In 1934, at the behest of the Scandinavian Conference of the Methodist Church, two seminaries —one Swedish, the other Danish - Norwegian —came together to form Evanston Collegiate Institute, a junior college designed for students who sought a work-study program that would allow them to begin college debt-free. Many of those students found employment at the Washington National Insurance Company of Evanston, which also provided the school with substantial support. In 1950, the school was renamed in honor of the insurance company's founders, Curtis P. Kendall and his family. Kendall College became an accredited four-year institution in 1979. In 1985, a School of Culinary Arts and Hotel Restaurant Management opened at the college, along with seven specialized kitchens and an instructional restaurant called the Dining Room. The cooking and management program gained quick renown and received accreditation from the American Culinary Federation in 1988.

Sarah Fenton