New Ulm and members of the New Ulm community. Albrecht would later become the first president of DMLC. Dr. Martin Luther College began operation in 1884. In its early years, preparatory, college, and seminary departments were all kept on the same campus. The direction of the school changed in 1892 when the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan synods federated. The synods resolved to exclusively train their pastors at Northwestern College and their teachers at DMLC, beginning in the 1893–1894 school year. DMLC began admitting women in 1896. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were some misgivings among Wisconsin and Missouri Synod leaders about employing women to teach in their schools. However, by 1938 coeducation was also offered by the Missouri Synod's Concordia Teachers College, and by 1984 the graduating class of DMLC was 74% female. In 1908, Fritz Reuter became DMLC's chair of music and had initiated a strong music tradition at the college by the time of his death in 1924. While at DMLC he established singing classes and organized male and mixed choruses. Reuter also composed and arranged many hymns, several of which are used today in Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, commissioned by the WELS. Under the presidency of Adolph Ackerman, the college began to expand its facilities. After receiving land donations from the New Ulm Commercial Club and public works improvements from the city of New Ulm, the college constructed a chapel/auditorium and a dormitory, Summit Hall, in 1911. During World War I, the ethnically German city of New Ulm was home to a series of rallies led by speakers who spoke out against America's involvement in the war. Speakers included various local politicians, businessmen, and leaders, including DMLC president Adolph Ackerman. Amid the anti-German feelings of the time, and by recommendation of the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety, the mayor and city attorney of New Ulm were both removed from office. The commission also threatened to close the college. Soon after, the DMLC Board of Control asked Ackerman to resign. As the student body of the college continued to grow, construction began on a new classroom building, now called the Wittenberg Collegiate Center. The building was dedicated on October 14, 1928. Expansion and growth After recovering from low enrollments and financial hardships in the 1930s, DMLC began to considerably expand its facilities and programs in the 1950s and 1960s. Fundraising efforts across the