Wesleyan College

Infobox University
name = Wesleyan College


motto = First for Women
established = Chartered 1836, Opened 1839
type = Private Women's college
endowment = $42,142,858
president = Ruth Austin Knox
city = Macon
state = Georgia
country = USA
campus = suburban
undergrad = 550 (full-time)
postgrad = 95 (coed)
faculty = 52
mascot = Pioneers
free_label =
free =
colors = Deep Purple and Lavender
website = [http://www.wesleyancollege.edu wesleyancollege.edu]

Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college located in Macon, Georgia.

History

The school was chartered on December 23, 1836 as the Georgia Female College, and opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839. It is the oldest (and the first) school which was established from inception (chartered in 1836) as a college for women. The school was renamed Wesleyan Female College in 1843 and later shortened to the present name Wesleyan College in 1917.

Wesleyan is also home to the world's oldest alumnae association, begun in 1859. Seniors are inducted into the association during a candle lighting ceremony at Alumnae Weekend. Wesleyan College was also the birthplace of the first sororities: the Adelphean Society in 1851, now known as Alpha Delta Pi, and the Philomathean Society (not associated with the Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania) in 1852, now known as Phi Mu. The school no longer has sororities (1914), and uses a class system. Incoming first years are assigned a class based on the outgoing seniors of the previous school year. The classes are the Green Knights, the Purple Knights, the Red Pirates, and the Golden Hearts.

Campus and students

Wesleyan College has an undergraduate student population of around 700. It has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1, and an average class size of 20 students. Students from more than 20 states and 20 countries around the world attend the school each year. Wesleyan offers 35 majors, 29 minors, and pre-professional programs for its students. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.Wesleyan college was named among the Best 361 colleges in 2007 by Princeton Review.

Wesleyan College has an arboreal 200 acre (800,000 m²) campus dotted with revivalist Georgian style brick buildings. It features a 6.3 acre (25,000 m²) lake, Foster Lake, as well as the Nancy Ellis Knox Equestrian Center, Porter Gymnasium, Anderson Cabin, Jones Hall, home of the Lane Center for Community Engagement and Service, and Mathews Athletic Complex. It also has five academic buildings, Tate Hall, Taylor Hall, Murphey Art Building, Porter Fine Arts Building, and the new Munroe Science Center which opened in the fall of 2007. It also has 6 dormitories for students. Banks and Wortham Hall house first year students. Persons and Hightower Halls house upperclasswomen. Corn North and South Apartments also house upperclasswomen.

Wesleyan Athletic mascot is the Pioneers and they are in the NCAA Division III. The Pioneers have Varsity Basketball, Cross-Country, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Junior Varsity Volleyball, IHSA Equestrian, and Fencing.

There are 5 Major Student Boards: SGA (Student Government Association, CRC (Council on Religious Concerns), CJA (Council on Judicial Affairs), CAB (Campus Activities Board), SRC (Student Recreation Council). They also have 25 special interest clubs, academic honor societies, musical groups, service organizations, religious groups, and departmental leadership groups. It also three publications : The Veterropt (yearbook), The Pioneer (online newspaper), and the Visionary (Creative Arts Magazine).

Wesleyan's Campus hosts many diverse events each year. Midsummer Macon, a music and arts program for children and young adults, is held here every summer. The school also hosts several popular events of the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival every springtime, such as the annual hot air balloon launch. Porter Auditorium was once the home of the Macon Symphony Orchestra and it still hosts many musical and theatrical events and competitions. Wesleyan is also important to the community as it holds many award day programs for the public schools around Macon.

The school colors are deep purple and lavender. [http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/publicrelations/index.html]

Notable alumnae

*The Soong sisters
*Neva Langley Fickling, Miss America 1953
*Sandra Deer, playwright
*Kathryn Stripling Byer, poet and recipient of the 2001 North Carolina Award
*Toni Jennings, Florida Lieutenant Governor
*Catherine Brewer Benson, first woman to earn a college degree
*Mary Houston, wife of Young John Allen, the Methodist missionary who preached in China and first mentioning of Karl Marx in China

ee also

*Women's Colleges in the Southern United States

External links

* [http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/ Wesleyan College Website]