Ohio Wesleyan University
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Ohio Wesleyan University (also Wesleyan or OWU, pronounced oh-WOO) is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Delaware, Ohio. Ohio Wesleyan is a residential college with a population of approximately 1,850 undergraduate students.
According to U.S. News & World Report, 12 percent of students are international, placing Wesleyan among the 10 liberal arts colleges with the highest percentage of international students for several consecutive years.[#endnote_most-intl] College guides such as Colleges That Change Lives, Barron's, Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report place Ohio Wesleyan among top U.S. liberal arts colleges.[#endnote_usnews]
The university's charter provides that it "is forever to be conducted on the most liberal principles, accessible to all religious denominations, and designed for the benefit of our citizens in general."[#endnote_liberal]
History
Beginnings
The roots of Wesleyan reach back to 1841 when Adam Poe and Charles Elliott, leaders of the local Williams 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.[#endnote_order] 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.[#endnote_elliott]
Ohio Wesleyan opened its doors in 1844 as a Methodist-related but nonsectarian college.[#endnote_liberal] The college was originally an all-male institution, and began with an enrollment of 29 male students taught by three professors. It was housed in the renamed Elliott Hall, formerly the Mansion House Hotel.[#endnote_elliott] The university was one of the first named for John Wesley, and is among the oldest of the numerous Methodist universities in the U.S. and abroad.#redirect
In the 19th century, the University grew 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 and 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."[#endnote_thompson]
Recent Developments and Timeline
- 1991
- The Hamilton-Williams Campus Center opens.
Presidents of OWU
.General information
Ohio Wesleyan is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission[#endnote_accr] 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.
Students come from about 44 states and about 47 foreign nations. The student body is about 10% Asian, 6% Hispanic, and 9% Black. Ohio Wesleyan is also among gay-friendly colleges, actively recruiting students from the LGBT population.[#endnote_gay-friendly]
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 University, with a substantial addition to science, art and economic facilities on the Campus. .
Academic Structure
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. Wesleyan has a distinctive one-to-one or one-to-two advisory system for teaching undergraduates, very similar to the tutorial system at Oxford. All research and lectures are conducted by University Departments; the departments are also in charge of giving, or at least arranging, the supervisions. Most extra-curricular activities are arranged by the Campus Programming Board and student clubs.See also: [Departments at Ohio Wesleyan University]
Academics, Degrees and Majors
Wesleyan accepted 68% (regular decision applicants)[#endnote_regadmit] of its applicants in 2005[#endnote_prstats] and 40% of its international applicants.[#endnote_intladm] Approximately 35% of accepted applicants were granted merit aid in the form of Presidential, Trustee and Faculty scholarships; according to the 2005 edition of Princeton Review, many of these applicants also applied to schools like Oberlin, Denison, Kenyon, Cornell, and Harvard.[#endnote_owusixdegrees] Ohio Wesleyan University follows a need-blind admission policy. Financial circumstances are not considered when deciding whether to admit, wait list, or turn down applications.Students entering Wesleyan 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.[#endnote_34units] As of 2005, Ohio Wesleyan offered 38 different majors:
Student Housing
Ohio Wesleyan University has an on-campus house capacity of 1,600 students. First-year students are required to live on campus for the first two semesters at Ohio Wesleyan; upperclass students are placed in dormitories through a lottery system. Housing options include single-sex and coed dormatories, small living units, fraternities, and cooperative housing.
Thompson, Bashford, Stuyvesant and Smith Halls are traditional dormitories on campus. Welch Hall is designated as a "quiet" dorm for honors students.[#endnote_welch] Hayes Hall is an all-female dorm.
Approximately 200 upperclass students live in the Small Living Units (SLUs). SLUs are co-ops and quasi-autonomous associations united voluntarily to meet shared economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations in democratically-controlled houses. The houses are intended to provide students with an opportunity to live cooperatively with other students by sharing in regularly scheduled house chores, participation in the decision making process, and in some, sharing of the cooking responsibilities. Each unit houses a group of 15 students organized to promote a common jointly-aspired theme. The theme usually determines the co-op's name. Currently, the SLUs consist of The Peace and Justice House, The International House, The House of Black Culture, The Creative Arts House, The Women's House, The Modern Foreign Languages House, The House of Thought, the Habitat for Humanity House and the Tree House. The houses are owned by the University, and the co-ops must therefore follow the University's living policies. However, they elect their own officers and do not have Resident Advisors or faculty in residence like other on-campus residence halls. At the end of each academic year every existing and potential co-op must submit a house proposal describing its plans for theme promotion during the next academic year. The University Housing office places co-ops in houses every year on a competitive basis.
Student Organizations
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 (see [link] for a more complete list).
Recent Activism
In 1966, students established an Upward Bound program, funded by Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, for students from lower-income and poverty areas to prepare for college. [#endnote_upwardbound] The Arts Castle, the Early Childhood Center, the Big Pal/Little Pal Program, the Andrews House, the Office of Community Service and the International Ambassador High School Program are among the many programs founded the since the 1970s to provide services to the larger community in Delaware.
The past few years have proven that campus activism is not dead on the Ohio Wesleyan campus. The college is known for its left-leaning students and administration's permissive attitude.
In April 2002, about a hundred Ohio Wesleyan students gathered in The Mall in Washington, DC in the second day of a weekend of protests for an array of causes, including the Middle East crisis, but also to denounce lending policies of The World Bank. [#endnote_wesleyanagainstWB] In February 2003 approximately 100 OWU students traveled to New York City to protest the war in Iraq with partial funding from the Wesleyan Chaplain's office. [#endnote_wesleyanIRAQ]
The summer of 2003 and the academic year 2003/2004 was marked with another controversy. Protests from international students and alumni against the president Thomas Courtice took place after the international student advisor, Ann Quillin, was forced to leave under strange circumstances. The issue caused hundreds of alumni and students to protest against the president's office via various forms including picketing and culture jamming. The incident caused many international alumni to stop donating to the school due to soured relations.#redirect
During Ohio Wesleyan University Against the War on October 5 and November 17,2004, more than a hundred students held peace rallies in front of the Delaware city hall.[#endnote_wesleyanagainstwar]
In 2004, the awarding of the Lilly grant "Vocation: Identity, Intellect, and Life Choices: A Move Toward Wholeness" and the prospect of the participation by Ohio Wesleyan in the Lilly Endowment program on vocation evoked an intense response from a significant group of faculty members. An open letter signed by more than 40 faculty members questioned the appropriateness of the predominantly Christian focus of the grant.
On March 17, 2005 the Student Union on Black Awareness (SUBA) and College Democrats organized a [protest] on Sandusky Street in Delaware against racial injustice on campus and the country. University president Mark Huddleston also participated in the protest.
In 2005, both students and the administration expressed criticism of the Campus Crusade for Christ group. Students and administrators complained of being bullied by the ministry's members.[#endnote_chronicle]. The most recent backlash at OWU has been due to the Campus Crusade's "Do You Agree with Adam?" campaign, which encouraged Christians campuswide to openly display signs of their faith. Most believed the resulting actions were somewhat intrusive, and much of the campaign incorporated chalking, which is against school policy. As a result, several activist groups and the administration protested the organization's presence on campus.
The current president, Mark Huddleston, was frequently caught in the middle of student protests during his own college years. [#endnote_OWUHuddlestonprotest]
Internationalism
Early 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.[#endnote_kwassui] Ten year later, William Ehnis, class of 1898, traveled to Africa and opened a school in Mutare, Zimbabwe, a predecesssor of Africa University.Peace Corps Connection
In the early 20th century, the Peace Corps published a list of small colleges and universities with the highest number of graduates serving as Peace Corps volunteers. Several schools were consistently on the list: Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University and St. Olaf College. As recently as 2004, Ohio Wesleyan University was one of the 20 small-sized schools with the highest number of Peace Corps volunteers. [#endnote_rpcv]Current Internationalism
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. Growth in this area has been especially high among students from South East Asia.#redirect 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.
Traditions and Distinguishing Features
Traditions
Some Ohio Wesleyan traditions include:
- Fresh-X: An optional program for newly-admitted students, this tradition is a closely guarded secret at Ohio Wesleyan. Generally, first-years are kept in the dark about it until it actually takes place.
- Convocation: The formal beginning of the college year. The evening before classes begin, all members of the Wesleyan community (including the faculty, dressed in caps and gowns) gather in Gray Chapel to listen to an opening address and performances by students.
- Homecoming: An alumni event that takes place in early October.
- Monnett Weekend: This event welcomes female alumni, parents, and friends of the university. It was originally a celebration of Mother's Day. All events were scheduled on the Monnett Campus, and men were banned from the area while female students danced around the Maypole. During the early years of the college, men developed their own tradition by arriving on the Monnett Campus early in the morning and concealing themselves in trees from which to watch the festivities.
- WesFest/SpringFest: Organized by the student board, this music event in the middle of April features a well-known musical band.
- Commencement: Usually held on Mother's Day, parents, friends and graduating seniors gather in the Quad to hear a distinguished speaker and observe the awarding of diplomas.
- Midnight breakfast : 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.
- President's Ball: A formal gala event organized by the college president that takes place on the first Saturday of December.
- OWU vs Denison: A fierce athletic rivalry with Denison University.
- Sagan Colloquium: A semester-long series of speakers held each fall, which spotlights an issue of concern in the liberal arts.
Distinguishing Features
- The school mascot is the Battling Bishop.
- The official school colors are crimson red and black.
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:
- The Columbus Initiative
- Wesleyan Ambassadors
- BigPal/LittlePal Program - tutoring in local schools
- StAP - interning in local businesses
In 2004 the University received a donation to rehabilitate the historic Strand Theatre, now owned by Wesleyan, in downtown Delaware.
Wesleyan Athletics
Ohio Wesleyan participates in the NCAA's Division III and forms part of the North Coast Athletic Conference athletic conference. Wesleyan's strongest sports are lacrosse and soccer. Wesleyan's traditional sports rivals are Denison University and Kenyon College.
Ohio Wesleyan won NCAA Division III: Men's basketball (1988), Men's soccer (1998), Women's soccer (2001), Women's soccer (2002).
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.
Fall Sports:
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Winter Sports:
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Journals, publications & media
Campus publications & media- [Connect2 OWU], a weekly newsletter.
- [@Wesleyan], an online magazine, published four times a year.
- [Only What's Up], the weekly newsletter about activities on campus.
- [Daily Bulletin] Daily Bulletin of events at Ohio Wesleyan.
- [Front Row], an online video database of lectures and performances at Ohio Wesleyan University.
- [At the Library] Library Newsletter.
- [The Civic Arts Review] a publication of ideas and practices that constitute good citizenship
- [Get Confiscated] an alternative literary magazine
- The [Historian] a journal of contemporary and relevant historical scholarship
- The Witness, Ohio Wesleyan's African-American student publication
- The [Owl], The Wesleyan Literary Magazine
- [The Shrubbery], a humor and parody magazine
- [The Transcript], the official campus newspaper since 1867
- [Trident], a student literary publication on Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies topics
- Le Bijou, the Ohio Wesleyan yearbook, published since 1880
- [WSLN 98.7 FM], a student-run radio station which provides independent and experimental music
Further reading
- Pope, Loren. Colleges That Change Lives , Penguin Group, 2000, ISBN 0140296166
- Easterbrook, Gregg. (2004). Who Needs Harvard?, The Atlantic Monthly, October 2004.
Notable Wesleyan Alumni
See List of Ohio Wesleyan University people.External links
Alumni links
Notes
- ↑ Higher Learning Commission. Directory of HLC Affiliated Institutions. January 2, 2006.
- ↑ Ohio Wesleyan University Catalogue. September, 2004. http://go.owu.edu/~catalog/cat-a04.pdf
- ↑ US News and World Report. "USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2006". November 10, 2005. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/premium/drintl_3109.php
- ↑ Ramon Johnson. "Gay-Friendly Universities". April 15, 2005. http://gaylife.about.com/od/headlinesnewsstories/a/gay_university.htm
- ↑ USNews.com. America's Best Colleges 2006. January 2, 2006. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/libartco/tier1/t1libartco_brief.php ; [89th on 2005 list, 97th on 2004 list via archive.org]
- ↑ Ohio Wesleyan University. "Elliot Hall Dedication". May 15, 2003. http://news.owu.edu/2003/elliott2.html
- ↑ Reve' M. Pete. "The Methodist Movement Comes to America and Impacts Slavery". 2003. http://members.aol.com/revepete/HolinessCh3.html
- ↑ Ohio Wesleyan University Catalogue. September, 2005. http://catalog.owu.edu/cat-a09.pdf
- ↑ Petersons.com. Ohio Wesleyan University Closeup, 2006.http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/searches/srchCrit1.asp?path=ug.fas.college
- ↑ Princeton Review statistics page http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/admissions.asp?listing=1023105<id=1&intbucketid=
- ↑ Ohio Wesleyan University - Studying Abroad in the US. December, 2005. http://www.petersons.com/acuus/sites/007951si.asp?sponsor=1
- ↑ Ohio Wesleyan University: Other schools to consider, 2005. http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/ostc.asp?listing=1023105<id=1
- ↑ Degree and Special Programs: Requirements for All Degrees, 2005. http://go.owu.edu/~catalog/cat-d02.pdf
- ↑ Welch Hall, 2006. http://admission.owu.edu/welch.html
- ↑ Upward Bound Office. "Upward Bound Program, 2005. http://upward.owu.edu/
- ↑ Elisabeth Calhoon. "National youth vote lower than expected". The Transcript Online. November 10, 2004. http://transcript.owu.edu/111004/inside3.html
- ↑ "America's Best Colleges 2004: Ohio Wesleyan University". U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/rankindex_brief.php
- ↑ "Local Groups". United for Peace and Justice. http://www.unitedforpeace.org/groups.php?state=OH
- ↑ "Protesters Rally Outside World Bank, IMF Meetings". IslamOnline.net. http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2002-04/22/article02.shtml
- ↑ McMurtrie, Beth. "Crusading for Christ, Amid Keg Parties and Secularism." Chronicle of Higher Education 47, no. 36 (05/18/ 2005): A42.
- ↑ "Ohio Wesleyan University & Kwasuii Women's College Celebrate Over 100 Years of Connections". At the Library Online. http://cc.owu.edu/~librweb/fr9ar1.htm
- ↑ "Top Producing Colleges and Universities 2004". Peace Corps. http://www.peacecorps.gov/news/resources/stats/pdf/schools2004.pdf
- ↑ Kevin Blair. "My first protest: This is what democracy looks like". The Transcript. February 19, 2003. http://transcript.owu.edu/021903/opinion1.html
- ↑ Anthony Violanti. "Buffalo Police Then and Now. 1970 Violent Protests at University at Buffalo". The Buffalo News. February 20, 2005. http://www.bpdthenandnow.com/1970UBPROTESTS.html
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