The story
Prior to its establishment, what is now Carroll University was Prairieville Academy which was founded in 1841. Its charter—named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence—was passed into law by the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature on January 31, 1846. During the 1860s, the American Civil War and financial difficulty caused Carroll to temporarily suspend operations.
The board of trustees voted unanimously to change the institution's name from Carroll College to Carroll University effective July 1, 2008.
Presidents
John Adams Savage: 1850–1863
Rensellaer B. Hammond: 1863–1864
Walter L. Rankin: 1866–1871*, 1893–1903
Wilbur Oscar Carrier: 1903–1917
Herbert Pierpoint Houghton: 1918–1920
William Arthur Ganfield: 1921–1939
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Gerrit T. Vander Lugt: 1940–1946
Nelson Vance Russell: 1946–1951
Robert D. Steele: 1952–1967
John T. Middaugh: 1967–1970
Robert V. Cramer: 1971–1988
Dan C. West: 1988–1992
Frank S. Falcone: 1993–2006
Douglas N. Hastad: 2006–2017
Cindy Gnadinger: 2017-
* Between July 31, 1871, and June 22, 1893, no college work was carried on. While the charter retained the college privileges, teaching was on the academy level. College work was resumed and the office of the presidency was filled again in 1893.
From Wikipedia’s article on Carroll University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5