Wilson College (Pennsylvania)
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| Wilson College | |
|---|---|
| Motto: | ARS ET SCIENTIA (Arts and Sciences) |
| Established | 1869 |
| Type: | Private |
| President: | Dr. Lorna Duphiney Edmundson |
| Faculty: | 40 full-time |
| Location | Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Campus: | Rural, approximately 300 acres |
| Colors: | Blue and white |
| Nickname: | Phoenix |
| Mascot: | The Phoenix |
| Athletics: | 7 NCAA teams |
| Website: | http://www.wilson.edu/ |
Wilson College, founded 1869, is a private, Presbyterian-related, liberal arts women's college located on a 300 acre campus in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by two Presbyterian ministers, but named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson of nearby St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania.
It has 800 students coming from 19 U.S. states and 22 foreign countries. It's known for its Program For Women With Children, which allows single mothers to bring their children to campus, for its Veterinary Medical Technician and Equestrian programs. Campus life is rich in traditions.
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[edit] History
The college was founded by the Reverend Tryon Edwards and the Reverend James W. Wightman, pastors of Presbyterian churches in nearby Hagerstown, Maryland, and Greencastle, Pennsylvania. The original charter was granted by the Pennsylvania legislature on March 24, 1869. Wilson was one of the first colleges in the U.S. to accept only women students and was named for Miss Sarah Wilson (1795-1871) who gave two large donations to help get the college started. Anna J. McKeag was Wilson’s first woman president from 1911 to 1915.
Although it nearly closed its doors in 1979, a lawsuit organized by students, faculty, parents, and its alumnae association caused the college to remain open, making it one of the few colleges to survive a scheduled closing. (It subsequently adopted the phoenix as its mascot, to symbolize the college's survival.) It has remained open as a women's college despite the trend towards turning women's colleges into coeducational institutions.
In 1982, Wilson began offering a continuing studies program to meet the needs of adults seeking post-secondary education. In 1996, the College was one of the first in the nation to offer an on-campus residential educational experience for single mothers with children. Beginning in summer 2006, Wilson offered its first graduate-degree program, Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree for certified elementary school teachers.
The first men to attend and to graduate from Wilson entered at the end of World War II. Men later became able to study at and to earn degrees from Wilson through the continuing education program, although the primary emphasis at the college remained its College For Women.
Wilson College is also home to great fishing and other activities by the locals. There is also a railroad Tressel at the College which is home to great fishing and canoeing.
[edit] Academics
The college offers 22 majors, 23 areas of concentration, and 32 minors. Majors include Accounting, Biology, Business and Economics, Chemistry, Elementary Education, English, Environmental Studies, Equestrian Studies, Exercise and Sports Science, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, History and Political Science, International Studies, Mass Communications, Mathematics, Philosophy and Religion, Psychobiology, Psychology, Sociology, and Veterinary Medical Technology.
Facilities include the Penn Hall Equestrian Center, the Helen M Beach Veterinary Medical Center, and the 100-acre Fulton Center for Sustainable Living that grows organic foods.
[edit] Student Life
The college offers almost two dozen organized student groups ranging from Black Student Union to *Muhibbah ("unity among nations") Club. The modern dance troupe, Orchesis, puts on a performance every semester, and there are periodic performances from the Kittochtinny Players, the drama club, usually including a spring production and "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" improv comedy. The People's Republic of Art, the college's art club, takes frequent field trips to see art shows in the surrounding areas.
Additionally, the college offers various volunteer activities.
[edit] Traditions
An important part of student life at Wilson is the traditions. Sarah Wilson Week, held early in the fall semester, is a sort of spirit week, in which freshmen are inducted into either the Evens or the Odds (according to their graduation years) and form bonds with their "Big Sisters" in their sister class and their "Sophomore Buddies" in a rival class. The Evens and the Odds are rivals, who participate in such things as color wars (Odds colors are red and black, Evens colors are green and blue) and song wars, led by Even and Odd songleaders. A formal dinner and dance are held each winter (White Dinner) and spring (Spring Fling), and include their own traditions. On one of the first nice days of spring, the Dean rings the bell in Edgar Hall and classes are cancelled so that students can enjoy the warm weather.
The evening before the last day of classes is known as Senior Night. Reasoning that if the professors cannot get into their offices then they will not be able to hold their last day of classes, the students first "decorate" the campus and their professors' offices, and then barricade themselves in the academic buildings, armed with waterguns and water balloons. When the professors arrive the next morning, they storm the office buildings, trying to get into their offices so that they can hold classes.
[edit] Publications
[edit] External links
Current women's universities and colleges in the United States |
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| Agnes Scott • Assumption • Alverno • Barnard • Bay Path • Bennett • Brenau • Bryn Mawr • Cedar Crest • Chatham • College of Notre Dame of Maryland • College of Saint Mary • Columbia College (Columbia, South Carolina) • Converse • Cottey • Georgian Court • Hollins • Judson • Lexington • Mary Baldwin • Meredith • Midway • Mills • Moore College of Art and Design • Mount Holyoke • Mt. Mary • Mt. St. Mary's • Peace • Pine Manor • Rosemont • Russell Sage • St. Benedict • St. Catherine • St. Elizabeth • Saint Joseph • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College • St. Mary's (Indiana) • Salem • Scripps • Simmons • Smith • Spelman • Stephens • Stern • Sweet Briar • The College of New Rochelle • Trinity Washington University • Ursuline • Wellesley • Wesleyan College • Wilson • Women's College of the University of Denver |
Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities |
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| Agnes Scott • Alma • Arcadia • Austin • Barber-Scotia • Belhaven • Blackburn • Bloomfield • Buena Vista • Carroll • Centre • Coe College • College of Idaho • College of the Ozarks • College of Wooster • Cook College and Theological School • Davidson • Davis and Elkins • Eckerd • Grove City • Hampden-Sydney • Hanover • Hastings • Illinois College • Jamestown • Johnson C. Smith • King • Knoxville • Lake Forest • Lees-McRae • Lyon • Macalester • Mary Baldwin • Maryville • Millikin • Missouri Valley • Monmouth • Montreat • Muskingum • Peace College • Queens University of Charlotte • Rhodes • Rocky Mountain • Schreiner • Sheldon Jackson • St. Andrews Presbyterian • Sterling • Stillman • Trinity • Tusculum College • Dubuque • Tulsa • University of the Ozarks • Warren Wilson • Waynesburg • Westminster (Missouri) • Westminster (Pennsylvania) • Westminster (Utah) • Whitworth • Wilson College (Pennsylvania) |
Member schools of the North Eastern Athletic Conference |
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| Baptist Bible College • Cazenovia College • D'Youville College • Keuka College • Keystone College • Penn State Berks • Penn State Harrisburg • Philadelphia Biblical University • Wells College • Wilson College |
Categories: Northeastern United States university stubs | North Eastern Athletic Conference | Universities and colleges in Pennsylvania | Women's universities and colleges in the United States | Liberal arts colleges | Educational institutions established in 1869 | Registered Historic Places in Pennsylvania
