Castleton State Spartans

Castleton University

Type	Public Liberal Arts
Established	1787 (1787)
Academic affiliations	Vermont State Colleges, NEASC
Endowment	$7.86 million
Chancellor	Jeb Spaulding
President	David S. Wolk (until June 2018)
Dean	Tony Peffer
Academic staff	134
Administrative staff	200
Students	2,191
Undergraduates	2,034
Postgraduates	157
Location	Castleton, Vermont, U.S. 43°36′25″N 73°10′48″W / 43.607°N 73.180°W / 43.607; -73.180Coordinates: 43°36′25″N 73°10′48″W / 43.607°N 73.180°W / 43.607; -73.180
Campus	Rural college town 165 acres (67 ha)
Colors	Castleton green, dark gray and white
Athletics	NCAA Division III – North Atlantic Conference
Nickname	Spartans
Mascot	Sparty
Website	www.castleton.edu

Castleton University, formerly known as Castleton State College, is a public liberal arts college, located in Castleton in the U.S. state of Vermont. Castleton has an enrollment of 2000 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate programs, as well as master's degrees in education and accounting. The college is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Castleton University traces its history to the Rutland County Grammar School, chartered by the Vermont General Assembly on October 15, 1787. The Grammar School was a regional school, preparing young men for college through instruction in traditional academic subjects such as Latin and Greek. The institution frequently changed its name during the 19th century. At various times it was known as Castleton Academy, Castleton Academy and Female Seminary, Vermont Classical High School, and Castleton Seminary.

In 1823, instruction in "the solid branches of female education" began for "young Ladies and Misses". By the time of the Civil War, the majority of the students attending Castleton were young women.

In 1829, a three-story brick building costing US$30,000 was constructed on a small hill south of the village. Principal Solomon Foot (1826–1829), who would go on to be President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate during the Civil War, was the driving force in this expansion of the school. The Seminary Building (eventually known as the Old Seminary Building) was the most impressive structure in the village, but expensive to maintain and often too large for the school's struggling enrollment.

Castleton Medical College (1818–1862) was also located in the village. It graduated 1400 students, more than any other medical school in New England at the time. Although Castleton Medical College and Castleton Seminary were separate institutions, they often shared faculty. Today the former medical college building, known as the Old Chapel, is the oldest building on the campus.

The first female principal was Harriet Haskell (1862–1867). She had attended the Seminary as a child, took classes at Middlebury College without being permitted to matriculate, and then attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which was not yet a college but offered a college-level curriculum for women. Although Haskell was in her 20s when she served as principal, the school flourished under her administration. With her departure to be principal of Monticello Ladies Seminary in Godfrey, Illinois, Castleton Seminary went into decline.