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The College of Wooster is a residential liberal arts college primarily known for its '''Independent Study''' program. It has roughly 1,800 students and is located in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio (approximately sixty miles south of Cleveland). Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian church as the University of Wooster, it was from its creation a co-educational institution. The school is a member of The Five Colleges of Ohio and the Great Lakes Colleges Association. As of January 2006, Wooster's endowment stood at approximately $228 million. The current president of the college is mathematics professor R. Stanton Hales, who previously served as Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the college. Prior to that, Hales was Associate Dean of Pomona College in California. He has announced that he intends to retire as of June 30, 2007; the trustees are currently searching for a new president*. Distinguished faculty have included Dijana Plestina, former first lady of Croatia. This college is one of forty named in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges That Change Lives.*
History The University of Wooster was founded in 1866 by Presbyterians who wanted to do their part in the education of young people, and in 1870 opened its doors with a faculty of five and a student body of thirty men and four women. Wooster citizen Ephraim Quimby donated the first 22 acres, a large oak grove situated on a hilltop overlooking the town. By the early 20th century, there were eight divisions, including a medical school whose faculty outnumbered those in the college of arts and sciences. However, the university had gradually begun to define itself as a liberal arts institution and, in 1915, after a bitter dispute between the faculty and the Trustees, chose to become The College of Wooster in order to devote itself entirely to the education of undergraduate students. The College's 240 acre campus boasts of an unusual tree endowment, established in 1987, which supports a tree conservation, maintenance and replacement program. Academics Students entering Wooster are provided with a liberal arts education, a learning approach that encourages students to experience different fields of study and once majors are chosen, to bring those varied experiences to their selected fields of study. Upon completion of typically 32 courses, students may earn a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, or Bachelor of Music Education degree. In addition to the programs listed below, students may design their own major with approval from the registrar. Some of the pre-professional programs listed below are cooperative programs, in which students spend a certain period of time at the College of Wooster before transferring to accelerated courses at other colleges and universities. Areas of study Majors: Africana Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, Art (Studio), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biology, Business Economics, Chemical Physics, Chemistry, Classical Studies, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Communication Studies, Comparative Literature, Computer Science, Cultural Area Studies, Dance, Economics, English, French, Geology, German, History, International Relations, Mathematics, Music, Music Education, Music History and Literature, Music Performance, Music Theory (Composition), Music Therapy, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Russian Studies, Sociology, Spanish, Theater, Urban Studies, Women's Studies Additional minors: Chinese, Education (with teaching licensure in early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and multi-age), Film Studies, International Business, Physical Education Pre-professional programs: Pre-Architecture, Pre-Engineering, Forestry and Environmental Studies, Dentistry, Nursing, Pre-Social Work, Pre-Business, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, Pre-Law, Pre-Seminary Studies, Dual-Degree Programs Independent Study program The College of Wooster is especially noteworthy for its Independent Study program, under which all students work one-on-one with a faculty advisor to complete a written thesis or other significant project during the course of their senior year. The student also presents an oral defense of the thesis before a faculty committee. The program, begun in 1947 by Howard Lowry (the College's 7th President), has received considerable attention from other colleges and universities, and a number of other institutions have modeled programs after it. In 2003, the IS program was recognized by US News and World Report as the second best "senior capstone experience" in the US, behind only Princeton University. This unique approach to education has long kept Wooster competitive against more well-known colleges. As evidence of this fact, Wooster ranks 14th in the United States among independent colleges whose graduates earned Ph.D.'s between 1920 and 1995 (according to the Baccalaureate Origins of Doctorate Recipients,1998). Special traditions have been developed surrounding Independent Study. Upon completion, a student will receive a yellow button that says "I did it!" as well as the highly coveted Tootsie Roll. The tradition developed when the registrar at the time, Lee Culp, decided to give out candy along with the buttons one year; the Tootsie Roll itself was chosen simply because they were cheap in bulk. The "due date," or the last day that students can turn in their completed Independent Study project, is the first Monday after spring break. On I.S. Monday, the pipe band begins a drone and, with the Dean of the Faculty leading the way, the seniors travel through Kauke Arch in a jubilant parade ending at Kittredge dining hall, where a celebratory dinner with their advisors and college administrators follows. A database exists on the College of Wooster website which allows people to browse the myriad Independent Study topics from every class year since the late 1940s. Student Life Wooster has long emphasized international education. An unusually high percentage of its early graduates went overseas as missionaries, and soon not only their sons and daughters, but also the students from their schools, were enrolling at Wooster as students. This international presence affected the entire campus, establishing a tradition which continues to influence the College. Today, approximately seven percent of the student body is international in origin, representing more than 40 different countries. Majors in Cultural Area Studies and International Relations, instruction in seven foreign languages, twenty overseas programs, and the popularity of Babcock International Program, attest to a global awareness that is a vital part of the educational fabric of the College. The majority of Wooster's international students currently come from South Asia (India and Pakistan), and West Africa (many from Ghana). Athletics Wooster is a member of the NCAA Div-III North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Its school colors are black and old gold, and its mascot is the "Fighting Scot." Scottish culture is an important part of the school's heritage; its football games feature a Scottish pipe band with Highland dancers in addition to a traditional marching band, with all three groups clad in the yellow and black MacLeod tartan. In recent years, the athletic teams at Wooster have had considerable success. Among other achievements, the baseball team has made three appearances in the NCAA Division III World Series and nine NCAC championships (a league record). The men's basketball team has nine NCAC regular season championships, nine NCAC Tournament titles, and twelve appearances in the Div-III NCAA Tournament. In 2003, the team earned third place at the NCAA Div-III National Basketball Tournament, compiled its best ever record (30-3), and Wooster center Brian Nelson was named Div-III Men's Basketball Player of the Year. In 2004, the football team went undefeated in the regular season, won its first outright NCAC conference championship, and won its first NCAA tournament game. Performing Arts Besides a well-respected music department, Wooster is the home of the Ohio Light Opera, an endeavor founded by the college in 1979. It is the only professional company in the United States entirely devoted to operetta. OLO performs the entire Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire, but also regularly revives rarely performed continental works of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Over the years, the Company has produced eighty different operettas. Student activities and clubs The College of Wooster has over 100 student organizations, from the Jenny Investment Club, which allows students to invest real money for the College as they learn about the stock market, to Common Grounds, a student-run coffee shop and house program offering chemical-free alternatives to the College community. There are currently 9 active Greek groups at the College of Wooster, 5 sororities and 4 fraternities. Called clubs and sections, these groups are not affiliated with national Greek organizations, and approximately 15 percent of the student body participates. The college has a wide variety of student-run media. ''The Wooster Voice'' is the weekly student newspaper, and has been published continuously since 1886 (see list of college newspapers), while WCWS (WOO 91) is the college radio station. The Goliard is the annual literary magazine. Each year, English professor Daniel Bourne also publishes an international literary magazine called Dodge''. Additionally, the English Department has classes every two years on journalism and magazine writing; these students create and publish a newspaper and a magazine respectively. Pictures Controversies In 1995, the College of Wooster gained some notoriety in academic circles when it rescinded its offer to hire Susanne Woods as its next president. After announcing its decision to hire her, evidence surfaced that Woods was in a long-term relationship with another woman, and the college decided not to hire her after all, despite the fact that they had been courting her for the position for nearly a year. Many on Wooster's faculty decried the apparent homophobia of the board of trustees, though because of confidentiality agreements, neither Woods nor the board members have spoken publicly about the incident. The official reason given for Woods' dismissal was the parties' inability to agree on the role of the president at the school. Woods is now provost emeritae and professor of English emeritae at Wheaton College (Massachusetts) in Norton, Massachusetts. Notable alumni Notes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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