On Thursday, November 4th, Carroll will celebrate Founder’s Day, a decades-long tradition of giving back to the Carroll community and observing the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, our patron. In the morning, the Carroll Community and guests will have an opportunity to worship together at 7:15 AM at our Founder's Day Mass.
In the evening, all students, faculty, and staff are welcome to join the Carroll College tradition - Friday at 5... but at 6 p.m.! Any member of the current Carroll community 21+ will get two free drinks, and anyone under 21 will be provided with free root beer.
Schedule of Events
| Time | Event | Location |
| 7:15 - 8:15 a.m. | Founder's Day Mass | All Saints Chapel |
| 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | Friday at 6. All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to join this Carroll College tradition | PE Center Event Room |
| 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. | Women's Basketball vs Thomas More University Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night | PE Center |
History
Founder’s Day is really a combination of two Carroll College holidays that have been celebrated for decades, St. Charles Day and Campus Day. November 4th is the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo, the patron saint of Carroll College, chosen by Bishop Carroll to intercede for the College and its role in forming young men for the priesthood. To this day, he remains the patron of Carroll, hence the names of St. Charles Hall and Borromeo Hall.
The Carroll College website provides an initial description of what occurred on St. Charles Day from 1910-1970. A couple minor but notable additions to this explanation would be that St. Charles Day was not celebrated in this way during the years of World War II, as students were completing classes as quickly as possible and we could not afford the day off. The Hilltopper, Carroll’s yearbook during those years, often tells the score of the underclassmen vs upperclassmen football game held in the afternoon. The St. Charles Day Banquet dinner was also very notable in the Hilltopper throughout the years, and one year even included a professional piano concert. Additionally, the cancelation of classes seem to have always been a big hit for students, faculty, and staff alike. One explanation says that the cancelation of classes allowed one to “collect one’s thoughts and just plain relax.”
Campus Day, on the other hand, usually occurred on a Saturday in May, just before the end of the school year. This was a time for students, alongside faculty and staff, to give back to the Carroll community through service. Usually, this entailed a variety of outdoor cleaning and maintenance activities to assist the grounds crew. While St. Charles Day was annual with few exceptions, it appears that Campus Day was slightly more infrequent, but a tradition nonetheless. Campus Day also included games, meals, and a celebratory Mass in which students could partake in fellowship with their peers and teachers.
Aspirations for the Future
In the coming years, we hope to resurrect some of the traditions that have historically been associated with Campus Day and St. Charles Day, and create some new ones as well! If you would like to be a part of that planning, please get in touch with a member of the Mission Integration Committee. Members include Dr. Katherine Greiner, Deidre Casey, Janet Johnson, Brent Northup, Dr. Travis Almquist, Father Marc Lenneman, Renee Wall, and Charlie Gross.