About the Institution
Olivet's commitment to educating women and minorities cost the college dearly at the time. In 1845, the college was prevented from receiving a state charter because of its abolitionist beliefs. Nevertheless, the college and the community persevered. In spite of illness and the unexpected death of Father Shipherd, the settlers began offering classes as the Olivet Institute. Filly, in 1859, a state charter was granted and in 1863 the college granted degrees to its first class of college graduates: Sara Benedict, Mary N. Barber and Sophia A. Keyes. During the 1930s and 40s, the college developed a tiol reputation for adopting the "Oxford model," a tutorial system used in European universities that relied heavily on semirs and interaction between faculty and students. It was during this period that the college also sponsored a series of writers' conferences that brought some of the world's leading literary talents to Olivet. Participants included Katherine Anne Porter, Sherwood Anderson and Ford Maddox Ford. In the early 1990s, Olivet College redefined its direction and produced a new academic vision titled Education for Individual and Social Responsibility. This vision statement echoes the language of the origil catalog: "Olivet College is dedicated today, as it was in 1844, to the principle that the future of humanity rests in the hands, hearts and minds of those who will accept responsibility for themselves and others in an increasingly diverse society."

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