Founded in 1876 by Isaac C. Ketler, the school was originally chartered as Pine Grove
Normal Academy.Under President Dr. Charles S. MacKenzie, the college won a landmark Supreme Court case in 1984. The ruling came seven
years after the school's refusal to sign a Title IX compliance form, which would
have subjected the entire school to federal regulations, even future ones not yet issued. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of the
college, saying that only the school's financial aid department should be subject to federal regulation, since some students
accepted federal Stafford loans. In 1988, Congress passed new legislation over President Reagan's veto, essentially overturning the Supreme Court ruling and resulting in the federal
regulation of every department of any educational institution that received federal funding. In response, Grove City College
pulled out of the Stafford loan program entirely, and established its own loan program in association with PNC Bank.