Happy 147th Birthday to Peirce College!

BIRTHDAY PARTY: We celebrated Peirce College's 147th
Founder's Day yesterday.

Yesterday, Peirce College celebrated its 147th Founder's Day, commemorating the date in 1865 when Thomas May Peirce founded the College.

The College opened its doors to provide practical, business education in the post-Civil War years. The inaugural class was made up of nine men, all veterans of the Union Army, who returned to Philadelphia after the war. Thomas May Peirce wanted to afford his students a successful transition from army to business by giving them a solid education they could apply in the changing workforce.

CUTTING THE CAKE: Peirce President Jim Mergiotti cuts 

our birthday cake with three Peirce work-study students.

By the end of the College's first year, enrollment for classes had increased to 569 students. Of these, 68 were women, making Peirce the second college in Pennsylvania to accept female students. Thomas May Peirce felt strongly about providing women the opportunity to earn an education and said that at his school, "no door will ever be closed to women."

In recognition of 147 years of career- and business-driven education, the Peirce community got together to celebrate with cake and coffee, raising our cups to the vision of Thomas May Peirce and the future of Peirce College. Happy 147th Birthday, Peirce College!