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 January 8, 1975 • McPherson entrepreneur Gaines H. “Smokey” Billue announces the gift of a charitable remainder trust and his antique auto collection to McPherson College to expand the college’s Industrial Arts Department and to start the Automotive Restoration Technology Program.
November 4, 1975 • Construction begins on Templeton Hall, new home of the Automotive Restoration Technology Program.
August, 1976 • First class of automotive restoration technology students enrolls at McPherson College.
 March 5, 1977 • Templeton Hall dedicated. The 27,000+ square foot facility was ready for student use the following September.
May, 1978 • First automotive restoration project, a 1927 Ford Model T touring car, is completed. First automotive restoration students graduate.
1983 • 1920 Ford Model T Centerdoor sedan wins Antique Automobile Club of America First Junior Award at Topeka, Kansas.
1984 • 1929 Ford Model A special coupe wins Antique Automobile Club of America National First Junior Award at Carlsbad, New Mexico.
1995 • 1927 Hudson Brougham wins Antique Automobile Club of America National Second Junior Award at Des Moines, Iowa.
 April 4, 1997 • Entertainer Jay Leno establishes the Fred J. Duesenberg Scholarship to provide financial assistance for automotive restoration technology students.
1998 • McPherson College appoints the first National Advisory Board for the Automotive Restoration Technology Program.
1998 • Popular cable TV show “My Classic Car” visits McPherson College and airs a feature segment on the Automotive Restoration Technology Program, resulting in substantial national attention to the program.
June 1999 • McPherson College instructor Gary Martin and student Jeff Schroeder participate in the History Channel Great American Race as part of the road crew for National Advisory Board member John Hollansworth’s 1917 Peerless “Green Dragon.” The entry is sponsored by Hagerty Classic Insurance, who agrees to name the team “Team McPherson College.” Martin and Schroeder promote the program and McPherson College across the country.
January 2001 • 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS Coupe restored at McPherson College sells at Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction. Through a contribution from MBNA the Antique Automobile Club of America purchases the Camaro to support the college and then uses the car as a club fund-raiser.
May 2001 • Four-year Bachelor of Science in Historic Automotive Technology added to McPherson College degree majors.
June 2001 • McPherson Institute workshops are offered.
 June 2001 • McPherson College students David Muir, Tom DeBoer, Mike Stickter, Jim Payne, Luke Chennel, and Jonathan Klinger participate in the History Channel Great American Race as the chase team for National Advisory Board member John Hollansworth. The 1917 Peerless “Green Dragon” was sponsored by Hagerty Classic Insurance. The students promoted McPherson College across the country from Atlanta, Ga. to Pasadena, Calif.
September 24, 2001 • McPherson College students are featured at the Mystic Seaport “By Land and By Sea” historic car show. They assemble a Ford Model T on a live Web cam broadcast in 57 minutes. They then top this effort by disassembling and reassembling the Model T in 56 minutes and 19 seconds, followed by a spin around the historic village in the completed vehicle.
February, 2002 • Mercedes-Benz U.S.A., a DaimlerChrysler Company, establishes an internship at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Fellbach, Germany for a McPherson College automotive restoration technology student.
May, 2002 • Completion of the construction of the 5,000 square foot addition to the Templeton Hall facility. The new space houses vehicles in various stages of the restoration process and as an archive for parts.
December, 2002 • Students and alumni restore the chassis for John Hollansworth’s recreation of Ab Jenkins’ record-setting Pierce Arrow. June, 2003 • Mercedes-Benz USA adds an internship and two McPherson College automotive restoration students intern in Fellbach, Germany.
August, 2003 • At the Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz USA annnounces a $100,000 Maybach grant to McPherson College. August, 2003 • Seven students and alumni represent McPherson College and notable restoration companies at the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance.
September, 2003 • Bachelor of Science Degrees in Automotive Restoration Management, Automotive Communications, and Automotive restoration Design are established.
 January, 2004 • Barrett-Jackson Auction and the Speed Channel announce that profit from their collaborative television program “Car Search” will be donated to the McPherson College Automotive Restoration Technology Program.
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