A Trustee committee reported in July 1866 that the college was deficient in the area of modern languages and noted that "German is every year becoming more important to the Theological Students and Ministers." Despite this encouragement, the first reference to the teaching of German occurs in the grade reports for Fall 1874. The professor of German was William Mynn Thorton, who taught Greek and German in 1874-1875. R.L Harrison served as Acting Professor of Greek and German in 1875-1876. James Latimer gave more continuity to the classes, teaching until 1883. German classes were initially taught in the Junior year and used Whitne's Grammar and Reader. By 1900, the college offered 2 years of elective coursework using Joynes-Meissner's grammar and including readings from Grimm, Hauff, Goethe and Schiller. Demand for courses did not require more than one professor until 1937, when Ernest Beaty began to share the teaching with Guy Vowles. The department added more faculty in the 1950s and had a faculty of 6 by 1966. The department offered its first Junior Year Abroad program in 1964 based in Marburg. The program moved to Wuerzburg in 1985 and continued until 2006. The department began offering the option of single semester program as well as a full academic year of study based in Berlin in conjuction with Duke University in 2008. In 2012 the college changed the names of all the language departments transforming the German Department into the Department of German Studies.