Our Founding & Leadership

In 1821, John Bullock started the Bullock School, a boarding school for boys in Wilmington, Delaware. The school quickly became recognized for its academic instruction and character building.

The Bullock School was renamed The Alsop School for Boys when Samuel Alsop became headmaster in 1846.

In 1853, educator Theodore Hyatt acquired the Wilmington boarding school and rebranded it Hyatt’s Select School for Boys. Under his leadership, the curriculum expanded, and the institution began moving toward military preparation — an important step in the evolution that would eventually become the Pennsylvania Military College.

In 1859, Theodore Hyatt secured legislative approval to establish the Delaware Military Academy. The state supplied rifles, bayonets, and field artillery, and Governor Burton commissioned Hyatt a colonel. Adopting West Point cadet gray, the school formally embraced military training at the dawn of national crisis.

An ardent Unionist, President Charles E. Hyatt faced mounting tension with Delaware secessionists over state-issued military equipment as the Civil War began. In 1862, he relocated the Academy to Pennsylvania, where it opened in West Chester as the Pennsylvania Military Academy. Operating first from the Bolmar Building, the move stabilized the institution during a time of national uncertainty.

In 1867, supporters formed the Military Academy Stock Company to build a permanent home in Chester. Old Main was completed in 1868, marking the Academy’s establishment as a stable and expanding institution.

As the Academy expanded its academic rigor and collegiate programs, alumni pressed for recognition beyond the word “Academy.” In 1892, the Pennsylvania Legislature granted full university powers, and the institution became Pennsylvania Military College — marking its evolution from preparatory school to degree-granting college.

By the 1920s, PMC risked losing credibility without academic accreditation. Over decades, leaders improved admissions, expanded the library, separated the prep school, and stabilized finances. After earlier denials, PMC finally earned Middle States accreditation in 1954, later praised for strong leadership and student morale.

Read More About the Accreditation of PMC

In the fall of 1966, PMC became known as PMC Colleges, which now included both Pennsylvania Military College and its civilian counterpart, Penn Morton College.

Due to declining cadet enrollment and other complex issues, the school disbanded the PMC cadet corps in 1972.

The school broadens its curriculum and becomes Widener College—named after Board of Trustee member Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr.'s prominent Philadelphia family, the Wideners.

Widener College receives University status in 1979—reflecting the continued expansion of the academic curriculum and increasing number of graduate programs.

An educator committed to shaping young men through scholarship and moral discipline, John Bullock founded a boarding school in Wilmington in 1821. His emphasis on character, structure, and preparation for adulthood established traditions of leadership and integrity that would influence the institution for decades.

Samuel Alsop continued the Wilmington school’s academic mission after Bullock’s tenure, preserving its standards during a period of transition. Under his stewardship, the school maintained its reputation for disciplined instruction, ensuring stability before its next major transformation.

An innovative educator with an eye toward discipline and structure, Theodore Hyatt acquired the school in 1853 and reimagined its future. His leadership and openness to military-style training marked a decisive shift, laying the foundation for the evolution into a preparatory military institution.

Son of the founder and a graduate of the Class of 1872, Charles E. Hyatt led PMA for more than forty years. Warmer in temperament but firm in discipline, he strengthened academic standards, secured collegiate authority, and transformed the Academy into Pennsylvania Military College—elevating its national reputation to near parity with West Point.

Grandson of the founder and reportedly born in Old Main, Frank K. Hyatt became the third Hyatt to lead PMC. A skilled horseman and National Guard officer, he guided the college through the Great Depression and two world wars, strengthening military training while preserving the family’s legacy of disciplined leadership.

A decorated major general and career Army officer, MacMorland was the first non-Hyatt to lead PMC. Wounded in World War I and honored by both the U.S. and Britain, he brought global military experience and administrative expertise to the college, emphasizing its unique mission to develop leaders.

An educator who rose from PMC faculty to president, Clarence R. Moll led during one of the institution’s most transformative eras. His tenure culminated in the disbandment of the Corps of Cadets, marking a profound institutional shift and the beginning of PMC’s transition toward a broader academic identity.