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Ohio Wesleyan University (also Wesleyan or OWU, pronounced oh-WOO) is a private liberal arts college located in Delaware, Ohio. Founded in 1842, the school's original charter provides that it "is forever to be conducted on the most liberal principles."• Distinctive features of the university include a commitment to internationalism and community activism. In its 2007 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked Wesleyan among the ten liberal arts colleges with the highest percentage of international students, a position the school has held for several consecutive years•. College guides such as Colleges That Change Lives, Barron's, Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report place Ohio Wesleyan among the top 100 U.S. liberal arts colleges.•••• Notable alumni include a U.S. Vice-President and a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry•. The university resides on 200 acres in central Ohio, located about 25 miles north of downtown Columbus in the small city of Delaware•. This includes the main academic and residential campus along with Perkins Observatory and the Kraus wilderness preserves. Construction projects have updated science facilities and several athletic facilities in recent years.
History Beginnings The roots of Wesleyan reach back to 1841 when Adam Poe and Charles Elliott, leaders of the local William Street Methodist Church and residents of Delaware, Ohio, agreed on the need to establish a university "of the highest order" in central Ohio. When the Mansion House Hotel went on the market later during the same year, Poe encouraged the citizens of Delaware to purchase the property. Later, 172 people raised $10,000 and purchased it.• The hotel had been constructed in the early 1830s, serving the health resort known for the "health-giving although odoriferous waters" of its Sulphur Spring.• Ohio Wesleyan opened its doors in 1844 as a Methodist-related but nonsectarian college.• It was among the first of a number of institutions named for John Wesley, a founder of Methodism.• The college originally admitted only male students, and began with an enrollment of 29, taught by three professors. It was housed in the renamed Elliott Hall, formerly the Mansion House Hotel.• By the end of the 19th century, the University would grow to contain several schools: a College of Liberal Arts (founded in 1844), a School of Music (1877), a School of Fine Arts (1877), a School of Oratory (1894), and a Business School (1895). The Ohio Wesleyan Female College was established in 1853. In 1857, the female college moved to Monnett Hall, named for school benefactress Mary Monnett Bain. In 1877, the female college was merged with the University, which became coeducational.• Monnett Hall remained the center for women's housing on campus well into the 20th century. The Monnett Garden, which now stands between Sanborn Hall and Austin Manor, was constructed in 1990 to honor the former Monnett Hall. In the early days of the college, Ohio Wesleyan University presidents were frequently vocal in the national political debates of their times. The prominent issues in the 1850s were slavery and the expansion of the United States.• Edward Thomson, president of Ohio Wesleyan in 1857, was vocal in the national political debate. He denounced the argument that southern Christians "should retain their slaves in obedience to state laws forbidding manumission," saying that "the soft and slippered Christianity which disturbs no one, is not the Christianity of Christ."• Today, OWU maintains a loose, mainly historic•, affiliation with the United Methodist Church•. Emphasis on internationalism Academic internationalism has characterized Ohio Wesleyan University since early in its history. In the late 19th century the college established links with several international schools. A Wesleyan alumna, Elizabeth Russell, founded Kwassui Women's College in Nagasaki, Japan in 1879, a time when the predominant belief in Japan was that women's education was not important•. Today, Kwasuii Women's College is one of the top finishing schools for young women in Japan.• The school enrolls approximately 2,100 college-age women and includes a middle and high school class of about 1,200 students.•• Ten year later, William Ehnis, class of 1898, traveled to Africa and opened a school in Mutare, Zimbabwe, a predecesssor of Africa University.• In the past 15 years, Ohio Wesleyan has been placed on a list compiled by the U.S. News & World Report for colleges that attract the highest percentage of international students.•••• The growth of the international student population at the school was especially agressive in the early and mid-1990s. Adjusted for size of the school, Wesleyan is ninth among 118 American colleges and universities in total aid awards to international students and 69th in average award per international student.• Growth in this area has been especially high among students from South East Asia.• The United Nations flag, along with the flags of more than sixty represented nations and the U.S. flag, is flown on campus in University Hall in honor of the ideal of peaceful international relations.• As part of a formal GLCA agreement, Ohio Wesleyan established an exchange program with Waseda University in 1962 to provide approximately 30 American students with opportunities to study in Japan and 30 Japanese students to study at Ohio Wesleyan each year.• Funded by a 2004 grant by the Lilly Endowment, the interfaith-based University chaplaincy office has recently spearheaded volunteering and service projects in Ghana, Russia, Honduras, Mexico, Ireland and South Africa. The Salamanca Program also holds a significant place in the international life of the University. The program is a collaboration between Ohio Wesleyan and the University of Salamanca, and was founded by Conrad Kent in 1988.• The program provides an opportunity for the exchange of approximately one hundred students and faculty between the two universities each year. The academic collaboration frequently extends to joint participation in academic symposia: in 1993, members of the Salamanca faculty participated in a symposium on the Golden Age in Salamanca. Recent history The new Science Center opened in 2001 to house all of the school's science departments. An athletic fundraising campaign began in 2005, and in 2006, President Mark Huddleston initiated a five-year $250 million fundraising effort. Between 1996-2001 fiscal years, Ohio Wesleyan increased its expenditures per student by 23 percent, while the average increase over the same period for top tier liberal arts colleges was 17 percent. Economist Robert Lenke argued that this increase in spending per student contributed to an increase in the school's PhD creation rate; during the same time period, the PhD creation rate for Ohio Wesleyan graduates increased from 3.8 to 5.3 . OWU's team has finished first five out of the last ten years at the Ohio Five mathematics contest. University Presidents The President is the chief administrator of Ohio Wesleyan University•. Ex officio the chairman of the Board of Trustees, he is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to him the day-to-day running of the university•. Since Wesleyan's beginning, just 15 men have held the title of Ohio Wesleyan University president, while a few have served as interim president. Those who have held the office include lawyers, literary scholars, politicians, businessmen and clergymen. Just like many other institutions of higher learning, especially so in Ohio, Wesleyan was originally founded for the training of protestant clergy•, and even though its mission was soon broadened, nearly all presidents through the end of the 19th century were in holy orders. Only three of the past presidents are actually graduates of the college. Profile For the entering class of 2010, Wesleyan admitted approximately 54% of the regular decision applications and achieved a yield of 28%.• In 2005, the college accepted 40% of its international applicants.• Approximately 35% of accepted applicants were granted merit aid• in the form of internal scholarships. OWU follows a need-blind admission policy: financial circumstances are not considered when deciding whether to admit applicants•. Ohio Wesleyan is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission• and is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association•, the Oberlin Group•, and the Five Colleges of Ohio•, a consortium of liberal arts colleges in Ohio that also includes Kenyon College, Oberlin College, College of Wooster, and Denison University•. Curriculum, Degrees and Majors The University has research departments and teaching faculties in most academic disciplines. Traditionally, Wesleyan tends to have a slight bias toward scientific subjects•, but the University also has a number of very strong humanities and social science faculties•, as well as a highly-respected fine arts department. Each student is paired with an academic advisor early in the freshman year•. All research and lectures are conducted by University Departments. Most extra-curricular activities are arranged by the Campus Programming Board and student clubs.•. Ohio Wesleyan students are provided with a liberal arts education. Upon completion of 34 units of coursework, students may earn diplomas in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, or Bachelor of Music fields of study.• As of 2005, Ohio Wesleyan offered 39 different majors. Campus Wesleyan's campus is located near the downtown of Delaware, Ohio, and is bisected by Sandusky Street, the main north/south street through the heart of the city. The street informally divides the campus into east and west sectors -- the west sector made up of mostly residential and administrative buildings and the east one consisting of mostly academic buildings. Over the past decade there has been a building boom within Ohio Wesleyan, with a substantial addition to science, art and economic facilities on the Campus. Wesleyan and Delaware, Ohio Ohio Wesleyan and the City of Delaware in which it resides hold a fairly positive relationship. Located 20 minutes north of Columbus, Delaware is a community of 26,000 residents and the county seat of one of the ten fastest growing counties in the country. It is becoming increasingly diverse in ethnic and socio-economic terms due to its close proximity to Ohio's capital and easy access to I-71. The downtown street that borders campus has a historic feel and offers a number of shops and restaurants including a music store, clothing stores, gift shops, and a number of antique shops. Students interact with local residents and institutions in a variety of programs: In the 1960s Wesleyan donated the Arts Castle, then part of the University's Fine Arts department. It now serves as a home to the Delaware County Cultural Arts Center. The Castle offers classes ranging from ballet to fine arts. In 2004 the University received a donation to rehabilitate the historic Strand Theatre, now owned by Wesleyan•, in downtown Delaware. Other facilities Ohio Wesleyan operates the Perkins Observatory, located in Delaware but separate from the main campus. The university also maintains offices for study abroad and scholarship programs. Wesleyan in Washington is one such program, which allows students to study for a semester in Washington, D.C. in research and internship positions.• Student life Students come from about 44 states and about 47 foreign nations. The student body is about 10% Asian, 6% Hispanic, and 9% Black. 59% of Ohio Wesleyan students claim no religious affiliation.• An index criteria, developed by CampusPride•, comprising gay-affirmative policies, campus events, queer student pespectives, housing for LGBT, local hangouts and a resource center, places Ohio Wesleyan among the nation's gay-friendly colleges. The university is proactive in maintaining policies related to the six PrideNet criteria areas on recruiting and supporting students from the LGBT population.••••••• Housing
Organizations and activities Students are generally actively involved in campus organizations. The OWL is one of the nation's oldest college literary magazines, annually showcasing student work. The school newspaper, The Transcript, is the oldest independent college student newspaper in the country. Students operate the radio station WSLN "The Line" from a studio in Slocum Hall, with supervision from the Journalism Department. A group of students established The Owtsiders in 1999, a completely student-run co-ed a cappella group that performs regularly on campus. Other organizations include Pride, serving the LGBT community; The Babbling Bishops, an improvisational comedy troupe; ProgressOWU, an activist group; the Campus Programming Board; and the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs•. Students are involved in many publications, including: The Daily Bulletin• is the student-run daily bulletin. Other student publications include the weekly The Transcript•, the electronic Connect2OWU•, @Wesleyan•, an online magazine, published four times a year, and several academic publications, such as The Civic Arts Review• and The Historian•, a journal of contemporary and relevant historical scholarship. Activism
Traditions Some Ohio Wesleyan traditions include: On a night during the week of final exams, a dormitory dining hall opens at midnight for breakfast served by faculty members and the college president. The school mascot is the Battling Bishop, and the official school colors are crimson red and black.• Athletics Ohio Wesleyan participates in the NCAA's Division III and forms part of the North Coast Athletic Conference athletic conference. Ohio Wesleyan University has 21 varsity sports teams that are known as the Battling Bishops. Formal athletics at the college dates back to 1875 when the first football team was organized to play against other instituions. It took almost another 20 years before, Ohio Wesleyan join the OAC along with Oberlin College, Kenyon College, Ohio State, Case Western. In the 1980s, Wesleyan joined the North Coast Athletic Conference, an organization of which Wesleyan was a charter member.• The NCAC brings together a group of liberal arts institutions that share a common allegiance to the primacy of the academic mission over the athletic one•. The men's lacrosse and soccer teams are the most historically successful of the varsity teams• and lacrosse is the university's most intently followed sport•. For seven of the last 12 years, Wesleyan has won the NCAC conference All-Sports Trophy for excellence in both women's and men's sports•. In the Sears Directors' Cup standings, Ohio Wesleyan University is among the top-25 overall collegiate athletics programs in the country•. Because of the North Coast Athletic Association athletic agreement, the university is not permitted to offer academic scholarships for athletic recruiting.• Ohio Wesleyan won NCAA Division III: Men's basketball (1988), Men's soccer (1998), Women's soccer (2001), Women's soccer (2002). Ohio Wesleyan University's soccer team has won the NCAC championship three times, last in 2002.• The Basketball team won the league championship in 1998. The men's baseball team has been NCAA champion eight times. The men's golf team has been NCAA champion eleven times. The women's softball team has won the Championship 2 times and the women's soccer team has been an NCAC champion eight times. In total, Ohio Wesleyan's varsity athletic teams have been NCAC champions 100 times, leading the teams of Denison and Kenyon•. The nickname The Battling Bishops dates to 1925. This is also the name of the Wesleyan's mascot, The Battling Bishop. Due to its ironic name, the Wesleyan mascot made it in several athletics magazines' rankings in the late 1990s on weirdest college mascots. Due to its red robe The Battling Bishop looks actually like a Cardinal. Prior to 1925, Wesleyan's teams were previously referred to as "The Red and Black" and "The Methodists". Many schools, including several other Methodist ones, also claimed crimson and black as their colors, so the university decided to change the name. Wesleyan maintains athletic rivalries with other NCAC institutions. The men's lacrosse team has a historic rivalry with Denison University, the soccer team has a historic rivalry with Kenyon College, the field hockey with Oberlin College•. Both Denison and Wesleyan issued alerts to their fans specifically for this game about unsportsmanlike behavior and profanity. • In addition to the school's varsity athletics, club sports teams, including a Chess, Hockey, Cricket, Rugby, Ski, Scuba have been organized as student organizations under the auspices of the Office of Student Activities. Ohio Wesleyan's intramural program includes 16 sports. Sports such as Skiing, squash and water polo have been offered, as well as a sports trivia competition.• Ohio Wesleyan University students also often participate in the Delaware Pumpkin Run, held annually in Delaware, Ohio. Alumni A number of the school's alumni have made significant contributions in the fields of government, law, academia, business, arts, journalism, and athletics, among others. Branch Rickey, Class of 1904 known for signing Jackie Robinson as the first African-American in Major League Baseball•was a catcher for the Bishops. Notable alumni with involvement in politics include Charles Fairbanks, 26th Vice-President of the United States; Jo Ann Emerson, United States Representative from Missouri; and Arthur Flemming, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. Frank Sherwood Rowland won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on ozone depletion•. Notable alumni journalists and media personalities include Byron Pitts, Wendie Malick, and Melvin Van Peebles. Further reading | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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