Wesleyan University

This article is about Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, USA. For a list of other colleges and universities with names including "Wesleyan," see Wesleyan University (disambiguation).

Wesleyan University

File:Wesleyan University Shield.svg
Type	Private
Established	1831
Endowment	$523 million (December 2009)
President	Michael S. Roth
Academic staff	350
Undergraduates	2,766
Postgraduates	180
Location	Middletown , CT , USA
Campus	Small city, 360 acres (1.5 km2)
Colors	Cardinal and Black
Nickname	Cardinals
Affiliations	NESCAC
Website	www.wesleyan.edu

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that both emphasizes the provision of undergraduate instruction in the arts and sciences and also funds graduate research in many academic disciplines, granting PhD degrees primarily in the sciences and mathematics, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Wesleyan is known as the second most productive liberal arts college in the United States in the number of undergraduates who go on to earn PhDs in all fields of study.

Founded under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the now secular university was the first institution of higher education to be named after John Wesley, the Protestant theologian who was the founder of Methodism. About twenty unrelated colleges and universities were subsequently named after Wesley. Wesleyan, along with Amherst and Williams Colleges, is a member of the historic Little Three colleges and has long been known as one of the Little Ivies.

History

Main article: Wesleyan University history

College Row. From left to right: North College, South College, Memorial Chapel, Patricelli '92 Theater (Not pictured: Judd Hall)

Wesleyan was founded as an all-male Methodist college in 1831.

Two histories of Wesleyan have been published, Wesleyan's First Century by Carl F. Price in 1932 and another in 1999, Wesleyan University, 1831-1910: Collegiate Enterprise in New England, by David B. Potts.

Wesleyan was first started as an independent institution under the auspices of the Methodist conference, led by Willbur Fisk, its first President. Despite its name, Wesleyan was never a denominational seminary. It remained a leader in educational progress throughout its history, and erected the first building dedicated to the sciences on any American college campus, Judd Hall (named after alumnus Orange Judd). It also has always maintained a much larger library collection than institutions comparable in size.

Wesleyan was a very small institution for the first 140 years of its existence, having a student body ranging from 400 to 800 students throughout the period. Although Wesleyan developed into a peer of Amherst and Williams, Wesleyan was always decidedly the smallest of the Little Three institutions until the 1970s, when it grew significantly to become larger than the other two.

In 1872, the University became one of the first U.S. colleges to attempt coeducation by allowing a small number of female students to attend, a venture then known as the "Wesleyan Experiment". Because of the preponderance of female students preparing for college in that period, some of Wesleyan's alumni believed that opening the door to coeducation would eventually result in the student body becoming entirely female. Given that concern, Wesleyan ceased to admit women, and from 1912 to 1970 Wesleyan operated again as an all-male college.

Wesleyan severed its final ties with the Methodist Church in 1937, a final formal recognition of many decades of practice. The administration ceased to define the curriculum as Christian in the 1960s, and also eliminated compulsory chapel at the same time.

During WWII, as college-aged men volunteered or were drafted to fight overseas, Wesleyan's enrollment was supplemented by the Navy V-12 officer training program, which allowed the campus to remain open.

Beginning in the mid 1950s, Wesleyan, under the presidency of Victor Lloyd Butterfield, began an ambitious program to reorganize itself into a small college with many of the trappings of a modern university, including doctoral programs in mathematics, world music and the natural sciences; a university press; and a Center for Advanced Studies (later re-named The Center for the Humanities.) Perhaps the most emblematic endeavor of the period was the "College Plan", a system originally consisting of three residential complexes built to the south of the prior campus, each with its own dormitory, its own faculty (often on loan from other departments) and students who had to compete as freshmen to be admitted in their sophomore year. Although they are no longer located in the "Butterfield Colleges"—the combined dormitory and classroom buildings named for the ex-president in 1971—two of the colleges still remain as academic programs: the College of Letters (COL) and the College of Social Studies (CSS) (see program descriptions below) are considered exceptionally intensive study programs and excellent preparation for later graduate work.

Butterfield's successors, Edwin Deacon Etherington (Class of 1948), and Colin Goetze Campbell, completed many of the innovations begun during his administration including, the return of women in numbers equal to men; a quadrupling in the total square footage of building space devoted to laboratory, studio and performing arts instruction; and, a dramatic rise in the racial, ethnic and religious diversity of the student body.

Wesleyan's current ten year plan, which started in 2000, included the expansion of undergraduate housing, the renovation of classrooms and buildings, and a large investment in technology used for research and teaching.

The University and several of its admissions deans were featured in Jacques Steinberg's 2002 book The Gatekeepers: Inside The Admissions Process of a Premier College.

In the Fall 2007 semester, Michael S. Roth, a 1978 graduate of Wesleyan and former president of the California College of the Arts, was inaugurated as Wesleyan's 16th president.

On May 25, 2008, then U.S. Illinois senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama, filled in for the ill senator Ted Kennedy, and addressed the graduating Class at the 2008 Commencement. Senator Obama was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws and urged Wesleyan graduates to enter into public service.

Campus

The view from Foss Hill. From left to right: Judd Hall, Harriman Hall (which houses the Public Affairs Center and the College of Social Studies), and Olin memorial library.

Clark Hall, a freshman dormitory built in 1916 and renovated in 2002.

Wesleyan occupies a 360-acre (1.5 km²) campus, with over 340 buildings, including: the five building College Row (;Olin Memorial Library (see below); Harriman Hall (which houses the John E. Andrus Public Affairs Center and the College of Social Studies); the Exley Science Center; Shanklin and Hall-Atwater Laboratories; the Van Vleck Observatory; the Butterfield dormitories; the Fauver Field dormitories; and 11-building Center for the Arts complex. The campus also includes the William Street apartment complex.

The original core buildings of the campus were North College and South College. North College was a Nassau Hall-type building seen in most early American college campuses, it was replaced after a fire in 1909 with the current North College. South College is the sole building from the beginning of the college. The recently renovated Memorial Chapel was planned in commemoration of the bicentennial of Methodism. Judd Hall may be the first building dedicated to the sciences on any American college campus. Olin Library, Harriman Hall, Shanklin Hall, and the former Hall Chemistry Building were designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White as a set (with Clark Hall and a never built sixth building) to form a quadrangle.

The northern end of High Street contains several large buildings which were former private residences a few of which were exceptional architectural examples. These include Russell House, a National Historic Landmark, two Alsop family houses, (one is currently the African-American Studies center with student housing, the other is the Davison Art Center), the Davison infirmary, a second Russell family house that contains the University Development Office, and Downey House, (remembered fondly by alumni as the onetime main campus dining facility and pub, now classrooms and academic offices). There are other departmental offices in the neighborhood. High Street, which is the old center of campus, was once described by Charles Dickens as "the handsomest street in America."

Recent building initiatives include the Freeman Athletic Center (which includes a 50-meter swimming pool, the Spurrier-Snyder Rink for hockey, the 1,200-seat Silloway Gymnasium, the 7,500-square-foot (700 m²) Andersen Fitness Center, and the Rosenbaum Squash Center with eight courts); the Center for Film Studies; and a multi-building renovation project creating a 'Humanities District' on the east side of High Street between Fisk Hall and Russell House, which includes facilities for the departments of English, Romance Languages, the College of Letters, Classical Studies, Philosophy, Art & Art History, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The Allbritton Center (previously the Davenport Student Center) opened in the fall of 2009 and houses the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, the Shapiro Creative Writing Center, the Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC), and the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program.

The Usdan University Center, which opened in September of 2007, has dining facilities for students and for faculty. It also houses seminar and meeting spaces, the Wesleyan Student Assembly, Student Activities and Leadership Development Office, University Events and Scheduling Office, the post office, and the computer store. The Davenport Student Center and the buffet-style dining hall, McConaughy Hall (colloquially, MoCon) ceased service with the opening of the Usdan University Center.

Undergraduate program

Wesleyan's 40 academic departments offer over 900 courses each semester and more than 900 individual tutorials. Wesleyan also offers thirteen interdisciplinary programs, nine certificate programs, and nine Academic Centers, including the Service Learning Center. Undergraduates receive the Bachelor of Arts in one (or more) of 47 major concentrations. No minors are offered, but double majors are popular (approximately 30% of students select a double major). A small number of students triple major. Students can also pursue a custom-designed major, known as a University Major. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, "Wesleyan is noted for its undergraduate programs of tutorial instruction and independent study." Wesleyan offers 3-2 programs in engineering with the California Institute of Technology and Columbia University's School of Engineering. These programs allow undergraduates to receive degrees in five years from both Wesleyan (B.A.) and Caltech or Columbia (B.Sc., Engineering). Additionally, Wesleyan offers a BA/MA Program in the sciences leading to a Bachelor's degree in the fourth year and a Master's degree in the fifth year. Tuition for the fifth year of the Master's degree is waived. Undergraduates can pursue studies in pre-medicine, pre-law, and pre-business through any major. Most classes at Wesleyan are small; the predominant class size for undergraduates is 10-19 students, and the student to faculty ratio is 9 to 1.

Wesleyan's approach to education is individualistic and academically rigorous. The University does not require undergraduates to take prescribed courses. Students develop their own programs of study that reflect each student's interests and are created with the help of Wesleyan faculty. The University has described a set of general principles that define its approach to education in the liberal arts and sciences. These principles are summed up in the ten capabilities that the faculty believe every student should possess when he or she graduates from Wesleyan. Freshmen are offered First Year Initiative seminars, which are designed to prepare them for upper level courses by emphasizing writing, analysis, discussion, and critical thinking. Though not required, undergraduates are encouraged in the first two years of study to take a minimum of two courses in each of three areas: natural sciences and mathematics, humanities and the arts, and social and behavioral sciences. In the second two years, undergraduates are expected to take one course in each of these three areas. University Honors, High Honors or Honors in General Scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa, and High Honors or Honors in certain departments, programs, and Colleges require completion of the general education expectations. The oversubscription provisions are designed to prevent students from building and participating in programs of study that are too narrow. Writing is emphasized throughout the curricula.

Wesleyan has been noted as one of the most productive colleges or universities in the United States in the undergraduate origins of PhDs in all fields of study, with exceptional productivity in undergraduates pursuing doctorates in the natural sciences. According to a study for the years 1999-2003, among all liberal arts colleges in the nation, Wesleyan undergraduates were second in receiving PhDs. For example, the University produces more history doctorates per undergraduate history major than any other college or university in the United States. Within five years after graduation, eighty percent of Wesleyan graduates attend graduate school, including top programs in the country and the world. The University also sends an unusually large number of female undergraduates to graduate programs in the sciences and PhDs generally. Wesleyan graduates are awarded external fellowships, including Fulbright, Goldwater, Rhodes, and Watson. For the years 2004 through 2009, Wesleyan was named a "Top Producer of Fulbright Awards for American Students" by the Institute for International Education. For the years 2007, 2008, and 2009, a total of 27 Wesleyan students and alumni received scholarships under the Fulbright program. The University is reputed to have produced more Watson Fellows than any other liberal arts college in the country (88 as of 2010). (See StateUniversity.com-University Directory)

Several of the University's undergraduate programs "have an unusually strong national representation," including American Studies, Astronomy/Astrophysics, Classical Studies, The College of Letters, The College of Social Studies, East Asian Studies, Economics (appraised as the "best small department of economics in the country"), English/Creative Writing, Film Studies, History, Music, and the Natural Sciences (including, but not limited to, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Psychology, ranked 5th nationally in research productivity and 3rd for the impact of journal citations). Current notable faculty include, among others, Richard Adelstein (Economics); William J. Barber (Economics); Richard S. Grossman (Economics-Department Chair); Richard A. Miller (Economics); Francisco Rodríguez (Economics); Gary Yohe (Economics); Richard W. Boyd (Government); Martha Crenshaw (Government); Elvin Lim (Government); Judith C. Brown (History); Ethan Kleinberg (History and Letters); Nathan Brody (Psychology); Scott Plous (Psychology); Charles Lemert (Sociology); Annie Dillard (English - Pulitzer Prize-winning author); Dani Shapiro (Creative Writing); Anselm Berrigan (English - poet); Kit Reed (English); Deb Olin Unferth (English); Elizabeth Willis (English); Jeanine Basinger (Film Studies); Anthony Braxton (Music - awarded MacArthur Fellows Program "genius grant" ); Neely Bruce (Music and American Studies); Angel Gil-Ordonez (Music); Alvin Lucier (Experimental Music); Mark Slobin (Music and American Studies); Eiko Otake (Dance - awarded MacArthur Fellows Program "genius grant"); Eugene Marion Klaaren (Religion); Jan Willis (Religion); Vera Schwarcz (East Asian Studies); Joseph Siry (History of Architecture); Reinhold Blumel (Physics); Tsampikos Kottos (Physics); Francis Starr (Physics); David Bodznick (Biology, Neuroscience & Behavior); David L. Beveridge (Chemistry); Carol Wood (Mathematics); Mark Hovey (Mathematics); Karen L. Collins (Mathematics); William Herbst (Astronomy, Director of the Van Vleck Observatory); Richard Slotkin (American Studies and English).

Science and mathematics

According to National Science Foundation (NSF) research and data, the University ranks first nationally among liberal arts colleges in federal funding for research in the sciences and mathematics. Wesleyan is also the number one ranked liberal arts institution in publications by science and mathematics faculty as determined by a measure of research publication rate and impact of publication that factors in both the number of research papers and the number of times those papers are cited in the literature. The University's undergraduates co-author (with Wesleyan faculty) and publish more scientific papers than do students at any other liberal arts school. Additionally, the University is the only liberal arts college in the nation to receive research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support a Molecular Biophysics Predoctoral Research Training Program. Wesleyan is the sole undergraduate liberal arts college to receive this support among research universities such as Stanford, University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Harvard University Medical School, Duke, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania.The University also may be the only liberal arts college to offer an undergraduate concentration in Molecular Biophysics. Medical school acceptances historically have averaged above 90% and in some years Wesleyan has recorded an acceptance rate of 100%. Many pre-med graduates are admitted to the most prestigious programs in the country.

Wesleyan was one of the first colleges to establish a separate Molecular Biology & Biochemistry department, and has extensive laboratory facilities. The University is reputed to have the most square footage of lab space per student of any college in the country. (See StateUniversity.com, Wesleyan University, Facilities.) All of the science departments, mathematics & computer science, psychology, and anthropology support original post-graduate research programs. An additional laboratory building is in the planning stages.

The Astronomy department graduates more astronomy and astrophysics majors than any other liberal arts college in the country. The program is based at Van Vleck Observatory, built in 1914, which is on Foss Hill near the center of the Wesleyan campus. The telescopes are used for research-based observing programs and sky watching events open to Wesleyan students and the general public. The University owns three telescopes. A 16-inch (410 mm) and a 20-inch (510 mm) are both used for weekly public observing nights, open to the Wesleyan community and the general public. The third telescope, the 24-inch (610 mm) Perkins telescope, is used primarily for research, including for senior and graduate student thesis projects, as well as for departmental research programs (which include Supernovae, Variable Stars—known as T Tauri stars, the KNPO International Spectroscopic Survey, dwarf galaxies, Observational Cosmology, X-ray Binary Populations, and Planetary Science). The Perkins scope is one of the largest telescopes in New England. Wesleyan also participates in a consortium of universities that operate the WIYN .9-meter telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. Students (undergraduate and graduate) and faculty have the opportunity to spend time in Arizona doing research with the telescope. Astronomers at the University have made a number of discoveries, including KH15D, a "winking star" (a unique astronomical object) that promises to inform astronomers much about protoplanetary disks. Wesleyan also is a member of the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium (KNAC).

Music

Wesleyan's program in World Music employs leading teaching musicians and ethnomusicologists, representing a variety of musical traditions. Indonesian (including Javanese Gamelan) , South Indian Classical , East Asian, West African, African-American, European (including Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, Neo-Classical, 20th Century, and Opera), as well as Experimental music have been permanent components of the Music Department since the 1960s. The Experimental music work at Wesleyan dates to the residency of John Cage at the University, and subsequently to Alvin Lucier, Ron Kuivila, and Jon Barlow. Masters degrees in ethnomusicology, musicology, composition, and performance, and a Ph.D. degree in ethnomusicology are offered. "Among universities, Wesleyan has one of the largest and most diverse collections of [world] musical instruments," which are depicted in the University's "Virtual Instrument Museum."

Film studies

The University's Film Studies department is led by film historian Jeanine Basinger. In 2008, Vanity Fair noted: "This tiny Connecticut University, with a total enrollment of 2,700, has turned out a shockingly disproportionate number of Hollywood movers and shakers." Similarly, in 2008, Variety magazine noted Basinger's contribution to the film industry through her work in the Wesleyan Film Studies program, and the large number of alumni of the program now working in Hollywood. University students, biographers, media experts, and scholars from around the world have full access to The Wesleyan Cinema Archives, which document the film industry during the 20th Century and contain the personal papers and film related materials of Ingrid Bergman, Frank Capra, Clint Eastwood, Federico Fellini, Elia Kazan, Frank Perry, Roberto Rossellini, Robert Saudek, Martin Scorsese, Gene Tierney, Raoul Walsh, John Waters, and others.

The Samuel Wadsworth Russell House, home to the Philosophy department. The building was designated a national Historic Landmark in 2001 and is considered one of the finest examples of domestic Greek Revival architecture.

Theater

Wesleyan's theater program is highly regarded. The University is home to Second Stage, which may be the country's first solely student-run volunteer theater organization. Second Stage produces at least one performance per weekend during the school year, either in the fully equipped black-box Patricelli '92 Theater or alternate spaces around campus. Second Stage produces dance as well as theater performances. The Patricelli '92 Theater became available for student run productions when the Center for the Arts opened in 1974, providing the Theater Department with a state-of-the-art facility.

Foreign Languages

The University's Foreign Language Department offers American Sign Language, Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. All language classes are held in Fisk Hall, which contains two Language Labs for student use.

Butterfield Colleges

College of Social Studies

The College of Social Studies (CSS) was founded in 1959, combining the fields of history, economics, government, and philosophy. It emphasizes intellectual independence and collaborative and social ties between faculty and students. Students take 7 of the program's 12 (thesis-writing students take 13) required credits during their sophomore year. Sophomore year focuses on the development of modern Western society from historical, economic, social and political perspectives, and culminates with comprehensive final exams. Junior year has a more global focus, while Seniors are required to write an Honors thesis (full year) or a Senior Essay. The program is known for its collegial spirit and academic rigor. In fact, "[t]he CSS major is often regarded as one of the more difficult majors at the University."

College of Letters

The College of Letters (COL) combines the study of history, literature, philosophy, and a foreign language of the student's choice. The program has a primary focus on the Western canon. Undertaking a chronological study that progresses from antiquities to modernity, COL students take one colloquium together each semester and study abroad for the second semester of their sophomore year; they are expected to be at an intermediate level of study in their language of choice at the time they enter the program as sophomores. During their junior year students prepare for intensive comprehensive examinations on the three colloquia taken up to this point. During their senior year students must write a thesis (full year paper) or an essay (half year paper).

College of the Environment

The College of the Environment (COE), created in 2009, integrates the following components: 1) a curricular component, including the newly established environmental studies major, the environmental studies certificate, and a senior capstone project; 2) a Think Tank of Wesleyan faculty, scholars of prominence, and undergraduates whose aim is to produce scholarly work that will influence national and international thinking and action on critical environmental issues; and 3) the Collaborative Research Initiative (CRI), which is designed to encourage COE majors with the most potential to undertake environmental research. The threefold goal of the CRI combines: a) preparing students for senior research work; b) recruiting students of exceptional skill for participation in the COE Think Tank; and c) preparing students for research careers in environmental studies, as well as facilitating internships (non-credit) to provide students with research opportunities and "real world" experience (e.g., internships with governmental organizations, NGO's, and businesses, etc.).

Science in Society Program

Wesleyan's Science in Society Program is an interdisciplinary major that encourages integrated study of the sciences and medicine as practices, institutions, and intellectual achievements, among other areas of study. The program has three components: science courses, SISP courses, and an area of concentration (which may include a major in one of the sciences). The program is well suited for students interested in a variety of professional and academic pursuits, since it encourages students to integrate technical scientific understanding with a grasp of the multiple contexts in which scientific knowledge is applied, and the issues at stake in its application.

Certificate programs

"Certificate programs at Wesleyan supplement (but do not replace) a major. A certificate requires an interdisciplinary set of courses that prepares a student for postgraduate work in a specified interdisciplinary field." There are nine certificate programs at the University:

• Certificate in Environmental Studies
• Certificate in Informatics and Modeling
• Certificate in International Relations
• Certificate in Jewish and Israel Studies
• Certificate in Middle Eastern Studies
• Certificate in Molecular Biophysics
• Certificate in Social, Cultural and Critical Theory
• Certificate in South Asian Studies
• Certificate in Creative Writing

Study abroad

Wesleyan sponsors international programs in France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Spain; has special relationships with programs in Japan and China; and has 140 other approved programs. Nearly 50% of students study abroad for a semester or academic year.

Twelve College Exchange

Many students participate in the Twelve College Exchange program, which allows for study for a semester or a year at another of the twelve college campuses. Typically, Wesleyan receives a larger number of Twelve College students, especially from Smith, Mount Holyoke, Wheaton and Vassar. The program also includes Amherst, Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Dartmouth, Trinity, Wellesley, and Williams.

Graduate programs

Graduate departmental programs

Wesleyan features 11 graduate departmental programs in the sciences, mathematics, computer science, psychology, and music. Graduates receive the Master of Arts, Master of Science, and/or Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Generally, Wesleyan's graduate programs retain a small college atmosphere similar to the undergraduate program. For example, departments feature small administrative staffs, close student-faculty interaction, and open laboratory facilities. Administrators limit graduate course enrollment to 18 students or less.

Graduate Liberal Studies Program

In 1953, Wesleyan was one of three universities to begin a program leading to a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree, called the Graduate Liberal Studies Program. To date, hundreds of educational institutions have followed suit with similar programs. The academically rigorous program provides for interdisciplinary graduate study independent of the undergraduate academic departments. This replaced the Master of Arts in Teaching program previously offered, and expanded it so that students can pursue graduate study for any purpose.

A large proportion of G.L.S.P. students are public and private school teachers from the region, and the others are in different professions, or are otherwise augmenting their graduate studies.

The Graduate Liberal Studies Program offers both the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) and the Certificate of Advanced Studies (C.A.S.). The former requires 36 credit hours of study and may culminate in a capstone project or thesis. The latter requires 30 credit hours of academic study and a thesis.

Rankings and admission

Admission to Wesleyan is among the most selective in the nation. For the class of 2014, 10,656 applications were received and 19.94% of applicants were admitted. The median SAT scores were 730 for Math, 730 for Reading, and 730 for Writing. Additionally, the middle 50 percent of students scored between 30 and 34 (composite) on the ACT. The median SAT score was 2190, and the median ACT score was 32.

Historically, Wesleyan holds the Washington Monthly survey's #1 average liberal arts college ranking in the nation. Most recently, the University was ranked #4 in this survey, and has previously been ranked as high as #2. In the current U.S. News and World Report rankings, Wesleyan is the #13 liberal arts college overall in the United States and is tied for #5 in academic reputation with Middlebury College and Pomona College. In previous U.S. News rankings, the University has been ranked as high as #6 overall. In the Forbes Magazine ranking of American colleges, which combines liberal arts colleges and national research universities together in one list, the University is ranked #21. Among liberal arts colleges only, Wesleyan ranks #11 in the survey. On "StateUniversity.com - U.S. University Directory", which takes a statistical approach to rankings, Wesleyan is ranked #14 among both liberal arts colleges and national research universities, tied (with a score of 98.6 out of 100) with Swarthmore College, Middlebury, Carleton College, and the University of Notre Dame, and is tied for #4 among liberal arts colleges alone. According to a study entitled "Revealed Preference Ranking" published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which combines national research universities and liberal arts colleges, Wesleyan ranks #22, and #5 among liberal arts colleges alone.

In its 2009 edition, the Princeton Review gave the University both a selectivity rating and an academic rating of 97 out of 99, tied with Bowdoin College and Pomona in the latter category. Newsweek magazine has described Wesleyan as one of a small group of historically, academically "elite" colleges and universities in the nation. The University is classified as a most selective institution by the Carnegie Foundation.

Wesleyan is ranked very highly in the Washington Monthly's key academic output categories, currently holding second place in the proportion of undergraduates in liberal arts colleges obtaining PhDs and fourth in fostering scientific and humanistic research. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wesleyan is one of the top "feeder schools" to elite graduate medical, law, and business schools.

The University is notable for the success of its female and minority populations. Wesleyan is one of only nine universities with a black graduation rate above 90 percent, along with three members of the Ivy League and fellow members of the Little Three, as well as Wellesley College, Northwestern University, and Washington University in St. Louis. In this regard, Black Enterprise has ranked Wesleyan #14 overall among the magazine's top 50 universities and colleges for African Americans, and #5 among liberal arts colleges alone. Also noteworthy is the success of female students at the University: According to a recent summary, 55.3% of Wesleyan's doctorates were earned by women.

On the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, Wesleyan received an overall grade of "A-", the highest overall score awarded. Only 26 colleges and universities in the nation earned this grade. Additionally, the University was cited for being an "Overall College Sustainability Leader," a "Campus Sustainability Leader," and an "Endowment Sustainability Leader" (one of only twelve colleges and universities in the nation), among other awards. The University was one of only six colleges and universities to receive all three leadership awards. Wesleyan also earned grades of A- for "Community garden or farm" and "Renewable energy on campus."

Olin Memorial Library and other library holdings

The front facade of Olin Memorial Library.

Wesleyan University has an extensive library collection, most of which is housed in Olin Memorial Library, which has more than 1.3 million volumes. Wesleyan's first library was Rich Hall (now '92 Theater), which was built just after the Civil War. In the early years of the University, there was a general collection housed on campus, and two society libraries, which were in the Observatory Hall dormitory. These three collections were combined to make up the basis of the Rich Hall collection, and the library was supervised by William North Rice, '65, the first University Librarian. Olin Library was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead, and White and built in 1925. Olin originally was much smaller and also contained classroom space. It has since been enlarged twice, the last time in 1992. Olin also contains Special Collections & Archives, an extensive periodicals collection, microforms, scores and recordings, the World Music Archives, and is a U.S. Government Document Depository.

The second largest library on campus is the Science Library, which houses over two hundred fifty thousand volumes of science abstracts, books, journals, monographs, papers, periodicals, and surveys. The Science Library also has a large collection called the Cutter Collection, which is an older private collection of mostly nineteenth century English language books of European literature, art, and culture. The third library in size is the Davidson Art Library. There is also a Music library and several department libraries.

In addition to being used for its book collection, Olin is also used for its extensive arrangement of study carrels, study rooms, three large reading rooms, and student senior thesis carrels. There is also a large and widely used separate reserve readings section with books set aside for various classes. On any given weeknight of the academic year, Olin is the most populated building on the campus.

The Davison Art Center

Wesleyan University's Davison Art Center is housed in Alsop House, which also houses the Davison Art Library and is designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The Art Center has a large collection consisting primarily of works on paper, including 18,000 prints, 6,000 photographs, several hundred drawings, a small number of paintings, and three-dimensional objects (including artists' books, sculptures, and other objects). The print collection is considered to be one of the most important at an American University, with works by Durer, Goya, Rembrandt, Manet, and others. Parts of the collection are regularly exhibited to the public. Some objects have been made available for loan to selected museums in the United States and abroad. Students at Wesleyan in many departments make use of the DAC collection for class assignments, viewings, and individual research projects under the guidance of faculty. Wesleyan does not have a museum studies major, but assisting in curating and exhibiting the collection allows students some professional experience in the field.

The Art Center's publications program produces catalogs concerning DAC collections and gallery exhibitions. In general, one catalog is published annually. This program affords students the opportunity to take part in carefully mentored student authorship. Additionally, it is a critical component of the museum's educational program, which also includes student museum internships and solely student-curated exhibitions.

The Center for the Humanities

One of the University's seven academic centers, the Center for Humanities is one of the oldest humanities institutes in the nation. It developed from the Center for Advanced Studies, established at Wesleyan in 1959 as a place where visiting scholars, particularly in the humanities, could pursue research and writing projects. The Center assumed its present name in 1969, when it was reorganized and opened to the Wesleyan community. With the expansion of the community of Center Fellows to include Wesleyan faculty members and students, the Center added the promotion of innovative, interdisciplinary teaching to its initial goal of supporting research. The Center is also a place for ongoing communication between the humanities and the social sciences. Its program each semester is organized around a central theme, which in turn shapes a weekly series of public lectures and smaller seminars. As a meeting place for the humanities and social sciences, for Wesleyan faculty and visiting scholars, and for faculty and students, the Center is an important site of intellectual life at the University

Past Fellows at the Center have included Hannah Arendt, George Boas, John Cage, Rene Dubos (Lasker Award, Pulitzer Prize), Leon Edel (Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award), Richard N. Goodwin, E. San Juan, Jr., Clarence Irving Lewis, William Manchester, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Sir Leslie Munro (14th President of the United Nations General Assembly), Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul, Theodore R. Sarbin, Baron C.P. Snow, Pamela Hansford Johnson (Lady Snow), Jean Stafford (Pulitzer Prize), Willard Van Orman Quine, C.H. Waddington, U.S. Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur, Edmund Wilson (Presidential Medal of Freedom), and Stanley Cavell (MacArthur Foundation "genius grant"), among others.

The Center for Community Partnerships

The focus of community service at Wesleyan, the Center for Community Partnerships centralizes the offices of the Service Learning Center (SLC), the Office of Community Service and Volunteerism (OCS), and the Green Street Arts Center (GSAC). The SLC supports service-learning courses that use service to the community as an integral part of their course content. As of Spring 2007, 19 service-learning courses existed in nine different departments or programs. The OCS encourages community building within the University and with the City of Middletown and Middlesex County by offering opportunities for volunteer work and work-study placements in the community, and supporting student-sponsored social action initiatives. Volunteer opportunities include, among others, the Community Health Center, elderly services, housing and hunger issues, Middletown tutoring programs, and WesReads and WesMath (elementary school programs). Green Street uses the arts in an attempt to transform lives. It serves as a cultural and educational resource for community residents of all ages, and works to develop their talents and abilities. Green Street offers classes in literary and media arts, music, visual arts, dance, theater, and tutoring in math and science. Under the leadership of the University, the GSAC is a collaboration among Wesleyan, the City of Middletown, and the North End Action Team. Students and faculty volunteer at Green Street in many capacities, including as homework helpers, teaching assistants, and leaders of workshops.

Wesleyan University Press

The Wesleyan University Press is an important educational asset to the school. When Wesleyan sold the school division, the University retained the scholarly division. During the early 1960s, T. S. Eliot served as an editorial consultant to the Press. All editing occurs at the editorial office building of the Press on the Wesleyan campus. Publishing (printing) now occurs through a consortium of New England college academic presses. The Press is well regarded for its books of poetry and books on music, dance and performance, American studies, and film. The Wesleyan University Press has released more than 250 titles in its poetry series and has garnered, in that series alone, among many other awards, five Pulitzer Prizes, a Bollingen, three National Book Awards, two National Book Critics Circle Award, and an American Book Award. The Press also has garnered Pulitzer Prizes, American Book Awards, and other awards in its other series.

The Press serves Wesleyan students through its work programs during the academic year and its summer publishing internships. The Press also connects the campus to the larger intellectual and cultural world through the presence of its authors on campus, whether they are faculty, visiting scholars, guest lecturers, or participants in Wesleyan's Distinguished Writers Series or Writers Conference. Wesleyan is the smallest college or university to have its own press. Approximately 25 books are released each year.

Religious life

File:Memorial Chapel Wesleyan U.jpg

Memorial Chapel, a multi-denominational space built in 1871.

Wesleyan has four religious chaplains: A Protestant minister, a Roman Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a Muslim chaplain. In addition to student groups and services associated with these four religions, there are groups associated with Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism, and even a group which holds services that are simply "spiritual" and separate from any organized religion. Services are also available for Quakers, Christian Scientists, Hindus, and Baha'is, and there are many local religious groups in Middletown.

Because Wesleyan's student body is 25-30% Jewish, one of the largest student religious efforts is that of Jewish students: Current programs and groups include a Havurah, a student house called the Bayit with a kosher kitchen, a Hebrew conversation group, and a student-created adult B'nai Mitzvah program for fellow students, among other things. In the past, a Klezmer band and a Jewish a cappella group have also existed. From time to time, Wesleyan Jewish and Muslim students take a joint, interfaith Spring Break trip to Turkey and Israel.

Other religious groups are active as well: The Muslim Student Association and the Muslim student house, Turath, sponsor interfaith programming and Middle Eastern cultural events, while Christians at Wesleyan have founded the Wesleyan Christian Fellowship and share a student house called Light House. Also, students of many faiths live in the Interfaith House at Wesleyan.

Athletics

File:Wesleyan cardinal.png

Athletics logo

Wesleyan is a member of the Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), fields intercollegiate varsity teams in 29 sports, and competes against traditional Little Three rivals Amherst and Williams. Approximately 700 students participate in intercollegiate sports each year.

Facilities
The University's Freeman Athletic Center features the 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m²) Bacon Fieldhouse, Spurrier-Snyder Rink, Rosenbaum Squash Center, a 1,200 seat gymnasium, a 7,500 sq ft (700 m²) fitness center, and a beautiful pool. Football and baseball games are played on Andrus Field in the middle of campus, while tennis matches are held at the John Woods Memorial Courts.Wesleyan also recently dedicated Jackson Field, the site of soccer contests, and Smith Field, a newly constructed synthetic turf field and the site of lacrosse and field hockey games. The Wesleyan Crew rows out of Macomber Boathouse on the nearby Connecticut River.

Baseball
The Wesleyan baseball team of 1994 is currently the only varsity Wesleyan squad to play in an NCAA Division III national championship game. The team won the NCAA Division III New England regional tournament to earn a spot in the Division III World Series in Battle Creek, Mich. A prominent alumni of Wesleyan baseball is MLB general manager Jed Hoyer.

Cross Country
In 1984, Wesleyan won the school's first NESCAC championship in women's cross country. The Men's Cross-Country team lays claim to a number of prominent American distance runners, including Ambrose Burfoot, Bill Rodgers, and Jeff Galloway. Further, Sebastian Junger holds the Men's Indoor 1500m record for the team.

Football

A Wesleyan defender returning an interception for a touchdown against Bates College

Situated in the heart of the campus is Wesleyan's Andrus Field, the oldest continuously used football field in the United States. In the fall of 2006, Wesleyan celebrated the 125th anniversary of its first football game which was played against the Amherst Aggies (now UMass Minutemen) on October 31, 1881. During the brief period when Woodrow Wilson was a Professor of Political Economy at Wesleyan, he was an unofficial assistant coach and served as co-director of the Foot-Ball Association. Currently, Wesleyan has won the Little Three championship outright 12 times (compared to 30 for Amherst and 46 for Williams) with 8 three-way ties; the Cardinals have not outright won the championship since 1970. Two of the most prominent alumni of Wesleyan football are NFL coaches Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini.

Golf
Wesleyan won the NESCAC Championship in 1987.

Men's Lacrosse
Among the most successful Wesleyan sports in recent years, men's lacrosse made the NCAA Division III Final Four in both 2006 and 2007. Wesleyan won the school's first-ever men's lacrosse NESCAC Championship in 2009.

Softball
Wesleyan won the school's first-ever softball NESCAC Championship in 2010.

Men's Soccer
Wesleyan won the NESCAC Championship in 1991 and 2005. Amos Magee is Wesleyan's all time scoring leader for both goals and points.

Men's Water Polo
In the past decade, the Wesleyan Men’s Water Polo Club captured two titles in the Division III Championships, placed second in the Division four times, and appeared in six Division III National Collegiate Club Championships. For the team's efforts, the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) named the team the “Collegiate Club Division III Team of the Decade” for 2000-09. The New England division includes, among other institutions, Yale, Williams, Dartmouth, Boston College, Boston University and Middlebury.

Crew
The Wesleyan Varsity crew has a long tradition as well, going back to the early days of the sport in New England. Most recently, Wesleyan won the NESCAC championship in 2004, facing stiff competition from Trinity and Williams, who continue to challenge the division. A century ago, there were additional crews by college class year and fraternity, and the shells and equipment were passed down through the class years. Today the Head of the Connecticut Regatta is held in September, officially hosted by an independent organization. However, Wesleyan University and the City of Middletown are informally considered joint hosts, and the side by side Wesleyan and City boathouse facilities are used as the home of the regatta.

Non-varsity athletics
The University also has 9 intramural leagues and 11 club sports teams in a wide range of sports, and sponsors the annual Wesleyan Dorm Cup between the various dormitories and fraternities on campus.

The Wesleyan Fight Song

So then its fight for old Wesleyan, Never give in, Fight till the end when might and right shall win, So keep on fighting till victory, Crowns everyone, So then it's fight, fight, fight, fight, For Wesleyan, Go Wes

Student groups and organizations

There are more than two hundred student organizations, clubs, and departmental groups including a cappella groups, literary magazines, theater and dance troupes, political organizations, a vegetable farm, and groups devoted to outdoor activities, academic interests, ethnic interests, community tutoring and service, and the arts. In response to student interests, new groups are continually formed and registered with the Wesleyan Student Assembly, which represents the student body and appropriates funding for student groups. With around 260 current student groups and 2800 undergraduates (a student group to undergraduate ratio of about 1 to 11), extracurricular opportunities abound at Wesleyan. One of the goals of The Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development is to enhance out-of-classroom experiences so as to promote personal development and leadership training.

Wesleyan Student Assembly

Main article: Wesleyan Student Assembly

The Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) is a body of 38 students elected annually to represent Wesleyan University’s undergraduate student body. The members of the Assembly serve as student advocates in all areas of the University, including matters related to student life, academics, University finances, and campus facilities. The WSA also serves as a liaison between the student body and the city of Middletown.

Debate

The Debate Society was founded in 1903 and later named in honor of Woodrow Wilson, former Professor and Chair of History and Political Economy at Wesleyan from 1888-1890. It captured first place in past years at the annual Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Tufts and Williams tournaments, among others, and has reached the semi-finals of all other major tournaments. The Debate Society also has competed internationally, and in 1990 the Society won the National Championships and ninth place in the World Student Debating Championships.

Environmental
A prominent student group of recent years has been the Environmental Organizers' Network (EON), which has helped to bring discussions about climate change and environmental sustainability to the forefront of campus dialogue. Wesleyan also owns a tract of land that is used as Long Lane Farm, a one acre organic vegetable farm run mostly by students.

Publications
Some of the oldest and most visible student groups are campus publications, including a bi-weekly newspaper, The Wesleyan Argus, one of the oldest college newspapers in the country, and a periodical, Hermes. The student body also publishes the Olla Podrida, which was originally a quarterly newspaper in the late 1850s, but which has been the college yearbook since the Civil War and the permanent establishment of the Argus as the campus newspaper. Another long-running poetry and fiction publication was The Wesleyan Cardinal. The Argus has now been partially supplanted by Wesleying, a popular student-run weblog that documents undergraduate life at Wesleyan. Overall, at least seventeen student publications are published each semester or annually, including magazines of fiction, humor, activism, academic interests, women's issues, and poetry.

In addition to publications, the student body in conjunction with the administration has been responsible for the radio station WESU, 88.1 FM, which has broadcast locally since 1939, making it one of the oldest non-commercial radio stations in the country. Broadcast facilities are on top of the Science Center.

Singing groups
Singing groups have been "active at Wesleyan from the time of its founding." The Wesleyan Glee Club was organized by students in 1846, and was considered the best collegiate glee club in the late 1800s. It traveled widely giving concerts, including being received twice at the White House (in 1901 by President McKinley and again in 1928 by President Coolidge) and being recorded onto a phonograph record by Thomas Edison. The Glee Club twice won the National Intercollegiate Glee Club Competition at Carnegie Hall, leading Wesleyan to be known as the "Singing College of New England". Since the Glee Club's disbanding, the tradition of choral singing has been carried on by the Wesleyan Singers, later renamed the Wesleyan Concert Choir, and then renamed again The Wesleyan Ensemble Singers (2010). It is currently directed by the former associate conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Spain, Angel Gil-Ordonez, and was guest conducted by Erik Westberg (Sweden) in 2009.

This tradition also continues today in several a cappella groups on campus, including, among others, the Cardinal Sinners (all-female), Onomatopoeia (all-female), the Wesleyan Spirits (all-male), Quasimodal (co-ed), the New Group (co-ed), Slavei (co-ed; Eastern European-themed), and Waiting In Line (a co-ed comedy a cappella group). Additionally, a student-run ensemble called The Mixolydians sings contemporary choral works.

Several alumni have gone on to music careers, including Allie Wrubel (class of 1926), composer and songwriter, whose Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah won an Academy Award for Best Song in 1947.

While not a student group, ten female faculty members have formed a much-loved a cappella group called The Roadside Girls which often performs Wesleyan-themed parodies of existing songs.

Bands and performers
Beginning with the success of The Highwaymen in 1961, Wesleyan students have maintained a very active musical life outside the concert halls of the Center for the Arts. There have been some successful bands, and many individuals have gone on from their Wesleyan University bands to careers in the music industry. Bands such as the Nowhere Mountain Band (bluegrass) and Mood Swing (rock) have had some success; Dar Williams went on to a solo career from her start in Wesleyan college bands. MGMT and the Mobius Band have begun successful careers after Wesleyan, as have Boy Crisis, Francis and the Lights, Santigold, Amazing Baby, and The Solids. Similarly, Mary Halvorson, Taylor Ho Bynam, Jay Hoggard, and Tierney Sutton have emerged as jazz artists after their graduation from the University.

One of the greatest music successes was the musical In the Heights, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (class of 2002) during his Sophomore year, and which, nine years later, was nominated for 13 Tony awards for the Broadway production. The musical won four Tonys for Best Musical, Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics by Miranda), Best Choreography, and Best Orchestrations, among other awards. In 2009, In the Heights won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and Miranda was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (Universal Pictures announced in November 2008 that it plans to adapt the musical as a feature film for release in 2010.)

Wesleyan in Fiction, Culture, and Popular Culture

In the television series 30 Rock, the character "Dot com" Slattery is portrayed as an intellectual and a 1993 graduate of Wesleyan. (List of 30 Rock characters)

In As the World Turns, Maddie Coleman's boyfriend, Casey Hughes, secretly submitted an application to Wesleyan on her behalf. Later, Casey is arrested for stealing money and the couple eventually breaks up. After Casey is in jail, Maddie receives her acceptance letter from Wesleyan. At first Maddie decides to attend, but soon after Casey breaks up with her, Maddie falls for the new intern at WOAK, Noah Mayer, who asks her to stay and attend Oakdale University with him instead of Wesleyan. After thinking it over she decides to defer admission to Wesleyan and attend Oakdale University instead. However, Maddie discovers Noah is gay and he really loves one of her best friends, Luke Snyder. She and Noah break up and she decides to go to Wesleyan after all.

In How I Met Your Mother, the show often flashes back to the early days when Ted Mosby, Marshall Eriksen, and Lily Aldrin attended Wesleyan. While at Wesleyan, Ted and Marshall roomed together and Marshall and Lily fell in love.

In the final episode of the television series M*A*S*H, the character Father Mulcahy is seen wearing a "Wesleyan" sweatshirt; Wesleyan is the alma mater of the actor William Christopher.

"John Cage, famous for his avant-garde music, was affiliated with Wesleyan from the 1950s until his death in 1993. Cage collaborated with members of the Wesleyan music faculty, composed and performed on campus, and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in 1960–61 and 1969–70. Several of his books were published by the Wesleyan University Press."

In October 1989 in the 1989–90 season of the TV quiz show Jeopardy!, Steven Berman ’72 became only the third contestant to win five days in a row. On his first appearance, Berman defeated another Wesleyan alumnus, Jay Wish ’71.

The film PCU was a parody of Wesleyan, the alma mater of the screenplay's two writers, Adam Leff and Zak Penn.

"My Weekly Reader, once read by legions of school-aged children in the United States, was published by American Education Publications, owned by Wesleyan from 1949 until it was sold to Xerox in 1965. The sale of AEP helped to finance Wesleyan’s graduate programs and the Center for Advanced Study (now the Center for the Humanities)."[27]

In 1964, The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. gave the baccalaureate sermon from Denison Terrace.

The Highwaymen, a group of Wesleyan undergraduates, hit the top of the pop charts in 1961 with their single, Michael (Row the Boat Ashore).

"Gertrude Stein lectured at Wesleyan on her grand American tour in January, 1935. She later wrote in Everybody’s Autobiography that of all the men’s colleges she visited, she liked Wesleyan the best."[28]

"Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States from 1913 to 1921, taught history and political economy at Wesleyan from 1888 to 1890. Before Wesleyan, Wilson taught at Bryn Mawr, where he felt “overworked, underpaid, and much less than enthusiastic about the higher education of women,” according to David R. Potts, author of Wesleyan University 1831–1910: Collegiate Enterprise in New England."[29]

In 1909, then U. S. President William Howard Taft was one of the principal speakers (along with president of the student body Arthur T. Vanderbilt) at the inauguration of William Arnold Shanklin as the ninth president of Wesleyan.

"A number of Hollywood’s highest-grossing films have been directed by Wesleyan graduates, including Michael Bay ’86 (The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys, Transformers), Jon Turteltaub ’85 (While You Were Sleeping, Phenomenon, Instinct, National Treasure), and Paul Weitz ’88 (American Pie, About a Boy)."[30]

"Many Wesleyan graduates have written best-selling books, including the late Robert Ludlum ’51 (The Osterman Weekend,The Holcroft Covenant, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Utimatum), Robin Cook ’62, (Coma, Chromosome 6, Outbreak), Michael Palmer ’64 (Natural Causes, Extreme Measures), Sebastian Junger ’84 (The Perfect Storm, Fire, A Death in Belmont, War), and Daniel Handler ’92, using the pseudonym Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events, children’s book series)."[31]

Secret societies and fraternities

Secret societies on campus include two Mystical Sevens, Skull & Serpent, and Theta Nu Epsilon. Skull & Serpent has a small building, called The Tomb, for meetings. The Mystical Seven senior society had a building from 1912 to 1997. The building burned in 1997 and was razed in 2007. Plans are currently being formulated to rebuild the structure.

Wesleyan is home to several fraternities. There are three fraternities that have houses on campus: Psi Upsilon (1843), Delta Kappa Epsilon (1868), and Beta Theta Pi (1890). However, Beta Theta Pi is considered to be off campus by the Office of Residential Life. In addition, there are two co-ed societies with their own houses: the Alpha Delta Phi Society (1856) and the Eclectic Society (1838). Black fraternities include six of the NPHC or Divine Nine on campus. Wesleyan is included in the Nu Psi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi and the home for chapters of Phi Beta Sigma, and Alpha Phi Alpha. Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, and Zeta Phi Beta are Wesleyan's National Pan-Hellenic Council sororities. Latino fraternal life is represented by the Sigma Chapter of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. These latter groups all came to Wesleyan after the late 1980s.

Some of the older fraternities possess fine, very large houses adjacent to the campus while the newer ones do not own buildings. In the first half of the 20th century, when Wesleyan was a much smaller all-male college, up to 80% of the student body belonged to fraternities almost all of which were residential. For the past few decades the membership has been about 12% of the student body, with only 3% actually resident in the houses.

Student activism

Need-blind admissions
Wesleyan adheres to a need-blind admission policy. Financial circumstances are not considered when deciding whether to admit, wait list, or turn down an applicant. In 1982, trustees announced that, following federal cuts to student aid, Wesleyan would begin to consider financial circumstances when admitting wait-listed students. Students protested the decision, and though trustees did not back down from their recommendations, Wesleyan raised enough money for financial aid to avoid putting the new policy into effect. In 1992, the administration again considered a moratorium on need-blind admissions. A student group, Students for Financially Accessible Education (SFAE), organized a series of actions, including rallies, a silent vigil encircling a trustee meeting, a sit-in in an administration building, and a camp-out on its lawn. Wesleyan's need-blind admissions policy was preserved and remains today. For several years, SFAE continued to raise awareness about financial accessibility, offering interest-free loans to students with financial emergencies, and raising money for financial aid through energy conservation campaigns. The group appears to be dormant at this time.

On November 1, on the eve of his inauguration as Wesleyan's 16th president, Michael S. Roth announced that beginning with the class of 2012, all financial aid applicants whose family incomes was $40,000 or less would not have to take out loans. They would be given grants. For all other financial aid recipients, there would be a general reduction in loans by about 35 percent.

Staff labor unions
In 2001, students of the United Student Labor Action Coalition occupied the admissions building during the month of April to protest the University's use of sub-contracted janitors who were not being paid a living wage. As part of the nationwide Justice for Janitors campaign, USLAC demanded that the University amend its contract with the service contractor to provide for a living wage and to let the janitors form a union if so desired. As April is the peak of college admissions season for prospective students, USLAC had a considerable amount of leverage as the University found itself with a severe public relations problem. After about two days the University conceded to the student demands.

In December 2004, over 250 students occupied South College and trapped President Bennet in his office for several hours to protest the lack of student voices in administrative decision making. The building occupation was followed by a forum the next day, in which President Bennet promised to respond to student demands in January 2005. The motivations behind the occupation, in addition to its efficacy in transforming administrative policy, remain open questions.

WESU & National Public Radio
Another controversy in the same period was the status of the campus radio station, WESU, founded in 1939 as the second college radio station in the United States. WESU broadcasts 24 hours a day. Until 2004, WESU's format had been entirely free-form, with DJs and student staff having complete freedom to program what they will. The University had, at that time, announced its intent to seek an affiliation with National Public Radio, and to drastically change the station's format. Douglas Bennett, then President of the University, was a former president of NPR. The station now broadcasts an NPR feed from WSHU, the college station of Sacred Heart University, for several hours a day. For the remainder of the broadcast day, WESU continues to operate as a free-form station.

Chalking
Activism around the issue of free speech, especially as it relates to chalking on university property, bubbles up from time to time in response to the chalking moratorium issued by President Bennet in 2003, although this temporary ban was eventually made permanent. Heated discussion around these topics emerged and the administration hosted a forum to field questions. Students contended that they "chalked as a way of expressing dissent, of raising awareness on topics of sexuality, race, class, and gender, of bringing humor and fun into people's daily life, and of inviting students to parties and club events." Some faculty, students, and administrators found some examples of chalking to be distasteful or offensive and were especially disturbed by those directed against individual persons. The current legal status of chalking is unclear. Chalkings are often washed away within several days, but no student has been disciplined for chalking for several years.

Notable alumni and faculty

Main article: Wesleyan University people

Wesleyan alumni have achieved prominence in many fields, including a U.S. Supreme Court Justice; Presidential cabinet members and Presidential advisers; U.S. Senators, Congresspersons, and Governors; diplomats and other government figures; federal judges and state supreme court justices; U.S. Attorneys; scientists; physicians; academicians; CEOs; artists; musicians; journalists; members of the military and the clergy; inventors; winners of the American Book Award, Edgar Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, O. Henry Award, Orange Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Pushcart Prize, and Whiting Writers' Award; recipients of MacArthur Fellowships, Rhodes, DAAD Scholarships, Fulbrights, Goldwaters, Guggenheim Fellowships, Luce Scholarships, Marshalls, Trumans, and Watsons; recipients of the Balzan Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal; members of the National Academy of Sciences, Academy of Arts and Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering; Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Super Bowl winners.

Wesleyan alumni have founded or been the president of more than 65 universities and colleges in the nation and the world.

Former Wesleyan faculty and affiliates V. S. Naipaul, Woodrow Wilson, and T. S. Eliot have been awarded Nobel Prizes. Gary Yohe, current Professor of Economics, is a senior member of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize-winning United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Other faculty have been members of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recipients of the Lasker Award, MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of Science, and Pulitzer Prize, among other awards. Two former faculty members, Richard Wilbur and Mark Strand, were United States Poet Laureates.

External links

• Official website
• Wesleying, an independent, student-produced blog about real students and real student life at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut