In its near century and a half of history, Peirce has developed a
tradition of looking for ways to expand and offer relevant courses to students
who might not otherwise have the opportunity to achieve a quality college
education. Already a nationally recognized business school by the turn of the
20th century, Mary B. Peirce was interested in
expanding the school’s scope beyond the United States. Peirce administrators
traveled to Latin America to meet with educators there to see if there was an
opportunity for Peirce to enroll students from Cuba, Nicaragua, and other
countries in Central and South America. The end result was the “Spanish
American Department” which offered business and other courses taught in
Spanish, as well as English language courses. In addition to the coursework,
there were several events, activities, and organizations sponsored by the
department, including an annual Latin American Ball and the Latin American
Club.
Starting a new program of this scope wasn’t simple. Bi-lingual
faculty members were hired, additional classroom space was rented, and Spanish
language marketing materials were created. Manuel Vera Estanol, an educator
from Mexico was hired to run the department. School Director Louis B. Moffett
met with existing faculty to introduce the program in 1902, and faculty members
were given lessons on Spanish name pronunciations and basic phrases to help the
new students feel welcome.
The program lasted over four decades, during which time the Peirce
family and other Philadelphians hosted hundreds of students, some of whom took
positions in the United States after graduation while others began careers in
their home countries. Based on the success of the program, Mary Peirce
was selected to be on the board of governors of the Washington-based
Pan-American Association.
A few months ago, we had
the privilege of a visit from the grandson of one of the graduates of the
department. He told us his grandfather (who emigrated from Cuba in the 1920s)
always talked about his time at Peirce fondly, so a visit to Philadelphia had
to include visiting his relative’s alma mater.
