Wilson College (Pennsylvania)

Wilson College is a private, Presbyterian-related, liberal arts college in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1869 by two Presbyterian ministers, it was named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson of nearby St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania, the first living woman to endow a women's college in the United States.

Wilson College
MottoARS, SCIENTIA, ET RELIGIO
(Arts, Sciences and Religion)
TypePrivate
Established1869
Religious affiliation
Presbyterian Church (USA)
PresidentWesley R. Fugate
Academic staff
45 full-time
Students1,620
Location
Chambersburg
,
Pennsylvania
,
United States
CampusNearly 300 acres (121.4 ha)
ColorsSilver and Blue
Athletics10 NCAA teams
NicknamePhoenix
MascotThe Phoenix
Websitewww.wilson.edu
Wilson College
Wilson College Harry R. Brooks Complex
Location1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Area55 acres (22.3 ha)
Built1870
ArchitectLarson, Leslie; Furness, Evans & Co., et al.
Architectural styleSecond Empire, Colonial Revival, Late Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.95000888[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 21, 1995
Designated PHMCOctober 10, 1952[2]

For 144 years, Wilson operated as a women's college. In 2013 the college's board of trustees voted to make the college coeducational beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year, with male residential students beginning in fall 2014.

History

1869–1900

The college was founded by the Rev. Tryon Edwards and the Rev. James W. Wightman,[3] pastors of Presbyterian churches in nearby Hagerstown, Maryland, and Greencastle, Pennsylvania.[4] The original charter was granted by the Pennsylvania Legislature on March 24, 1869.[5][6] First named Wilson Female College, it took its present name in 1920.[7] Wilson was one of the first colleges in the U.S. to accept only female students. Its 1870 promotional materials stated that the college was a place for women "to be leaders, not followers, in society".[8][9] Instruction begin in 1870, with the first academic degree awarded in 1874.[10]

The college was modeled after Vassar College.[11] It was named for Sarah Wilson (1795–1871),[12] whose donations were used to purchase the campus land.[13][14] Wilson's donation made her the first living American woman to endow a college.[15]

1900–2000

Anna J. McKeag was inaugurated as Wilson's first woman president in 1911,[16][17] and served until 1915 when she was succeeded by Ethelbert Dudley Warfield.[18]

In 1967 the Wilson College sailing team won the first Intercollegiate Sailing Association national championship held in a women's event (dinghy).[19]

In the 1970s, two tropical storms, Agnes in 1972 and Eloise in 1975, caused flood damage to low-lying buildings on campus.

Although it nearly closed its doors in 1979, a lawsuit organized by students, faculty, parents and an alumnae association succeeded in allowing the college to remain open, making it one of the few colleges to survive a scheduled closing.[20][21] It subsequently adopted the Phoenix as its mascot, to symbolize the college's survival.

In 1982, Wilson began offering a continuing studies program (now known as the Adult Degree 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.[22][23]

2000–

Beginning in summer 2006, Wilson offered its first graduate-degree program, a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) for certified elementary school teachers. The college currently offers six graduate degree programs.

The first men to attend and to graduate from Wilson entered at the end of World War II. Men later became able to earn degrees from Wilson through the Adult Degree Program, although the traditional undergraduate college remained a College For Women. In January 2013, the college's board of trustees voted to extend coeducation across all programs; male commuter students were admitted in fall 2013, with the first male residential students beginning in fall 2014.[24][25]

Campus
Main building, 1921

The Wilson College campus is located at the edge of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on both sides of the Conococheague Creek.[26] The property was originally bought from Alexander McClure, whose home Norland, had been burnt in 1864 by Confederates under the orders of General Jubal Early.[27] The home was rebuilt before being sold to the college.[28]

Academics

The college offers 34 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors, and master's degrees.

Notable alumnae
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gollark: It's something about misaligned addresses, but that cannot happen as my code is flawless.
gollark: no.
gollark: Wow, I've *never* seen a SIGBUS before.
gollark: I don't know why. I'm not even calling `malloc`.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  3. Brown, Alice W.; Ballard, Sandra L. (15 December 2011). Changing Course: Reinventing Colleges, Avoiding Closure: New Directions for Higher Education, Number 156. ISBN 9781118275368.
  4. "Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania: Containing Genealogical Records of Representative Families, Including Many of the Early Settlers, and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens". 1978.
  5. "The Centennial Memorial of the Presbytery of Carlisle: A Series of Papers, Historical and Biographical, Relating to the Origin and Growth of Presbyterianism in the Central and Eastern Part of Southern Pennsylvania". 1889.
  6. "The Church at Home and Abroad". 1890.
  7. Layton, Elizabeth Nelson (March 26, 1948). "Significant Dates in the Early History of Institutions for the Higher Education of Women in the United States". Federal Security Agency, Office of Education, Division of Higher Education – via Google Books.
  8. O'Connor, Karen (August 18, 2010). Gender and Women's Leadership: A Reference Handbook. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781483305417 – via Google Books.
  9. Congress, United States (March 26, 1949). "Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
  10. American Universities and Colleges, 19th Edition [2 Volumes]: Nineteenth Edition. ABC-CLIO. April 16, 2010. ISBN 9780313366086 – via Google Books.
  11. Hays, George Price (March 26, 1892). "Presbyterians, a Popular Narrative of Their Origin, Progress, Doctrines, and Achievements". J. A. Hill & Company – via Google Books.
  12. Beyer, George R. (1991). Guide to the State Historical Markers of Pennsylvania. ISBN 9780892710409.
  13. Wickersham, James Pyle (1886). "A History of Education in Pennsylvania, Private and Public, Elementary and Higher: From the Time the Swedes Settled on the Delaware to the Present Day".
  14. "Legislative Record". 1969.
  15. Keller, Rosemary Skinner; Ruether, Rosemary Radford; Cantlon, Marie (March 26, 2006). Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253346851 – via Google Books.
  16. "Dr. Anna J. McKeag Inaugurated as the New President of Wilson College -- Representatives of Many Universities Attend the Ceremony". The New York Times. 19 May 1912.
  17. "FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT.; Miss Anna Jane McKeag Now at the Head of Wilson College". The New York Times. 28 April 1912.
  18. "Intellect". March 26, 1933 – via Google Books.
  19. "ICSA Championships". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  20. "Alumnae are fighting to stop an imploding college from closing, and one court case could provide a 'legal roadmap' for them to do it".
  21. Brown, Alice W.; Ballard, Sandra L. (15 December 2011). Changing Course: Reinventing Colleges, Avoiding Closure: New Directions for Higher Education, Number 156. ISBN 9781118275368.
  22. Votruba-Drzal, Elizabeth; Dearing, Eric (17 April 2017). The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Development Programs, Practices, and Policies. ISBN 9781118937297.
  23. Foundation, John Templeton (1999). Colleges That Encourage Character Development: A Resource for Parents, Students, and Educators. ISBN 9781890151287.
  24. awrence Biemiller (January 13, 2013). "Seeking Enrollment Boost, Wilson College Will Admit Men". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  25. "Wilson College begins co-ed era". 26 August 2013.
  26. "Annual report of the Commissioner of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 1907". 1908.
  27. "A scary night at Wilson College".
  28. Huntington, Tom (2007). Pennsylvania Civil War Trails: The Guide to Battle Sites, Monuments, Museums and Towns. ISBN 9780811733793.
  29. "ANDUJAR, ELIZABETH RICHARDS [BETTY] | the Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)".
  30. General Assembly, Virginia (1976). "Manual of the Senate and House of Delegates".
  31. Little, Randolph S. (2003). For the birds: The Laboratory of Ornithology and Sapsucker Woods at Cornell University. ISBN 9780974639604.

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