Warren Wilson College
Encyclopedia
Work college
A work college is a type of institution of higher learning where student work is an integral and mandatory part of the educational process, as opposed to being an appended requirement...
in the Swannanoa
Swannanoa, North Carolina
Swannanoa is a census-designated place in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,526 in 2007. The community is named for the Swannanoa River, which flows through the settlement. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.Swannanoa is located between...
Valley, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
near Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. It is known for its curriculum of work, academics, and service, called "the Triad," which requires every student to work an on-campus job, perform at least one hundred hours of community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
over four years and complete a requisite course of academic work in order to graduate. The college offers classes in 30 different departments with the most popular majors in Environmental Sciences, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and Outdoor Leadership
Outdoor education
Outdoor education usually refers to organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges in the form of outdoor activities such as hiking,...
.
Warren Wilson is one of the few colleges in the United States that requires on-campus students to work for the institution in order to graduate. It is part of the Work Colleges Consortium
Work college
A work college is a type of institution of higher learning where student work is an integral and mandatory part of the educational process, as opposed to being an appended requirement...
. The college is notable for its surrounding environment with a 300 acres (1.2 km²) working farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
and market garden
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
, 600 acres (2.4 km²) of maintained forest providing the community with 25 miles (40.2 km) of hiking trails.
History
Warren Wilson College went through many phases before becoming what it is today. Its property, situated along the Swannanoa RiverSwannanoa River
The Swannanoa River flows through the Swannanoa Valley of western North Carolina, and is a major tributary to the French Broad River. It begins at its headwaters in Black Mountain, NC, however, it also has a major tributary near its headwaters: Flat Creek, which begins on the slopes of Mount...
, was purchased in 1893 by the Women's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church who were concerned that many Americans in isolated areas were not receiving a proper education and decided to establish church-supported schools in impoverished areas. In 1894 the Asheville Farm School officially opened with 25 boys attending and a professional staff of three offering the first three grades of elementary instruction.
In 1923 the school graduated its first high school class, and the first post-high school programs offering vocational training began in 1936. In 1942, the Asheville Farm School merged with the Dorland-Bell School
Dorland-Bell School
The Dorland-Bell School was a mission school in Hot Springs, North Carolina, USA. It was founded in 1886, when Luke and Juliette Dorland, Presbyterian missionaries and educators, retired to Hot Springs...
in Hot Springs, N.C., to become a coed secondary school, named Warren H. Wilson Vocational Junior College and Associated Schools, after the late Warren H. Wilson, former superintendent of the Presbyterian Church's Department of Church and Country Life. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
system in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
improved dramatically and the need for the high school diminished with the last high school class there graduating in 1957. Warren Wilson College was a junior college until 1967, when it became a four-year college offering six majors. In 1972, the National Board of Missions deeded the WWC property over to the college's Board of Trustees. William Sanborn "Sandy" Pfeiffer, Ph.D., began serving as the college's sixth president in July 2006. He has announced his retirement effective in June 2012.
In 1952 WWC became one of the first colleges in the South to desegregate, when it invited Alma Shippy, an African American from Swannanoa, North Carolina
Swannanoa, North Carolina
Swannanoa is a census-designated place in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,526 in 2007. The community is named for the Swannanoa River, which flows through the settlement. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.Swannanoa is located between...
, to attend. The college residents voted 54-1 to allow Shippy to be a student and live in the one dorm on campus at the time. In contrast to its original student population of underprivileged mountain youth, Warren Wilson now enrolls students of many different geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Campus life
Academics
The foundation of the school's undergraduate curriculum is the Triad, which establishes that all on-campus students must work 15 hours per week for the school, complete 100 hours of community serviceCommunity service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
in four years, and earn 128 hours of academic credit.
Required subjects included in the triad are Artistic Expression
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, Language
My French Coach and My Spanish Coach
My French Coach and My Spanish Coach are educational games developed by Sensory Sweep Studios and published by Ubisoft for the Nintendo DS, iOS, PlayStation Portable, and Wii...
and Global Issues
Global Studies
Global studies, in its broadest definition is the academic study of political, economic, social and cultural relationships of the world. Furthermore, it can also include the study of political and cultural processes, the impacts of globalisation, markets and communications. Global Studies...
, Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Natural Sciences, Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Religious Studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
, and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
in order to graduate and receive a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
or bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree. In addition to traditional majors such as Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, undergraduates have the option of majoring in Outdoor Leadership
Outdoor education
Outdoor education usually refers to organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges in the form of outdoor activities such as hiking,...
or Environmental Studies
Environmental studies
Environmental studies is the academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. It is a broad interdisciplinary field of study that includes the natural environment, built environment, and the sets of relationships between them...
. The Natural Science Seminar is the name for the undergraduate research and presentation that is required for all bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degrees given by the college.
A masters program has also been a part of the campus since 1981 in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers
Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers
The Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers is the oldest low-residency creative writing Master of Fine Arts program in the United States. Prior to the founding of this program, an MFA in creative writing was earned via standard residential graduate programs that required students to be in residence...
, which awards a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
.
Work program
WWC has over 100 work crews that are supported by students who commit to 240 hours a semester (approx. $3,480 in earnings) which helps cover part of the tuition. All in all there are 127 different work crews. Some of the larger ones are:- Dining Services and Cowpie Cafe Crews work in the cafeterias and help prepare meals, manage during the meals, and clean cafeteria space. The Cowpie Cafe, a student-initiated establishment, concentrates on serving sustainable vegetarian cuisine, as opposed to standard cafeteria fare.
- Farm Crew maintains the 300 acres (1.2 km²) of farm and pasture needed for cattle, pig, and chicken livestock. With this duties such as tractor maintenance, growing feed, and barn structure repairs are included. The crew also sells meat and eggs to the community and school cafeterias.
- Forestry Crew conducts all activities necessary for the sustainable management of the College's 650 acres (2.6 km²) forest including growing shiitake mushrooms for sale at the garden market.
- Plumbing Arts Crew maintains all the plumbing on the campus. With the leadership provided by plumbing crew leader, Chris Hanson.
- Garden Crew runs a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) market gardenMarket gardenA market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
that grows organic vegetablesOrganic foodOrganic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
for consumption in the school cafeterias and a market stand. The herb crew also maintains a plot for growing herbal medicinals whose products are sold on campus. - Landscaping Crew includes duties ranging from mowing school property, tractor and heavy equipment work, masonry, tree care and felling, and flowerbed and walkway maintenance. The Native Plants Crew recently received a $50,000 grant from U.S. Forest Service to grow and collect a number of native plants for seed to be used in future restoration projects in commercial settings.
- Recycling Crew collects and maintains the school's solid wastes from all of campus and additionally maintains an active composting program of food from the cafeterias. They are active in educating students about how the waste stream functions as well as finding ways to reuse materials for the students' benefit. The Recycling Crew was awarded the Outstanding Composting or Organics Recycling Program in the Carolinas by the Carolina Recycling Association.
- Electric Crew Maintains all electrical systems in campus buildings. The students receive an intensive week of training before being allowed to start work on the crew. This work takes place under the watchful eyes of John Griffith and Dylan G. Suter, the electric crew supervisors. As well as general 120-240 volt electrical systems, the students also work on and learn about fire alarm systems, telephone systems, data/communications, and direct digital control systems for HVAC control within buildings.
Almost all work crews are led by supervisors who help with assigning duties, setting hours, and training for students.
Student life
Campus maintains 14 residence halls of varying layouts. The EcoDorm was the first college dorm to be certified as LEED Platinum in 2009 in the category of Existing Buildings, and features an active permaculturePermaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
garden. The Sage hall has the student-run coffeehouse, Sage Cafe, located in the lower level which provides a space for bands, open mics, studying, and food.
The Old Farmer's Ball hosts weekly contra dances providing the students and the community with old-time music and dancing, and an ever changing line-up of musicians.
Notable alumni
- Sara BenincasaSara BenincasaSara Donnelly Benincasa is an American comedian, writer and radio talk show host. She was a citizen journalist for MTV covering the 2008 United States Presidential Election as part of MTV’s 2008 Emmy Award-winning Think campaign. In September 2008 she began producing a vlog in which she parodies...
, comedian - Tony EarleyTony EarleyTony Earley is an American novelist and short story writer. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, but grew up in North Carolina. His stories are often set in North Carolina....
, writer - Toubab KreweToubab KreweToubab Krewe is an American instrumental band which fuses the music of Mali with American musical styles . The group's instrumentation includes kora , kamelengoni , soku , two electric guitars, electric bass guitar, drum set, and African percussion...
, international-folk-fusion band - James FrancoJames FrancoJames Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
, actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, author, painter, performance artist, teacher - Katie SpotzKatie SpotzKatie Spotz is an American adventurer who became the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, departing from Dakar, Senegal on January 3, 2010, and landing in Guyana on March 14, 2010...
, youngest Atlantic solo rower - Billy Edd WheelerBilly Edd WheelerBilly Edward "Edd" Wheeler is an American songwriter, performer, writer and visual artist. He has written songs performed by over 90 different artists including Judy Collins, Jefferson Airplane, Bobby Darin, The Kingston Trio, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Kenny Rogers, Hazel Dickens, and Elvis Presley...
, singer/songwriter - David WilcoxDavid Wilcox (American musician)David Patrick Wilcox is an American folk musician and singer-songwriter guitarist. He has been active in the music business since the late 1980s.-Career:...
, folk musician