The YMCA and YWCA has had immeasurable influence on the university and its students for 43 years. Now, members voted to combine forces under a new organization called the Student Christian Movement.

The Singing Quakers celebrated their 25th anniversary under the direction of Fred C. Mayer. One of the notable students in the 50-voice ensemble was that of Cecil J. Riney, who became the director of the Singing Quakers 10 years later.

Following a Baccalaureate Service, the university held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fine Arts building on May 31, 1964. following the Baccalaureate Service. The Whittier Fine Arts Center was completed during the summer of 1965, dedicated on October 17, viewed by visitors at Homecoming on October 23 and had..Read More

“Friends University May Close” reports a Wichita newspaper, The Sun, on June 16, 1976. A candid interview with president Cope revealed that the school needed $500,000 in less than a month in order to close the books in the black. He also stated that there would be no salary raises..Read More

President Felix resigns as president to assume a presidency at Azusa Pacific University in California, putting George Robert (Bob) Dove as an interim president for a year. Dove had been serving as the Dean of the College of Continuing Education at Friends University and the Executive Vice President.

The infamous attack on Pearly Harbor catapulted the United Stated into World War II. This had serious ramifications on the home front as many young men were drafted into the war. Enrollment was down 17 percent during the second semester of 1941, 151 men to 191 women.

With the addition of Sumpter Hall, the campus now included six buildings: Davis Administration, East Hall Women’s Dormitory, Music Hall, Stanley Gymnasium, and Industrials Arts Building. Sumpter Hall housed the home economics department, cafeteria, bookstore, art department.

The Singing Quakers sang at the New York World’s Fair in June. The fair’s theme that year was “Peace Through Understanding;” it featured exhibitions designed by NASA, the debut of Walt Disney’s ‘It’s a Small World’ ride, and even the world’s largest cheese.