[12][13][11] Bomberger proposed naming the college after Zacharias Ursinus, a 16th-century German theologian and a figure in the Protestant Reformation.

The name was a tribute to Professor Samuel Vernon Ruby,[10]: 16  who collapsed as he was entering Bomberger Hall in 1896 and died in its chapel, surrounded by students and teachers who had gathered there for morning prayers.

[10]: 70 [non-primary source needed] At the start of the US's involvement in World War II, Ursinus' male enrollment decreased from 535 to 350 students.

During the war, Ursinus made a concerted effort to bring in military students from across the country, even acquiring a Naval V-12 unit.

[26] Brock Blomberg, Dean of the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College, was named 17th president of Ursinus in 2015.

[27] Blomberg announced that he planned to depart Ursinus in September 2021 for the California Institute of Integral Studies.

[28] Robyn Hannigan, former Provost of Clarkson University and patented inventor in the field of medical technology,[29] was named the 19th President of Ursinus College in 2022.

[8] Popular majors at the college are biology, English, psychology, international relations, business and economics, and health and exercise physiology.

[15] The Common Intellectual Experience (CIE) is Ursinus' unique seminar course required of all first-year students and is a requisite for the bachelor's degree.

The $300,000 grant allowed Ursinus faculty with prior experience teaching CIE classes to work with, and mentor, post-doctoral students at Columbia, created post-doctoral fellowship program at Ursinus, and also supported campus visits and guest lectures from Columbia faculty who have expertise in the subject matter of CIE.[34] The school's 1,500 students come from 35 states and 12 countries.

[36] The Ursinus College Inter-Greek Council serves as the elected governing body of all social Greek organizations.

[38] Their student-run newspaper is called, The Grizzly – the name taken from the Latin root of Zacharias Ursinus' surname (ursus translating as 'bear').

[8] Ursinus is a member of the Centennial Conference, founded in 1993, and which now contains eleven private colleges in the mid-Atlantic region, including Bryn Mawr, McDaniel, Johns Hopkins, Dickinson, Haverford, Franklin and Marshall, Swarthmore, Gettysburg, Muhlenberg, and Washington.

[11] The college was well known for many years for its Patterson Field endzone, in which a large sycamore tree grew undisturbed from the 1920s.

A new sycamore, growing since 1984 from a seedling taken from the old tree, stood nearby until a turf field project required its removal in 2011.

[42] In the 2003–2004 season, senior shooting guard Dennis Stanton led all NCAA Men's Basketball scorers, averaging 32.6 points per game.

The team earned spots in the national championship game three times before, between 1975 and 1977, as a Division I program, and the United States Field Hockey Hall of Fame's permanent home is at the college.

As an additional consequence, Ursinus College placed Men’s and Women’s Swim Team Head Coach Mark Feinberg on probation.

[44] In 2020, the NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions found that a former Ursinus College Vice President and Dean of Enrollment Management improperly awarded financial aid to prospective students based on their participation in athletics and input from coaches.

[45] The committee found that approximately $335,300 in financial aid packages was improperly awarded to student-athletes over 17 sports.

As a disciplinary measure, the committee publicly reprimanded Ursinus College and placed them on probation while also requiring them to attend the 2020 and 2021 NCAA Regional Rules Seminars.

[citation needed] Beardwood-Paisley-Stauffer Hall was opened in 1957 and jointly named in honor of Hannah Beardwood and her husband Matthew, a former chemistry professor, Harry Paisley, former president of the Ursinus board of directors, and Rev.

The library is also one of only three U.S. Government depositories in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and, as such, receives print and electronic federal documents for the collection.

The Field House encompasses the D. L. Helfferich Hall of Health and Physical Education and the William Elliott Pool.

The field house pavilion opened in 2001, while the other buildings were dedicated in 1972 in honor, respectively, of the ninth president of Ursinus College and William Elliott.

Helfferich Hall now includes completely renovated locker and training rooms, and a two-story, glass-enclosed area for fitness and recreation.