A hook for a hand. A brilliant mind that inspired students. A steely determination. A singular focus. Traits of the man whose name is synonymous with the earliest days of Bloomsburg University, Henry Carver.

Henry Carver, the first principal of what would become Bloomsburg University, was born in 1820 in Greene County, N.Y. He established a reputation as a successful educator and strict disciplinarian in his home state. After moving west in 1865 to teach in Oakland, Calif., he lost his left hand in a hunting accident and came back east to recuperate.

By chance, he traveled through Bloomsburg in March 1866 and, impressed with the area’s beauty, decided it was a desirable place to settle with his wife Elizabeth Ann and their family.

Carver saw a need for an institution to provide a better education than was currently available.

Henry Carver Fund Chair, Nancy Vasta

So he reopened the Bloomsburg Literary Institute. The institute, built in 1839 and originally chartered in 1856, offered instruction primarily intended for preparing students for college education. Henry Carver’s new institution would offer much more.

Carver designed and constructed a new facility that was dedicated in April 1867 and named Institute Hall; 60 years later, it would be named Carver Hall in his honor.

Carver was a man who could see potential in a small town and in the character of the region’s youth. He had a visioned of what was needed to create a school — and the a plan and the self-confidence to see it through. He was a man willing to invest his own sweat, brick by brick, to create the better-educated community, symbolized by the building that bears his name.

Carver’s determination and dedication played a large part in transforming the growing private school into a state normal school. In five years, Carver laid the foundation for what would become a state university.

Today’s students face challenges. Immediate. Unexpected. Challenges Henry Carver would understand.

Perhaps Henry Carver’s perseverance came from experiences as a teacher. Perhaps his strength came from his lifelong battle with his own personal demons. One thing is for sure: Henry Carver’s faith in Bloomsburg’s success never waivered.

And so, in honor of Henry Carver's determination, the Henry Carver Fund at Bloomsburg University is dedicated to making an immediate, significant impact on today’s students and supporting the best educational experience possible. To meet student needs, whatever those needs may be, right now.

Learn about this year's Henry Carver Fund Chair, Nancy Vasta.