History
Menlo College was founded in 1927 when the Menlo School for Boys grew to include a junior college. The institution, under the leadership of Lowry Howard, changed its name to Menlo School and Junior College. The college admitted 27 students that year. Enrollment in the school and college rose to 112 the following year, with 80 of those students attending the college.
The effects of the 1929 stock market crash and subsequent depression reached Menlo in 1931, and the institution faced the possibility of having to close its doors. Deliverance came in the form of two generous acts. First, Board Chairman C. F. Michaels made a series of substantial loans to Menlo to help sustain its operations. That same year, the Town of Atherton voted to deed a strip of land to Menlo, allowing the institution to expand its campus. The property was originally the site for a proposed new road, but the town decided that the new road would not be necessary.
From the founding of the junior college through 1932, Howard and Michaels had been meeting with Ray Lyman Wilbur, president of Stanford University, to discuss the possibility of having Menlo serve as Stanford's lower division institution. The three developed a detailed plan wherein Stanford would drop its freshman and sophomore classes and Menlo would move its operations to the Stanford campus. The Stanford Board of Trustees reviewed the plans and turned down the proposal. Stanford would maintain its four-year undergraduate program. Wilbur remained interested in Menlo nonetheless, and in 1933, he appointed six members of the Stanford faculty to educational advisory roles at Menlo.
The start of World War II brought to Menlo the challenge of reduced enrollment. To balance the student body, Howard instated a four-four plan wherein grades 7 through 10 were designated to the school while grades 11 through 14 constituted the college.
As World War II was coming to an end in 1944, President Howard suffered severe heart trouble, and his physician advised that he retire from the presidency of Menlo. The Board of Trustees chose William E. Kratt, former college dean and soon-to-be Navy veteran, as Howard's successor.
The former estate of the Leon F. Douglass family, which was adjacent to Menlo, housed a rehabilitation center for World War II veterans until 1946. The Douglass family supported Menlo in acquiring the newly vacant property, and plans were made to move the school (grades 7 to 10, and later, 11 and 12) to that area.
The School of Business Administration (SBA) was established in 1949 as the college's first four-year program. This was a timely move, as Stanford had just dropped its undergraduate business courses to focus more on the Graduate School of Business. The institution again changed its name, this time to Menlo School and Menlo College.
The founding of the SBA made Menlo School and Menlo College eligible for complete tax exemption as a four-year, nonprofit educational institution. The savings in taxes were put into expanding and polishing Menlo. In 1953 the institution purchased property across the street from the campus to move the track and athletic fields to their current home.
1954 saw the development of two new dormitories for Menlo: Howard Hall and Michaels Hall, named after Lowry Howard and C. F. Michaels. In addition to student rooms, each building included four faculty apartments.
John D. Russell became the director of the college in 1955. An SBA professor and World War II veteran, Russell used his experience as a legal scholar to focus his courses on the legal aspects of business, earning him the affectionate nickname "Judge". He took deep interest in developing his students into business leaders and is considered by many to have epitomized the spirit of Menlo.
That same year, the Hewlett-Packard Company donated seven houses in Mountain View to Menlo. The houses were moved to the Douglass campus and assigned to faculty members.
In 1956 Florence Moore made a gift to Menlo in financing the construction of the Florence Moore Science and Engineering Building, housing math and science facilities as well as an auditorium.
Construction of a new student union, post office and dormitory was completed in 1958, and Menlo opened a new dining commons in 1962. The old dining commons was converted to the Bowman Library.
1969 brought to Menlo a new building for the School of Business Administration and the two-year school that included classrooms, faculty and staff offices, a theater and a computer center. This building, now called Brawner Hall, holds most of the business courses at Menlo. That same year, Menlo completed construction of its largest college dormitory, holding 150 students. President William E. Kratt retired in 1970, and in 1971 the dormitory was dedicated to him. William E. Kratt Hall currently serves as the primary housing facility for freshman students.
Richard F. O'Brien succeeded Kratt as President of Menlo. In the fall of 1971, Menlo became a co-educational institution and admitted its first female students.
The institution initiated its first major fund-raising campaign in 1976. The "Campaign for Menlo" set a $5 million goal to cover the costs of new athletic facilities, expand the library's collection, acquire new instructional equipment and increase the school's endowment.
James Waddell was the President of Menlo College from 1994 to 2004. Carlos López followed until 2007.
In 2007, Menlo College appointed G. Timothy Haight, former Dean of Business at California State University, Los Angeles, as its president.
In 2008, Menlo College and Menlo School finalized plans to become completely separate institutions. These plans included a land separation agreement. Under the agreement, the single parcel shared by the college and school was subdivided into two separate parcels. A third parcel, the Menlo Athletic Fields, is still jointly owned and managed by both.
Menlo College received its largest gift to date, a $21.3 million bequest from the Hope Bartnett Belloc Trust, in 2008. Belloc named Menlo as one of three beneficiaries of the total trust amount—around $60 million—in response to the college's mentorship of her son, Martin, during the 1962–63 academic year when he was a student. The other two recipients were United Cerebral Palsy North Bay in Petaluma, California and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [2]
In 2009, Menlo College was reaccredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. That same year, the college approved new degrees in Accounting, Finance, and Marketing. Menlo College was named a 2014 "Best in the West" college by The Princeton Review, and U.S. News & World Report named Menlo College a "Best Regional College" in its 2014 edition of "America's Best Colleges." [1] In 2014, Menlo College earned Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation, [3] a distinction earned by less than five percent of the world's business schools.
A complete history of Menlo College, Through the Gates: Eighty-five Years of Menlo College and its Times was published in September 2014.
In 2016, Menlo College inaugurated Steven A. Weiner as its 11th President.
In 2019, the Menlo Athletics Women's Wrestling team won two national titles - the first national titles to be won at the college.
In 2021, Menlo College celebrated the 50th anniversary of the admittance of women. The college also began construction on a new residence hall, slated to be completed by the fall of 2022.
Athletics
The Menlo athletic teams are called the Oaks. The college is a member of NCAA Division II, primarily competing in the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) for most of its sports since the 2024-25 academic year; while its men's & women's wrestling and men's volleyball teams compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The Oaks previously competed as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) from 2015–16 to 2023–24 and the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) from 1996–97 to 2014–15.
Menlo competes in 21 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's varsity sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, distance track, volleyball and wrestling; while women's varsity sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, distance track, volleyball and wrestling; and co-ed sports include competitive cheer and dance, rowing, and weightlifting.
Wrestling
The Menlo women's wrestling team became the first team to win a national championship for Menlo College in 2019, as well as earn its second title. On February 9, 2019, the team was crowned WCWA Women's Wrestling National Champion. [6] Then, on March 6, 2019, the team claimed the NAIA Women's Wrestling National Invitational title. [7]
