Western Reserve Academy

Infobox Private School| background = #f0f6fa
border = #ccd2d9
name = Western Reserve Academy


caption = The Chapel
established = 1826
type = Private Boarding and Day
religion = None
head_name = Headmaster
head = Christopher D. Burner
city = Hudson
state = OH
country = USA
enrollment = approx. 406 [http://www.wra.net/visitors/glance.cfm Western Reserve Academy - Visitors - WRA at a Glance] Retrieved 29 November, 2006. ]
faculty = approx. 69
class = 12
ratio = 6:1
year =
SAT =
athletics = 23 interscholastic [ [http://www.wra.net/athletics/philosophy.cfm Western Reserve Academy - Athletics - Statement of Principles] Retrieved 29 November, 2006. ]
colors = Hunter Green and White
mascot = Pioneer
campus =
homepage = http://www.wra.net
motto = Lux Et Veritas (Light and Truth)|

Western Reserve Academy (also known as 'WRA' or 'Reserve') is a private, mid-sized, coeducational boarding and day college preparatory school located in Hudson, Ohio.

History

Western Reserve Academy was established in 1826 as the Western Reserve College and Preparatory School in Hudson, Ohio on a 180-acre (728,000 m²) plot of land set aside via charter. In 1882 the college moved north to Cleveland, Ohio and became Western Reserve University, later merging with the Case Institute of Technology.

Loomis Observatory, on the Academy campus, was constructed in 1837 and still stands today. It is the second-oldest observatory in the United States and houses its original instruments inside.

Western Reserve Academy remained open for another twenty-one years, until 1903, when it was forced to close due to financial problems. In 1916, however, the school reopened due to the graces of benefactor James Ellsworth, a former student and Hudson, Ohio resident who had returned after making millions of dollars in the coal industry.

The "Ellsworth Era" was marked by significant construction, namely Seymour Hall (the newly appointed academic building), the Bicknell Gymnasium, and Ellsworth Hall, a dormitory and dining hall.

In 1922, Western Reserve Academy became an all-boys institution, which it remained for fifty years, until 1972, when girls were once again admitted.

In the late 1990s and into the early 21st century, Western Reserve Academy again underwent a major construction period, eclipsing even the growth of the "Ellsworth Era." During this time the following projects were completed:

* Renovation of computer lab in Seymour Hall (1998)
* Expansion/ Construction of the Metcalf Center (1999)
* Renovation of Wood House (2000-2002)
* Construction and expansion of athletic facilities, including the Murdough Athletic Center (2001-2004)
* Renovation of Bicknell Gymnasium into Bicknell House (2004)
* Construction of the John D. Ong Library (2000)
* Renovation of Wilson Science Hall (2001)
* Construction of Long House Dormitory (2000)
* Renovation of Nathan P. Seymour Guest House (1998)

In 2000, Western Reserve Academy was recognized by US News and World Report as one of the top boarding schools in the country Fact|date=February 2007.

A boarding school, Western Reserve Academy is largely a residential campus, with 266 of 406 students living on campus and the remainder attending as "day-students". [ [http://www.wra.net/visitors/glance.cfm Western Reserve Academy - Visitors - WRA at a Glance] , retrieved 29 November, 2006. ] In that population, students matriculated from 24 states and 19 countries. Its population consists of 57% male students and 43% female students.

More than half of the faculty have advanced degrees. Approximately 90% of the faculty members reside on campus in either faculty homes or dormitory apartments.

Reserve participates in an annual summer exchange program with the Caterham School in Surrey, England.

Boarding

There are nine dormitories, in which about 290 boarding students reside during the school year.

Boys Dormitories
*North Hall
*The Athenaeum (The A)
* Wood House
*Bicknell Dormitory
*Long House

Girls Dormitories
*Cutler House
*Cartwright Hall (Garden)
*Ellsworth Hall
*Hobart House

The Arts

Reserve offers over 20 different classes catering to students interested in the arts. Courses are available through the school's Music, Dance, Theater, and Visual Arts Programs.

Music Program

Music students perform in instrumental and vocal groups, compete and perform locally and internationally and study music theory and history. Historic Hayden Hall houses the music department and features six practice rooms, two large rehearsal rooms, a recital room, music classrooms, five Steinway grand pianos, two harpsichords, drum sets and electronic studio equipment. Performances take place in the Knight Fine Arts Center (KFAC) or in the Chapel, which facilitates the use of a Holtkamp pipe organ. In recent years, ensembles from Reserve have traveled to Austria, Germany, The Czech Republic, and China.

*The Academy ChoirThe Academy Choir performs music from a variety of styles and periods. The Choir presents an array of concerts, including the Midwinter Madrigal Feaste, Vespers, traditional choral concerts and major works with the Chamber Strings. Notable works performed in the past include Mozart's Requiem, Hayden's Lord Nelson Mass, and Rutter's Mass of the Children. The choir is under direction of Margaret "Midge" Karam, Chair of Fine Arts at Western Reserve Academy.

*Symphonic Winds

The Symphonic Winds provides an opportunity for woodwind, brass and percussion players to perform traditional concert band literature and transcriptions. The Symphonic Winds are under the direction of Edward E. Wiles.

*Reserve Jazz Project

The Reserve Jazz Project is a contemporary jazz group that performs at numerous school and community events. The Reserve Jazz Project is under the direction of Edward E. Wiles.

*The Academy Orchestra

The Academy Orchestra provides performance opportunities for students interested in performing classical orchestral literature. The Orchestra also provides accompaniment for the Academy Choir's Masterwork series.

Athletics

The school offers a wide variety of sports, including soccer, football, golf, cross country, field hockey, volleyball, swimming and diving, basketball, wrestling, riflery, ice hockey, baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, and lacrosse.

In recent years, Reserve has gained a reputation as one of the top high school lacrosse teams in the United States. In 2005, the school finished 16th in the US according to LaxPower.com's high school lacrosse team rankings. In 2006, Reserve's team won the Midwest Championship. In addition, the track and cross-country teams under Frank Longstreth, also the Latin department head, achieved success from the 1940s through the 1980s, winning many Interstate League championships, with the cross country team at one time boasting a streak of 179-1.

Notable Alumni

The following represents an incomplete list of renowned graduates of the school. Individuals with a † next to their name were enrolled in either or both institutions before Western Reserve College moved from the Hudson campus to Cleveland in 1882 and became Western Reserve University. As such, the degree to which they were affiliated with both institutions may vary. Individuals with a * next to their name did not complete their studies.

Politics, Government and Law

*William B. Allison† - U.S. Senator from Iowa
*David R. Paige† - U.S. Representative from Ohio
*Mark Hanna*† - U.S. Senator from Ohio, campaign manager for President William McKinley, chairman of Republican National Committee
*Louis P. Harvey† - 7th Governor of Wisconsin
*William H. Upson† 1842 - U.S. Representative from Ohio, lawyer
*George Hoadly† - 36th Governor of Ohio
*James W. Dawes† - 6th Governor of Nebraska
*George K. Nash† 1860 - 41st Governor of Ohio
*John Hessin Clarke† - Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
*Walter Folger Brown 1888 - United States Postmaster General
*William R. Hopkins 1892 - Politician, first city manager of Cleveland, Ohio, namesake of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
*Clyde E. Stone - Chief Justice of Illinois Supreme Court, lawyer
*Alvah Corlett 1902 - Member of Ohio House of Representatives
*David S. Dennison '36 - U.S. Representative from Ohio, member of Federal Trade Commission
*Ronald B. Cameron '45 - U.S. Representative from California
*James Robertson '55 - Federal District Court judge; former Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge; presided over Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
*Lieut. Gen. Daniel W. Christman (ret.) '61 - Former Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Former United States Military Academy Superintendent
*Theodore H. Moran '61 - globalization expert and Georgetown University dean and professor in the School of Foreign Service.
*Thomas C. Sawyer* '63 - U.S. Representative from Ohio, current member of the Ohio State Senate
*Oliver Everett '62 - Royal Librarian to Queen of England
*Martin R. Hoke '69 - U.S. Representative from Ohio
*R. Steven Walker '70 - Former Senior Global Management & Operations Consultant, US Department of Transportation; Former Senior Financial Management & Communications Fellow & Deputy to Commissioner, Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking, DC
*Meredith M. Broadbent '77- Assistant United States Trade Representative
*Stephen Dyer '90 - Member of Ohio House of Representatives
*Neel Kashkari '91 - [http://www.treas.gov/organization/bios/kashkari-e.html] Head of the U.S. Office of Financial Stability, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, former Senior Advisor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., former Vice President of Goldman Sachs

Literature and Journalism

*Rupert Hughes 1888 - Novelist, film director, historian, composer
*Lucien Price 1901 - Journalist for Boston Globe, author
*R. W. Apple, Jr. '52 - "New York Times" Associate Editor and Chief Correspondent
*Ted Gup '68 - Author, investigative reporter, finalist for Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting
*Ian Frazier '69 - Nonfiction author
*John Yang '75 - NBC News White House correspondent, former ABC News correspondent, Peabody Award winner, former writer for "The Washington Post" and "The Wall Street Journal"
*Kevin Prufer '88 - Essayist and poet

The Arts

*D.M. Marshman, Jr. '41 - Academy Award-winning screenplay writer for "Sunset Boulevard".
*Frederick Coffin - Film and television actor
*David Nicksay '70 - Emmy-nominated Hollywood film producer and executive producer ("Legally Blonde" and "Legally Blonde 2", "Be Cool", "What's the Worst That Could Happen?")
*Matt Rego - Broadway show producer ("Urinetown", "The Vagina Monologues")
*Jeff Schaffer - Emmy-nominated TV show writer and Hollywood film writer, executive producer and director ("Seinfeld", "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Eurotrip")
*Geoffrey Nauffts '79 - Film and television actor
*Richard Brake '83 - Film actor ("Batman Begins")
*Macy Gray* '84 - Grammy Award-winning musician/singer
*Ted Humphrey '87 - Co-producer and writer of short-lived television series "The Nine"

Business

*James Ellsworth† 1868 - Coal mine owner, banker
*James L. Knight '29 - Newspaperman and philanthropist, founder of Knight Ridder newspaper group
*William D. Perez ’65 - CEO of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, former CEO of Nike, Inc.
*Martin D. Franks '68 - CBS and Viacom executive

Miscellaneous

*John Strong Newberry - Geologist, physician, explorer
*Frederic de Forest Allen - Philologist, classics scholar
*Lincoln Ellsworth - U.S. explorer; first undisputed sighting of North Pole.
*Scott E. Forbush '20 - Physicist, discoverer of the Forbush decrease, member of the National Academies of Science
*George Kubler '29 - Art historian
*K. Frank Austen, M.D. '45 - Research physician, President of American Academy of Allergy
*Lee M.E. Morin '70 - NASA astronaut
*Kathryn Clark '76 - NASA Chief Scientist for the Human Exploration & Development of Space Enterprise

ee also

* Edward Morley, taught at Western Reserve College
* Thomas Day Seymour

References

External links

* [http://www.wra.net/ Western Reserve Academy Website]
* [http://www.wra.net/visitors/glance.cfm WRA At A Glance]
* [http://www.wra.net/admission/process.cfm WRA Admissions Information]