1964 Centennial Celebration

Swarthmore marked its 100th birthday with many events during the 1963-1964 academic year, including symposia, lectures, concerts, and plays. "Three Generations of Wyeths," featuring the works of N.C., Andrew, and Jamie Wyeth, opened in March and represented the first time the works of all three artists were included in the same formal exhibit. The Wyeth exhibition was preceded by "Two Generations of Modern American Paintings," featuring works by Willem De Kooning, Philip Guston, Franz Kline, and Jackson Pollack.

A Centennial Scholars Program brought to campus for 10 days Constantinos Doxiadis, an engineer and city planner, Herman Muller, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist, and Gunnar Myrdal, a political economist, to lecture, visit classes and meet informally with students and faculty.

The centennial year culminated in a Commencement weekend that included addresses by poet and novelist Robert Penn Warren and President Lyndon B. Johnson, who responded to an invitation that had originally been extended to President John F. Kennedy.

"I feel a special sense of purpose in coming to this distinguished Quaker college for its centennial celebration," said Johnson, who received an honorary doctor of laws. "We recognize that in the outer simplicity of Quaker life and the inner passion for decency and justice, there is inspiration for every person of good will."