title= Timothy Mellon Releases Autobiography |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/Timothy-Mellon-Releases-Autobiography-20160209 |access-date= 2024-08-23 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Programs== ==={{anchor|The Blake Center for Faith and Freedom}}The Blake Center for Faith and Freedom=== [[File:Blake Center for Faith and Freedom 02.jpg|thumb|Hillsdale College's Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Connecticut. Built in 2014 as a home by Friendly's founder S. Prestley Blake, the replica of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello was donated to Hillsdale in 2019.]] In 2019, S. Prestley Blake donated his estate in Somers, Connecticut, to the college. Following a lengthy battle over zoning issues,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.connecticutmag.com/issues/features/how-the-coming-of-a-conservative-midwestern-college-divided-a-small-ct-town/article_3b86fb78-e3d6-11ea-8eda-53fc5dea576b.html |title=How the coming of a conservative Midwestern college divided a small CT town |date=August 26, 2020 |access-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817124639/https://www.connecticutmag.com/issues/features/how-the-coming-of-a-conservative-midwestern-college-divided-a-small-ct-town/article_3b86fb78-e3d6-11ea-8eda-53fc5dea576b.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the college has turned the estate into The Blake Center for Faith and Freedom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blakecenterproject.org/|title=The Blake Center for Faith and Freedom &#124; Hillsdale College|website=www.blakecenterproject.org|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=December 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222194733/https://www.blakecenterproject.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> The center includes a replica of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/somers/new-use-for-monticello-co-founder-of-friendly-s-wife-propose-satellite-college-in-somers/article_58ae7a28-2bae-11e9-917b-d34eeb2e0bf4.html|title=New use for Monticello? Co-founder of Friendly's, wife propose satellite college in Somers|first=Jackie Nappoand Matthew P. Knox Journal|last=Inquirer|website=Journal Inquirer|date=February 8, 2019|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817124644/https://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/somers/new-use-for-monticello-co-founder-of-friendly-s-wife-propose-satellite-college-in-somers/article_58ae7a28-2bae-11e9-917b-d34eeb2e0bf4.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Academy for Science and Freedom=== In December 2021, Hillsdale launched the Academy for Science and Freedom in response to the COVID-19 pandemic "to combat the recent and widespread abuses of individual and academic freedom made in the name of science." Hillsdale President Larry P. Arnn said, "What we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic was a silencing of scientific inquiry in favor of policies absolutely hostile to freedom. Liberty is the common good that defines a free society. Policy and science should seek to preserve it whenever possible.” <ref>{{cite web |title=Hillsdale College Opens New Academy for Science and Freedom |url=https://dc.hillsdale.edu/News/Hillsdale-College-Opens-New-Academy-for-Science-an |publisher=Hillsdale College |access-date=23 April 2026}}</ref>

===Churchill Project=== Hillsdale College hosts the Churchill Project, dedicated to the study of Winston Churchill.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2024/11/the-150-year-legacy-of-winston-churchill-lives-on-at-hillsdale/ |title=The 150-year legacy of Winston Churchill lives on at Hillsdale |author=Jillian Parks |date=November 21, 2024 |work=The [Hillsdale] Collegian |accessdate=October 14, 2025}}</ref>

===Barney Charter School Initiative=== Through the Barney Charter School Initiative, Hillsdale provides curriculum materials, teacher training, and administrative support to a network of charter schools that utilize a classical education model.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hillsdale.edu/educational-outreach/barney-charter-school-initiative/ |title=The Barney Charter School Initiative |publisher=Hillsdale College |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref> As of 2024, the network includes over 70 affiliated schools in more than 25 states.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Erica L. |date=April 10, 2024 |title=Hillsdale College's Reach in Public Education |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/10/us/hillsdale-college-charter-schools.html |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref>

The initiative was established in 2010 with funding from the Barney Family Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://barneyfamilyfoundation.org/grantees/ |title=Grantee Profile: Hillsdale College |publisher=Barney Family Foundation |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref> The initiative assists local founding groups in establishing charter schools. Hillsdale College does not own or manage these schools directly. Instead, it enters into a formal "Member School" or "Curriculum School" agreement.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saul |first=Stephanie |date=July 26, 2022 |title=How a Small Conservative College Is Reshaping American Education |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/26/us/hillsdale-college-charter-schools.html |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref> Under these agreements, Hillsdale provides its K–12 classical curriculum and provides training for teachers and administrators at no cost to the schools, provided they adhere to specific pedagogical requirements.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://k12.hillsdale.edu/About/Charter-Schools/ |title=Charter School Affiliation |publisher=Hillsdale College |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref>

The Hillsdale classical model focuses on the liberal arts and sciences. The curriculum is structured around a Christian view of Western tradition and uses primary source documents.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prothero |first=Ariane |date=August 15, 2023 |title=What Is Classical Education? |work=Education Week |url=https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-classical-education/2023/08 |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref>

In January 2022, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced a proposal to partner with Hillsdale College to establish up to 100 charter schools.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Seltzer |first=Rick |date=February 1, 2022 |title=Tennessee Governor's Hillsdale Partnership |work=Inside Higher Ed |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/02/01/tennessee-governor-seeks-hillsdale-charter-expansion |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref> Following public debate, some local school boards denied applications for these charters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aldrich |first=Marta W. |date=2022-09-29 |title=Hillsdale-linked charter group withdraws applications in Tennessee |url=https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2022/9/29/23379171/hillsdale-american-classical-charter-school-withdrawal-lee/ |access-date=2025-12-25 |website=Chalkbeat |language=en}}</ref> The Florida Department of Education has utilized Hillsdale's civics materials in its teacher professional development programs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Postal |first=Leslie |date=July 1, 2022 |title=Florida's new civics training for teachers |work=Orlando Sentinel |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2022/07/01/florida-civics-training-hillsdale-college/ |access-date=December 25, 2025}}</ref>

In March 2023, the principal of Tallahassee Classical School, an affiliated school at the time, was requested to resign by the school board following a parental complaint regarding a lesson that included an image of Michelangelo's ''David''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mazzei |first=Patricia |date=March 23, 2023 |title=A Statue of David, a Complaint of Pornography, and a Fired Principal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/us/tallahassee-classical-school-michelangelo-david.html |access-date=December 25, 2025 |work=The New York Times|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following the event, Hillsdale College terminated the school's license to use its curriculum and removed its "Member School" status, stating the school's actions did not align with the college's classical education philosophy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Atterbury |first=Andrew |date=March 30, 2023 |title=Hillsdale College cuts ties with Florida charter school |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/30/hillsdale-college-florida-charter-school-david-00089766 |access-date=December 25, 2025 |work=Politico|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Campus life==

===Athletics=== {{main|Hillsdale Chargers}} In 2018, Hillsdale College was named one of the best schools in the U.S. for student-athletes by Next College Student Athlete's 2018 NCSA Power Rankings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncsasports.org/best-colleges |title=Top US Athletic And Academic Universities |access-date=2019-02-15 |archive-date=February 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209180750/https://www.ncsasports.org/best-colleges |url-status=live }}</ref> Hillsdale was the fourth ranked school among all NCAA Division II colleges and universities in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncsasports.org/best-colleges/best-division-2-colleges |title=Best NCAA Division 2 Colleges |access-date=2019-02-15 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327092346/https://www.ncsasports.org/best-colleges/best-division-2-colleges |url-status=live }}</ref> The NCSA Power Rankings, which recognize the best colleges and universities in the U.S. for student-athletes, ranked Hillsdale within the top 10 among all Division II schools for several sports including football, baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, women's swimming and women's volleyball. Hillsdale men's track and field also ranked 97th overall (among all divisions).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncsasports.org/best-colleges/best-mens-track-and-field-colleges |title=Best Men's Track and Field Colleges |access-date=2019-02-15 |archive-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221002836/https://www.ncsasports.org/best-colleges/best-mens-track-and-field-colleges |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Alma mater=== Hillsdale's alma mater (college song) is "White and Blue". The words and melody were composed by Bess Hagaman Tefft, Class of 1937.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/history/alma_mater.asp |title=College History/Alma Mater – Hillsdale College |publisher=Hillsdale.edu |date=June 23, 2014 |access-date=2014-08-27 |archive-date=November 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121233154/http://www.hillsdale.edu/about/history/alma_mater.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Notable people== {{Excessive examples|section|date=May 2026}}

===Alumni=== [[File:Bion J Arnold (cropped).jpg|110px|thumb|right|Bion J. Arnold]] [[File:Jared Maurice Arter.jpg|110px|thumb|right|Jared Maurice Arter, former slave, writer, missionary]] [[File:Joseph J. Cella official photo.jpg|110px|thumb|right|Joseph Cella, former Ambassador to Fiji]] [[File:Chocola.jpg|110px|thumb|right|Chris Chocola, former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives]] [[File:Elizebeth-Friedman.jpg|110px|thumb|right|Elizebeth Friedman]] [[File:Gardner 4332078515 e5c35fbe13 o.jpg|110px|thumb|right|Washington Gardner]] [[File:Moses A Luce.jpg|110px|thumb|right|Moses A. Luce]]

====Politics and law==== * E. Ross Adair (1929), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana * Chester Hardy Aldrich (1888), Governor of Nebraska and justice on the Nebraska Supreme Court<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_nebraska/col2-content/main-content-list/title_aldrich_chester.html |title=Nebraska Governor Chester Hardy Aldrich |publisher=National Governors Association |access-date=September 16, 2012 |archive-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911072243/https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_nebraska/col2-content/main-content-list/title_aldrich_chester.html |url-status=live }}</ref> * Joseph Cella (1991), United States Ambassador to Fiji<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://fj.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/our-ambassador/ |title=Ambassador Joseph J. Cella |website=U.S. Embassy in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu |language=en-US |access-date=2020-04-26 |archive-date=April 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409075330/https://fj.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/our-ambassador/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> * Chris Chocola (1984), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 2nd congressional district and President of the Club for Growth<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-the-club-for-growth-is-changing-leadership-20141211 |title=Why the Club for Growth Is Changing Leadership |work=www.nationaljournal.com |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213015117/http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-the-club-for-growth-is-changing-leadership-20141211 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Cyrus Cline (1876), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana * David L. Cornwell (1964), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana * Dan Crane (1958), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 22nd and 19th congressional districts * Phil Crane (1952), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th congressional district * Robert William Davis (1952), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 11th congressional district * Solomon Robert Dresser (1865), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and founder and president of S.R. Dresser Manufacturing Co., now Dresser Industries<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000493 |title=Dresser, Solomon Robert – Biographical Information |work=congress.gov |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017073940/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000493 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Spencer O. Fisher (c. 1865), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 10th congressional district * Albert J. Hopkins (1870), U.S. Senator from Illinois * Henry M. Kimball (c. 1900), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 3rd congressional district * Verner Main (1907), member of the Michigan House of Representatives * Spencer G. Millard (1877), Lieutenant Governor of California * Joseph B. Moore (1879), justice on the Michigan Supreme Court * Thomas Morrison (1997), representative for the 54th District in the Illinois General Assembly<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.repmorrison54.com/ |title=Illinois State Representative Thomas Morrison |work=repmorrison54.com |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=November 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107224223/http://www.repmorrison54.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> * Aric Nesbitt (2001), member of Michigan House of Representatives (2011–2017), 66th district and House Majority Floor Leader;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gophouse.org/representatives/southwest/nesbitt/ |title=Aric Nesbitt, District 66 |work=Michigan House Republicans |access-date=June 9, 2015 |date=2015-02-05 |archive-date=December 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201194843/http://gophouse.org/representatives/southwest/nesbitt/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> President Pro Tempore of the Michigan State Senate (2019–present) * Walter H. North (1896), justice on the Michigan Supreme Court<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.umich.edu/historyandtraditions/students/Pages/ProfilePage.aspx?SID=6134&Year=1899 |title=The Honorable Walter Harper North |publisher=University of Michigan Law School |access-date=2011-04-13 |archive-date=May 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501105119/http://www.law.umich.edu/historyandtraditions/students/Pages/ProfilePage.aspx?SID=6134&Year=1899 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Jasper Packard (c. 1853), newspaper editor and U.S. Representative from Indiana<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oh3iAAAAMAAJ&q=jasper+packard+hillsdale&pg=PA146 |title=Michigan Historical Collections |volume=6 |last1=Commission |first1=Michigan Historical |year=1907 |access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909032550/https://books.google.com/books?id=oh3iAAAAMAAJ&q=jasper+packard+hillsdale&pg=PA146 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Paul J. Ray, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs * Kat Timpf (2010), Fox News contributor * David Viviano (1994), justice on the Michigan Supreme Court<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ballotpedia.org/David_Viviano |title=David Viviano |work=ballotpedia.org |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=July 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710015425/http://ballotpedia.org/David_Viviano |url-status=live }}</ref> * Beth Walker (1987), justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals * Betsy Woodruff Swan (2012), reporter * Hans Zeiger (2007), author and representative for the 25th Legislative District of Washington<ref>{{cite web |url=http://houserepublicans.wa.gov/hans-zeiger/ |title=Hans Zeiger |work=Washington State House Republicans |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=June 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618142036/http://houserepublicans.wa.gov/Hans-Zeiger/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * Elliot Gaiser (2012), Assistant United States Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel and former Solicitor General of Ohio

====Military and public service==== * Clinton B. Fisk (c. 1844), Civil War soldier and statesman, namesake of Fisk University and Prohibition Party candidate for president in 1888; first inductee into the Hillsdale County, Michigan Veteran's Hall of Fame in 2001<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hf3hAAAAMAAJ&q=Clinton+B.+Fisk+hillsdale+college&pg=PA9 |title=History of the Amphictyon Society of Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan |work=google.com |last1=College) |first1=Amphictyon Society (Hillsdale |year=1890 |access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909032551/https://books.google.com/books?id=hf3hAAAAMAAJ&q=Clinton+B.+Fisk+hillsdale+college&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Mary Hannah Fulton (1874), medical missionary in China * Washington Gardner (1870), Civil War soldier and statesman<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000062 |title=Gardner, Washington – Biographical Information |work=congress.gov |access-date=June 15, 2015 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017073940/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000062 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Charles Vernon Gridley (c. 1860), Civil War sailor and Spanish–American War Naval captain * Moses A. Luce (1866), lawyer and Medal of Honor recipient for service in the Civil War<ref>{{cite web |url=http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=1101 |title=Pvt Moses Augustine Luce |work=aotw.org |access-date=June 15, 2015 |archive-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908002603/http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=1101 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Erik Prince (1992), Navy SEAL and founder of Blackwater

====Science and engineering==== * Bion J. Arnold, pioneer in electrical engineering and mass transportation

====Professional sports and athletics==== * Bud Acton (c. 1964), professional basketball player * Lynn Bell (1906), professional baseball player and college football coach * Tom Heckert (1990), professional football manager<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohio.com/news/top-stories/game-day-for-browns-gm-tom-heckert-1.196708 |title=Game day for Browns GM Tom Heckert |author=Nate Ulrich |work=www.ohio.com |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017073940/http://www.ohio.com/news/top-stories/game-day-for-browns-gm-tom-heckert-1.196708 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Andre Holmes (2011), professional football player<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nfl.com/player/andreholmes/2495453/profile |title=Andre Holmes |work=NFL.com |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=May 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521104558/http://www.nfl.com/player/andreholmes/2495453/profile |url-status=live }}</ref> * Fred Knorr (1937), radio executive and part-owner of the Detroit Tigers<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.detroitmemories.com/files/newsfromhome/Nellie_Knorr.pdf |title=Radio station owner brought British Invasion to Metro airwaves |website=Detroitmemories.com |access-date=2016-08-09 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195053/http://www.detroitmemories.com/files/newsfromhome/Nellie_Knorr.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Detroit Local News – Michigan News |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/ |website=The Detroit News |access-date=July 30, 2022 |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130233733/http://www.detroitnews.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * Chuck Liebrock (1967), professional football player * Mike Lude (1948), college football coach and athletic director * Chester Marcol (1972), professional football player * Spanky McFarland (1976), college baseball coach * Bruce McLenna (1966), professional football player * Howard Mudd (1963), professional football player and coach * Wayne Schurr (1959), professional baseball player * Ron Tripp (c. 1975), expert in sambo and judo and general secretary of USA Judo * Jared Veldheer (2010), professional football player<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nfl.com/player/jaredveldheer/497061/profile |title=Jared Veldheer |work=NFL.com |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=June 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601001640/http://www.nfl.com/player/jaredveldheer/497061/profile |url-status=live }}</ref> * Isaac TeSlaa (2022), professional football player<ref>{{Cite web |title=Isaac TeSlaa (WR): Bio, News, Stats & more |url=https://www.detroitlions.com/team/players-roster/isaac-teslaa/ |access-date=2025-09-03 |website=www.detroitlions.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Academia and scholarship==== * Manuel Ayau (1973), Guatemalan-born politician, humanitarian, and founder of the "Universidad Francisco Marroquín"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://muso.ufm.edu/en/index.php/Brief_Biography |title=Brief Biography |work=ufm.edu |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619132442/http://muso.ufm.edu/en/index.php/Brief_Biography |archive-date=June 19, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> * Clara Kern Bayliss (1871, 1874), first woman to graduate from Hillsdale, became writer, educator * Elizebeth Friedman (1915), pioneer in cryptology * Jason E. Hammond, Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction<ref>{{cite book|last=Fuller|first=George Newman|date=1924|title=An Account of Ingham County from Its Organization|trans-title=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BSToCAYzdUUC|language=English|location=|isbn=|pages=498–499|access-date=January 18, 2023|archive-date=January 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107194734/https://books.google.com/books?id=BSToCAYzdUUC|url-status=live}}</ref> * Peter Leeson (2001), economist<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cato-unbound.org/contributors/peter-t-leeson |title=Peter T. Leeson |work=Cato Unbound |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=September 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907183816/http://www.cato-unbound.org/contributors/peter-t-leeson |url-status=live }}</ref> * Robert P. Murphy (1998), economist and author<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.desmogblog.com/robert-p-murphy |title=Robert P. Murphy |work=DeSmogBlog |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703000643/http://www.desmogblog.com/robert-p-murphy |url-status=live }}</ref> * Sharon Elery Rogers (1951) composer and music educator<ref>{{Cite web |title=COMPOSER - Sharon Elery Rogers |url=https://www.choristersguild.org/document//270/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.choristersguild.org}}</ref> * Robert Page Sims (1897), college president, civil rights activist * Gennady Stolyarov II (2008), libertarian and transhumanist writer

===Faculty===

====Active faculty==== * Larry P. Arnn, educator and political scientist<ref>{{cite web |title=Hillsdale College – Faculty Profile |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid%3D858989576 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522002735/http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid=858989576 |archive-date=May 22, 2013 |access-date=2013-06-05}}</ref> * Bradley J. Birzer, history professor and holder of the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies<ref>{{cite web |title=Brad Birzer |url=https://www.hillsdale.edu/faculty/bradley-birzer/ |website=Hillsdale College |access-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-date=May 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513190750/https://www.hillsdale.edu/faculty/bradley-birzer/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * D. G. Hart, religious and social historian * Mollie Hemingway, journalist<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/how-hillsdale-college-helps-journalism-by-hiring-mollie-hemingway |title=How Hillsdale College helps journalism by hiring Mollie Hemingway |date=April 25, 2019 |access-date=November 28, 2019 |archive-date=November 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128143942/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/how-hillsdale-college-helps-journalism-by-hiring-mollie-hemingway |url-status=live }}</ref> * Wilfred McClay, historian and author<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2020/11/wilfred-mcclay-to-join-hillsdale-history-faculty/ |title=Wilfred McClay to join Hillsdale history faculty |date=November 19, 2020 |access-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128052233/http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2020/11/wilfred-mcclay-to-join-hillsdale-history-faculty/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * John J. Miller (journalist), director of the journalism program * Ronald J. Pestritto, graduate dean and professor of politics<ref>{{cite web |title=Ronald J. Pestritto |url=https://www.hillsdale.edu/faculty/ronald-pestritto/ |website=Hillsdale College |access-date=February 18, 2018 |archive-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219090209/https://www.hillsdale.edu/faculty/ronald-pestritto/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * Paul A. Rahe, historian * Gary L. Wolfram, economist and public policy analyst<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mackinac.org/bio.aspx?ID=46 |title=Dr. Gary L. Wolfram |work=mackinac.org |access-date=March 10, 2015 |archive-date=January 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103211318/http://www.mackinac.org/bio.aspx?ID=46 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Former faculty==== * Michael Anton, former senior national security official in the Trump administration<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hillsdale.edu/event/end-conservatism-rebirth-politics |title=The End of Conservatism and the Rebirth of Politics |access-date=November 29, 2018 |archive-date=November 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102015141/https://www.hillsdale.edu/event/end-conservatism-rebirth-politics/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * Michael Bauman, theologian<ref>{{cite web |title=Hillsdale College – Faculty Profile |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid%3D858988881 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528033338/http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid=858988881 |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |access-date=2010-02-02}}</ref> * John Jay Butler, Free Will Baptist theologian * Allan C. Carlson, historian<ref>{{cite web |title=Hillsdale College – Faculty Profile |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid%3D859452680 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528034849/http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid=859452680 |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |access-date=2010-02-02}}</ref> * Ransom Dunn, dean and professor emeritus * Clark Durant, educator, Senate candidate, co-founder of Cornerstone Schools (Michigan) and Imprimis * Richard Ebeling, Austrian School economist<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fff.org/aboutUs/bios/rme.asp |title=Richard Ebeling: Short Biography |access-date=2010-04-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612213144/http://fff.org/aboutUs/bios/rme.asp |archive-date=June 12, 2010}}</ref> * Burton Folsom, economic historian<ref>{{cite web |title=Hillsdale College – Faculty Profile |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid%3D858988614 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015204443/http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/display_profile.asp?cid=858988614 |archive-date=October 15, 2009 |access-date=2010-02-02}}</ref> * Sir Martin Gilbert, official biographer of Winston Churchill and twentieth-century historian<ref name="visit">{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/faculty/visitingfellows.asp |title=Academics/Programs/Visiting Fellows – Hillsdale College |work=hillsdale.edu |access-date=March 10, 2015 |archive-date=June 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614110158/http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/faculty/visitingfellows.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> * Daniel McBride Graham, abolitionist, inventor * Russell Kirk, conservative writer * Madsen Pirie, British researcher and former visitor in philosophy and logic * Frank "Muddy" Waters, College Football Hall of Fame inductee<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=50110 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724044051/http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=50110 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-24 |title=College Football Hall of Fame &#124;&#124; Famer Search}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * {{official website}} * [https://hillsdalechargers.com/ Athletics website] * [https://hillsdalecollegian.com/ ''The Hillsdale Collegian''], student newspaper * [https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/ Churchill Project website]

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Category:Hillsdale College Category:1844 establishments in Michigan Category:Antebellum educational institutions that admitted African Americans Category:Buildings and structures in Hillsdale County, Michigan Category:Education in Hillsdale County, Michigan Category:Free Will Baptist schools Category:Liberal arts colleges in Michigan Category:Michigan State Historic Sites Category:Non-denominational Christian universities and colleges in the United States Category:Opposition to affirmative action Category:Private universities and colleges in Michigan Category:Universities and colleges established in 1844