Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College, founded in 1847, is a Founded in 1844, an independent, coeducational, residential, liberal arts college with a student body of about 1,300. It is located in Hillsdale, Michigan.

While it was founded by Freewill Baptists and its articles of incorporation read "grateful to God for the inestimable blessings resulting from the prevalence of civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety in the land, and believing that the diffusion of sound learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings, " it has been officially non-denominational since its inception. Hillsdale was the first American college to prohibit in its charter any discrimination based on race, religion or sex, and became an early force for the abolition of slavery, and the second college in the nation to grant four-year liberal arts degrees to women.

In the 1970s, it grew significantly. The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, now the U.S. Department of Education, "attempted to interfere with the College’s internal affairs, including a demand that Hillsdale begin counting its students by race. Hillsdale’s trustees responded with two toughly worded resolutions: One, the College would continue its policy of non-discrimination. Two, 'with the help of God,' it would "resist, by all legal means, any encroachments on its independence." Litigation over this issue continued until the college lost a Supreme Court of the United States decision in 1984, which was moot due to a change in policy. Hillsdale had announced that rather than complying with unconstitutional federal regulation, it would instruct its students that they could no longer bring federal taxpayer money to Hillsdale. Instead, the College would replace that aid with private contributions. The College does not accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies for any of its operations.

The College, therefore, has a classic conservative policy of avoiding governmental interference.