Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a men's college under the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown it became a secular, coeducational institution.
Wesleyan is a primarily undergraduate institution with a small graduate program. It offers 47 majors as part of an open curriculum. The college accepted female applicants from 1872 to 1909, but did not become fully coeducational until 1970. Before full coeducation, Wesleyan alumni and other supporters of women's education established Connecticut College in 1912. Wesleyan, along with Amherst and Williams colleges, is part of "The Little Three." Its teams compete athletically as a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in NCAA Division III.
History
Before Wesleyan was founded, a military academy established by Alden Partridge existed, consisting of the campus's North and South Colleges. As this academy failed, New England Methodists bought it and founded in 1831 an all-male Methodist college.Page 22-23 . Books.google.com (November 12, 1909). Retrieved on October 17, 2011. Willbur Fisk was the first president. Despite being named after John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, Wesleyan was never officially a denominational seminary, though its curriculum and campus religious life were shaped by a heavy Methodist influence.Page 23 . Books.google.com (November 12, 1909). Retrieved on October 17, 2011. In 1871, Judd Hall was dedicated; it was named after alumnus Orange Judd and was one of the earliest academic buildings devoted exclusively to undergraduate science instruction on any American college or university campus.Pages 129–130 . Books.google.com (November 12, 1909). Retrieved on October 17, 2011.Wesleyan University. – Dedication of Judd Hall of National Science, Presentation Address by Orange Judd-Dedicatory Address by Prof. Winchelle-Memorial Chapel, "The Woman Question." Judd Hall of Natural Science. Dedicatory Oration. Dedication of the Memorial Chapel. The Admission of Women. . New York Times (October 9, 2011). Retrieved on October 17, 2011.Page 267 . Books.google.com (November 19, 2008). Retrieved on October 17, 2011.
The Wesleyan student body numbered about 300 in 1910 and had grown to 800 in 1960.
Wesleyan is, along with Amherst and Williams colleges, a member of the Little Three. Wesleyan began as the smallest of the three. Later on, it expanded its programs, qualifying as a university with a variety of graduate offerings and became larger than the other two.
In 1872, the university became one of the first U.S. colleges to attempt coeducation by admitting a small number of female students, a venture then known as the "Wesleyan Experiment". In 1909, the board of trustees voted to stop admitting women as undergraduates, fearing that the school was losing its masculine image and that women would not be able to contribute to the college financially after graduation the way men could." From 1912 to 1970, Wesleyan operated again as an all-male college.Page vii . Books.google.com (November 12, 1909). Retrieved on October 17, 2011.
Wesleyan became independent of the Methodist church in 1937. In 2000, the university was designated as a historic Methodist site.
Beginning in the late 1950s, president Victor Lloyd Butterfield began a reorganization program that resembled Harvard's house system and Yale's colleges. Undergraduate study would be divided into seven smaller residential colleges, with their own faculty and centralized graduate studies. Doctoral programs and a Center for Advanced Studies (later renamed the Center for the Humanities) were included in this reorganization.Paragraphs 5 & 7 and first Reference . Aacu.org. Retrieved on October 17, 2011.Connecticut Archives Online . Library.wcsu.edu. Retrieved on October 17, 2011.
The building program begun under this system created three residential colleges on Foss Hill (Foss Hill dormitories), followed by three more residential colleges (Lawn Avenue dormitories, now called Butterfield Colleges). Although the structures were built, only four of the proposed academic programs were begun. Two of those continue today: the College of Letters and the College of Social Studies. It has a student-faculty ratio of 7:1.Albert E. Van Dusen, Connecticut (1961), p 365
Butterfield's successors, Edwin Deacon Etherington (class of 1948)Edwin Etherington, 76, Ex-Amex President – New York Times . Nytimes.com (January 15, 2001). Retrieved on October 17, 2011. and Colin Goetze Campbell, completed many innovations begun during Butterfield's administration, including the return of women in numbers equal to men;Education: Boy Hopes to Meet Girl . TIME (December 22, 1961). Retrieved on October 17, 2011. a quadrupling in the total area of building space devoted to laboratory, studio, and performing arts instruction; and a significant rise in racial, ethnic, and religious diversity and total number of students.Education: New Look at Wesleyan . TIME (April 18, 1960). Retrieved on October 17, 2011.
Campus
Wesleyan occupies a campus, with over 340 buildings, including the five-building College Row; Olin Memorial Library; Andrus Public Affairs Center; the Exley Science Center; Shanklin and Hall-Atwater Laboratories; the Van Vleck Observatory; Fayerweather with Beckham Hall; Russell House, a National Historic Landmark; the Allbritton Center; the Butterfield dormitories; the Fauver Field dormitories; and the 11-building Center for the Arts complex.
When Wesleyan University was founded in 1831, it took over a campus with two buildings, North College and South College, from 1825. These were originally constructed by the City of Middletown for use by Captain Partridge's American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy. In 1829, after the Connecticut legislature declined it a charter to grant college degrees, Partridge moved his academy to Northfield, Vermont. The academy later became Norwich University and the Middletown buildings were acquired by Wesleyan.
The original North College was destroyed in a fire in 1906, but South College survived, being converted into offices that same year. The cupola and the belfry, which contains the Wesleyan Carillon, was designed by Henry Bacon and was added in 1916.The original core buildings of the campus were North College and South College. North College, a Nassau Hall-type building seen in most early American college campuses, was replaced after a fire in 1909 with the current North College. South College is the sole building from the beginning
Memorial Chapel was completed in 1871 to honor the memory of Wesleyan students and alumni who fought in the American Civil War. Wesleyan had among the highest per capita student enlistment rates in the Union army.
The northern end of High Street contains several large buildings that were former private residences, a few of which were exceptional architectural examples. These include Russell House, a National Historic Landmark, two Alsop family houses, (one is currently the African-American Studies center with student housing; the other is the Digital Design Commons), the Davison infirmary, a second Russell family house that contains the University Development Office, and Downey House. High Street, which is the old center of campus, was once described by Charles Dickens as "the most beautiful street in America"., Wesleyan University. Archived on the Internet Archive September 24, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
Undergraduate academics Wesleyan has 46 undergraduate academic departments.University Profile , Wesleyan University. Retrieved February 15, 2011. 40% of Wesleyan graduates take double majors.The Values of the Open Curriculum: An Alternative Tradition in Liberal Education . Teagle Foundation "Working Group" White Paper, NCF.edu (upload), pages 23-24 of 112, June 2006. Retrieved November 3, 2011The Top NON-TRADITIONAL Colleges (PHOTOS) . Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on October 17, 2011.
Wesleyan offers 3–2 programs in engineering with the California Institute of Technology and Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. These programs allow undergraduates to receive degrees in five years from both Wesleyan (B.A.) and Caltech or Columbia (B.Sc., Engineering).Columbia Encyclopedia: Wesleyan University , quoted on Answers.com. Retrieved February 16, 2011.Wesleyan University, About the school . Usatoday.com. Retrieved on October 17, 2011.The "3–2 Program" or "Combined Plan" for the Study of Engineering , Physics, Wesleyan University. Retrieved February 17, 2011. Additionally, Wesleyan offers a BA/MA Program in the sciences leading to a bachelor's degree in the fourth year and a master's degree in the fifth year. Tuition for the fifth year of the master's degree is waived.The B.A./M.A. Program in the Sciences At Wesleyan University , Wesleyan University. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
Wesleyan does not require undergraduates to take prescribed courses.Coherence Without a Core: Curriculum Planning, Electronic Portfolios, and Enhanced Advising in the Liberal Arts . Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), EJ605180, authors Richard H. Elphick and William H. Weitzer, _2000_. Retrieved November 3, 2011.2012 Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report , Wesleyan University Academic Life, Faculty & Classes, General education/core curriculum required. Retrieved December 6, 2011. Freshmen are offered First Year Initiative seminars,2012 Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report , Wesleyan University Academic Life, Student Participation in Special Academic Programs, First Year Experiences. Retrieved December 6, 2011 and undergraduates are encouraged in the first two years of study to take a minimum of two courses from two different departments in diverse subject areas.The Values of the Open Curriculum: An Alternative Tradition in Liberal Education . Teagle Foundation "Working Group" White Paper, NCF.edu (upload), pages 23-24, 31-33, 41, 44 of 112, June 2006. Retrieved November 3, 2011
Bailey College of the Environment
The Bailey College of the Environment, created in 2009, integrates the following components: 1) a curricular component, including the newly established environmental studies major, the environmental studies certificate, and a senior capstone project; 2) a Think Tank of Wesleyan faculty, scholars of prominence, and undergraduates whose aim is to produce scholarly work that will influence national and international thinking and action on critical environmental issues; and 3) the Collaborative Research Initiative (CRI), which is designed to encourage COE majors with the most potential to undertake environmental research.Wesleyan receives $5 M in endowments, Middletown Press. Last paragraph. By Hillary Federico. Published October 19, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2012.Colleges Get Career-Minded , Wall Street Journal (a PDF of the document for those who do not have a subscription to the Journal). Page 2, third and fourth paragraphs. Page 3, last paragraph. By Lauren Weber. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.: Wesleyan University to Host National Conference on Pricing Carbon Emissions . Enn.com (September 13, 2010). Retrieved on October 17, 2011.
College of Film and the Moving Image