.gif)
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Encyclopedia
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical
Protestant
liberal arts college
in Wheaton
, Illinois
, a suburb
25 miles (40.2 km) west of Chicago
in the United States
. The college was founded in 1860 by prominent abolitionist and pastor Jonathan Blanchard
.
Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States, 50 countries, and 55+ church denominations, Wheaton offers 40 majors in the arts and natural sciences.
Wheaton is noted for its "twin traditions of quality academics and deep faith" according to TIME
and is ranked 20th among all national liberal arts colleges in the number of alumni who go on to earn PhDs. Wheaton's influence is seen in fields ranging from government (former U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
), to business (the CEO of John Deere
), to the arts (film director Wes Craven
), to education (Wake Forest University
President Nathan O. Hatch), to global ministry (Rev. Billy Graham
).
Wheaton College is listed in Loren Pope
's Colleges That Change Lives
.
Wheaton College ranked 15th in "Best Undergraduate Teaching" by US News and World Report for national liberal arts colleges.
, was a former president of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois
and a staunch abolitionist with ties to Oberlin College
. Mired in financial trouble and unable to sustain the institution, the Wesleyans looked to Blanchard for new leadership. He took on the role as president in 1860, having suggested several Congregationalist appointees to the board of trustees the previous year. The Wesleyans, similar in spirit and mission to the Congregationalists, were happy to relinquish control of the Illinois Institute. Blanchard officially separated the college from any denominational support and was responsible for its new name, given in honor of trustee and benefactor Warren L. Wheaton.
A dogged reformer, Blanchard began his public campaign for abolitionism
with the American Anti-Slavery Society
in 1836, at the age of twenty-five. Later in his life, after the Civil War, he began a sustained campaign against Freemasonry
. This culminated in a national presidential campaign on the American Anti-Masonic Party
ticket in 1884.
In 2009, it was confirmed that under Blanchard's leadership, the College was a stop on the Underground Railroad
. The confirmation came from the letters of Ezra Cook, one of Blanchard's relatives by marriage, who notes that the town and College's anti-slavery beliefs were so widely held that "that he, along with hundreds of other Wheaton residents, had seen and spoken with many fugitive slaves".
Blanchard consistently lobbied for universal co-education and was a strong proponent of reform through strong public education open to all. At this time, Wheaton was the only school in Illinois with a college-level women's program. Also, Wheaton saw its first graduate of color in 1866, when Edward Breathitte Sellers took his degree. Additionally, he is likely the first African-American college graduate in Illinois.
In 1882, Charles A. Blanchard
succeeded his father as president of the college.
In the fall of 1925, J. Oliver Buswell
, an outspoken Presbyterian, delivered a series of lectures at Wheaton College. Shortly thereafter, President Charles Blanchard died, and Buswell was called to be the third president of Wheaton. Upon his installation in April 1926, he became the nation's youngest college president at age 31. Buswell's tenure was characterized by expanding enrollment (from approximately 400 in 1925 to 1,100 in 1940), a building program, strong academic development, and a boom in the institution's reputation. It was also known for growing divisiveness over faculty scholarship and personality clashes. In 1940, this tension led to the firing of Buswell for being, as two historians of the college put it, "too argumentative in temperament and too intellectual in his approach to Christianity." By the late 1940s, Wheaton was emerging as a standard-bearer of Evangelicalism
.
By 1950, enrollment at the college surpassed 1,600, and in the second half of the twentieth century, enrollment growth and more selective admissions accompanied athletic success, additional and improved facilities, and expanded programs.
In 1951, Honey Rock, a camp in northern Wisconsin
, was purchased by the college.
In 2010, The public phase of The Promise of Wheaton campaign came to a close with $250.7 million raised, an "unprecedented 5-1/2 year campaign figure for Wheaton College".
In 2010, Wheaton College become the first American Associate University of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation
’s Faith and Globalization Initiative. Tony Blair noted that the partnership will "give emerging leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom the opportunity to explore in depth the critical issues of how faith impacts the modern world today through different faith and cultural lenses" and that Wheaton's participation will "greatly enrich the Initiative".
's The Best 351 Colleges, "If the integration of faith and learning
is what you want out of a college, Wheaton is arguably the best school in the nation with a Christ-based worldview." Students may choose from about 40 majors in many liberal arts disciplines and in the sciences. Some of the most popular in recent years have been Business, Communications, English, Biology, Biblical Studies, Political Science, International Relations, and Psychology.
It is currently ranked #1 for best cafeteria food in the nation according to the Princeton review.
In 2009 U.S. News & World Report ranked Wheaton College 56 out of 265 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges. Wheaton continued to achieve exceptional rankings in several areas of the report:
In recent years, Wheaton's overall ranking has been as high as 44. Wheaton asserts that its US News and World Report ranking is lower than that of academically comparable counterparts because Wheaton is ranked lower in financial resources due to its lower tuition costs and smaller endowment.
Wheaton College ranked ninth in the nation in the total number of graduates (all fields) who went on to earn doctorates (during the period of 1986-1995) according to Franklin & Marshall College
's latest survey, which included more than 900 private colleges and universities.
Wheaton is ranked 34 among all national liberal arts colleges for "Best Undergraduate Teaching" by the US News and World Report.
The 2010 Fiske Guide to Colleges named Wheaton College to its list of 44 Best Buy colleges and universities, based on the institution's quality of academics in relation to the cost of attendance.
Kiplinger's rates Wheaton 17th for Best Values in Liberal Arts Colleges 2010-2011. Kiplinger's rankings measure academic quality and affordability, with quality accounting for two-thirds of the total.
Wheaton is now ranked sixth among all Liberal Arts Colleges in the number of graduates it sends to Teach for America.
A leading conservative Catholic journal, First Things, ranked Wheaton the #1 school in America. The First Things rankings “measured” the academic, social, and religious dimensions of American institutions of higher education.
All members of the college community—staff, faculty, and students—are asked to sign and adhere to Wheaton's Community Covenant (http://www.wheaton.edu/welcome/aboutus_community.html), which details expected standards of behavior. The college revised the Covenant in 2003. It now allows undergraduate students to dance at college-sponsored events and gives "adult faculty members and grad students ... the freedom to choose whether they want to smoke
or drink alcohol, at least while off-campus."
pedagogy, composition, history and literature, conducting, collaborative piano, or elective studies) and the Bachelor of Music Education. 100% of the teaching faculty in the Conservatory hold doctorates. There are approximately 200 music majors in the Conservatory, with a student-faculty ratio of 7:1. Music majors and liberal arts majors alike perform in the Conservatory's six large ensembles: Concert Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Men's Glee Club
, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra, and Women's Chorale. Graduates include world famous conductor John Nelson, Grammy Award winning American soprano Sylvia McNair, and Wendy White of the Metropolitan Opera.
The college sponsors study-abroad programs in Asia, England, France, Germany, the Holy Lands, Latin America, and Spain, as well as a summer program in Washington, D.C. Participants in Wheaton-in-England, one of the most popular annual programs, take 2–3 courses in literature while studying in London and St. Anne's College, Oxford.
Many students also participate in the Human Needs and Global Resources program. The HNGR program matches select students with six-month internships in the Third World
, including opportunities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
In 1935, The Wheaton College Science Station was established in the Black Hills
of South Dakota
for field instruction in the natural sciences.
In 1951, HoneyRock, the Northwoods Campus of Wheaton College, was established in Three Lakes, WI. HoneyRock is not only a year round camp for young people but it offers a variety of leadership schools and courses for students. Nearly 3000 people utilize HoneyRock each year.
Due to Wheaton's membership in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Wheaton students may also study at the University of Oxford
, the Los Angeles Film Studies Center, Wesley Institute
in Australia, and Xi'an Foreign Language University in China. The CCCU also sponsors programs in American studies, Latin American studies, Middle Eastern studies, Russian studies, and journalism.
Wheaton's most recognizable and oldest building is Blanchard Hall
, a limestone building built as the main College building in 1853. At the time, the College building was one of only two on campus, the other (called the "boarding hall") being a frame building at the foot of the hill crowned by the two-story building. Jonathan Blanchard had a vision for the expansion of this structure into its present castle-like architecture. The architectural influence is, supposedly, patterned after buildings at the University of Oxford
which Blanchard admired on a trip to England in 1843. After four additions (1871, 1873, 1890, 1927) the Main Building was completed in 1927. In this year, under college president J. Oliver Buswell
, Jr., the Main Building was renamed Blanchard Hall, to honor Wheaton's first two presidents, Jonathan Blanchard
and his son Charles Blanchard.
The science departments were housed in Breyer (Chemistry
) and Armerding (Biology
, Geology
, Math, and Physics
) halls until the 2010-2011 school year when Wheaton's new Science Center was completed. Armerding Hall was also the home to the Wheaton College Observatory (a feature of the college since the presidency of Charles Blanchard in the late-nineteenth century).
The Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, housed in McAlister Hall and neighboring Pierce Memorial Chapel, is an internationally recognized music school and holds the distinction of being the only conservatory within an Evangelical school of higher education. The approximately 200 students within the conservatory focus on a range of fields within music including education, performance, composition, and history. Student recitals, required for graduation with a music degree, are generally held in Pierce Memorial Chapel.
Department and was renovated in early 2010.
Alumni Gymnasium (renamed the Edward A. Coray Alumni Gymnasium in 1968, in honor of Coach Ed Coray's long service), was built during the Edman presidency and paid for by alumni. The cornerstone was laid at homecoming on October 11, 1941. A copper box placed in the cornerstone contained a copy of the Wheaton Record, the Wheaton Daily Journal, a college catalog, a student directory, and a copy of the Homecoming program.
Wyngarten Health Center was built in 1958, followed by Centennial Gymnasium in 1959-60, which was extensively renovated and expanded in 2000. It is now known as King Arena and is part of the Sports and Recreation Complex (SRC) and houses the majority of the college's athletic and fitness facilities.
, Jr., was built adjacent to the Nicholas Library and an interior corridor linked the two, creating the college's main library. The building also contains the Peter Stam Music Library, located downstairs and named in honor of the Conservatory of Music's first head, Peter Stam.
The Marion E. Wade Center, formerly housed in Buswell Library, moved to its new purpose-built home in September 2001. The Marion E. Wade Center, established in 1965 by professor of English Clyde S. Kilby, is an extensive research library and museum of the books and papers of seven British writers: C. S. Lewis
, G. K. Chesterton
, J. R. R. Tolkien
, Owen Barfield
, Dorothy L. Sayers
, George MacDonald
, and Charles Williams
. The Wade Center has memorabilia of the Inklings
, including C. S. Lewis
' writing desk and a wardrobe
from his childhood home constructed by his grandfather widely thought to have inspired the Chronicles of Narnia series (although Westmont College
also owns a wardrobe that once belonged to Lewis), Charles Williams's bookcases, J.R.R. Tolkien's writing desk where he wrote the entirety of The Hobbit
and worked on The Lord of the Rings
, and Pauline Baynes
's original map of Narnia.
Buswell Library's special collections also include the archived correspondence, manuscripts, articles, photos, and other papers of Madeleine L'Engle
, the Newbery Medal
-winning author of A Wrinkle in Time
. With items dating as early as 1919, the collection is composed largely of material sent to the college by L'Engle and has been supplemented by the college with books and other supporting materials. The collection is the most comprehensive research center for L'Engle's work.
, and in honor of those 39 who gave their lives. It housed the Student Union Café, nicknamed "the Stupe" (which has since been moved to the Beamer Center). An early pamphlet described the new building and listed some of the rules for its use, such as No Rook Playing and No Playing of Boogie-Woogie, Jazz, or Otherwise Abusing the Piano. The MSC was remodeled during the Fall semester of 2007 for academic use, and is now home to the Business Economics department, the Political Science and International Relations department, and the J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy.
The MSC was remodeled according to the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The MSC was the first building renovated according to these standards and sets higher standards than existing EPA standards. Many of the materials that were used were post-consumer and over 20% of the materials were manufactured within a 500 miles (804.7 km) radius of the College.http://www.wheaton.edu/Leed/ The MSC remodeling is part of the current capital campaign, The Promise of Wheaton.
The Dining Hall (now the "Student Services Building") opened January 4, 1953. Today it houses Student Development, Undergraduate Admissions, and the College Bookstore.
Jenks Hall is home to the Arena Theater, which was established in the Fall of 1974 and has staged over 100 full length productions.
In the fall of 2004, the Todd M. Beamer
Student Center was completed. Beamer, a Wheaton alumnus, was part of a small group of passengers who stormed hijackers on United Flight 93, thus bringing down the plane in rural Pennsylvania during the September 11, 2001 attacks
, and preventing it from reaching its target. The $20+ million dollar project was commissioned in order to meet the needs of the growing college community. Along with its spacious and sleek modern design, the Beamer Center features a convenience store known as the "C-Store", the "Stupe" (the name derives from students shortening the previous nickname for the campus Student Union, "Stupid Onion", which in turn is a jocular mispronunciation of Student Union), a bakery café named "Sam's" (named after the former Vice President of Student Development Sam Shellhammer, who retired following the 2007-08 school year after serving Wheaton's campus community for thirty years), several reading rooms and lounges, a recreation/game room, a prayer chapel, an expanded college post office, the offices for several organizations and departments, and several other event rooms. In the fall of 2006, strong rain storms created a flood that destroyed the lower level of the Beamer Center. Wheaton College has since restored the flood-damaged building.
The official student newspaper at Wheaton College is the Wheaton Record, a weekly publication with a circulation of 3400, in existence since 1876. The Record is produced by students, published by the college, and distributed each Friday after chapel free of charge. The Record was the recipient of the 2006 John David Reed General Excellence Award and has received 13 other awards from the Illinois College Press Association, of which it is a member. The Record is also a member of the Associated Collegiate Press.
In addition, Wheaton College has many organizations on campus that range from helping the poor and needy in Chicago to the arts and Improvisation
Juniors and seniors are also eligible to live in one of sixteen campus houses, apartments (five complexes), or off-campus.
College Church
, located across Washington Street form the College, is not formally associated with the College, although it has long been closely associated with the college.
The college's regular chapel services are held in Edman Memorial Chapel, which seats 2,400. It is named for V. Raymond Edman, fourth president of the college. Edman died in 1967 while speaking in chapel. He was preaching on being in the presence of the King, and the recording is available in the Wheaton chapel archives. This chapel/auditorium is also used for many events of Wheaton's performing arts programs. In 2000, an entirely handcrafted organ made by Casavant Frères
of Canada was installed.
Center (BGC), named after one of the college's most well-known graduates, opened in September 1980. The Billy Graham Center
itself, as the repository of the evangelist's corporate records, had existed since 1974. The BGC houses several evangelism institutes, a museum of the history of evangelism, the college's Archives and Special Collections, as well as the Wheaton College Graduate School and the school radio station, WETN 88.1 FM
.
The Women's Building, renamed Williston Hall in 1930–31 (in honor of longtime Blanchard friend and donor J. P. Williston), was built in 1895. Its construction required the college to borrow $6,000. After seventy-eight years of housing only women, Williston Hall is now being converted into a coed dormitory opened also to men starting in the fall semester of 2009 http://www.wheaton.edu/uploads/Zi/X6/ZiX65OE475231l3dxXZWhg/2009-2010-Application.pdf.
The President's House, or Westgate, formerly owned by college trustee John M. Oury, was presented to President Buswell on the tenth anniversary of his inauguration, April 23, 1936. This served as the home of three of Wheaton's subsequent presidents. It now houses the Office of Alumni Relations.
In 1951, HoneyRock http://www.honeyrockcamp.org/, the Northwoods Campus of Wheaton College, was established in Three Lakes, Wisconsin
. HoneyRock is not only a year round camp for young people, but it offers a variety of leadership schools and courses for students. Nearly 3000 people utilize HoneyRock each year. Through HoneyRock the college owns nearly 800 acres (323.7 ha) in Northern Wisconsin.
The Senior Bench at Wheaton College is one of the oldest and most legendary rivalries in the school’s 150 year history. According to dusty archives files and whispers of oral tradition, the graduating class of 1912 is believed to have bequeathed a hefty concrete monument to solidify its place in the annals of her alma mater.
Anchored in front of Blanchard Hall and first photographed for the 1934 Tower yearbook, it was intended for seniors only, but through the decades envious undergraduates soon coveted its prized status. A great rivalry began in 1949 when juniors from the class of 1950 stole the top two foot by seven foot section while the seniors were away on their annual retreat.
Many ingenious, inventive, and sometimes illegal methods have been employed by rival classes in their passionate pursuit of securing this nearly 800-pound stone slab. During the 1950s an exact replica was cast by the class of 1957 in a foolhardy attempt to trick the other classes, yet to no avail. The class of 1959 is heralded for one of the most amazing bench showings as it suspended the bench from a helicopter and flew it over the Homecoming football game.
Another infamous bench caper was hatched when seniors from the class of 1963 traveled by train to Colorado for their yearly retreat. As the train stopped at Mendota, Illinois the bench was shown by the juniors who had arrived by car to taunt the seniors. A melee ensued and a scheduled thirty second stop erupted into a two hour delay as railroad agents, local police and the Interstate Commerce Commission were all summoned to sort out this violation of federal law.
The current rules surrounding possession of the bench were enacted after seniors from the class of 1966 showed the bench in chapel and were greeted by slashed tires and cut ignition wires in the parking lot. The bench was confiscated by the Dean of Students and mysteriously destroyed while under lock and key. A replica soon surfaced and the tradition was resurrected. Henceforth all bench activity has been limited to the junior and senior classes, the bench must remain within a one-mile (1.6 km) radius of Blanchard Hall, half of the bench must be visible at all times, and the bench must be shown twice a year and never in chapel.
In subsequent decades the passionate rivalry has ebbed and flowed as soil analysis kits, airplanes, wiretaps, high-speed car chases, Billy Graham, wishing wells, and even eBay, have all been employed in pursuit of this elusive prize for all Wheaton students.
Wheaton College competes in many NCAA Division III sports in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
. The men's basketball team won the first NCAA Small College National Championship in 1958, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan in the finals, 89-65. The Wheaton men's soccer team captured the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship
in 1984 and 1997, to go with runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2006. The women's soccer team won the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship
in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Wheaton athletics also competed in basketball at the 1904 Summer Olympics
. The 1967-68 women's basketball team finished their season undefeated in 11 games, including a victory over the University of Iowa. Wheaton College was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
from 1919-1937.
Gil Dodds (athlete)
(MA '48), one-time world record holder for the indoor mile, NCAA cross country champion, and three time Wanamaker Mile
champion, was the men's track & field coach at Wheaton in the late 1940s and 1950s.
In 2008 Andy Studebaker
was selected in the NFL Draft
by the Philadelphia Eagles
, and he was subsequently signed to the Kansas City Chiefs
.
documentary Evolution
, which showcased Wheaton's tolerance for theistic evolution
. This attitude contrasts with that in the 1990s, when science faculty were required to sign a statement that they reject human descent from hominid ancestors. Initially, those who declared they were 'unsure' whether or not humans had evolved were given one year to change their mind before facing dismissal; this was later relaxed, and scientists were allowed to stay on as long as they did not endorse human evolution.
In general, on issues of religion and science, the college holds the view that Christian faith and science are not at odds. One example of this is the college's hosting of a chapel address by climatologist Sir John Houghton
in 2007.
The school's mascot was changed from the Crusaders to the Thunder in 2000, as the image of a mounted Crusader was deemed potentially offensive and reminiscent of a controversial period in Christian history. The change was noted in the national press, and some alumni objected to the change. Other suggestions for a new mascot name that were rejected included the Mastodons — a reference to Perry Mastodon
, which is a mastodon
skeleton that was dug up nearby and is now on display on the college campus in the brand new science building. While still known as the "Thunder", in 2010 the mascot was officially changed to a mastodon named "Tor Thunder" to integrate the official and unofficial mascots.
Wheaton again appeared in the news when Joshua Hochschild, assistant professor of philosophy
, was dismissed in 2004 for becoming Roman Catholic. Wheaton's president said his "personal desire" to retain Hochschild, "a gifted brother in Christ", was outweighed by his duty to employ "faculty who embody the institution's Protestant convictions".
In 2008, English professor Kent Gramm resigned after declining to give the college administration details of his pending divorce
from his wife of 30 years.
Wheaton College was one of the schools visited by the 2006 Soulforce
Equality Ride
which sought to engage in dialogue with students at universities with policies barring homosexual
behavior. According to Equality Ride founder Jake Reitan, the Equality Ride was founded after he met a gay student from Wheaton several years earlier. While Wheaton did not officially invite the group to campus, administrators responded cordially to the visit and worked with Soulforce to develop a schedule of events on campus, including a debate between members of the Equality Ride and members of the Wheaton community.
In 2011, OneWheaton
— a group of alumni who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer individuals, along with their allies — organized in response to Wheaton College's chapel series titled "Sexuality and Wholeness" and the surrounding conversations on campus. The group's members believe that the classification of homosexuality as sinful is incorrect and damaging. OneWheaton's stated purpose is to provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning students and alumni at Wheaton and other colleges.
’43, former Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert
’64, Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola Bonnie Pruett Wurzbacher ’77, former Director of Presidential Speech Writing And Assistant to the President Michael Gerson
’86, and September 11th hero of United Flight 93 Todd Beamer
’91.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in Wheaton
Wheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is an affluent community located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
25 miles (40.2 km) west of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The college was founded in 1860 by prominent abolitionist and pastor Jonathan Blanchard
Jonathan Blanchard (Wheaton)
Jonathan Blanchard was a pastor, educator, social reformer, abolitionist and the first president of Wheaton College, which was founded in 1860.-At Wheaton College:...
.
Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States, 50 countries, and 55+ church denominations, Wheaton offers 40 majors in the arts and natural sciences.
Wheaton is noted for its "twin traditions of quality academics and deep faith" according to TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
and is ranked 20th among all national liberal arts colleges in the number of alumni who go on to earn PhDs. Wheaton's influence is seen in fields ranging from government (former U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
), to business (the CEO of John Deere
John Deere
John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...
), to the arts (film director Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
), to education (Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
President Nathan O. Hatch), to global ministry (Rev. Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
).
Wheaton College is listed in Loren Pope
Loren Pope
Loren Brooks Pope was an American writer and independent college placement counselor.In 1965, Pope, a former newspaperman and education editor of The New York Times, founded the College Placement Bureau, one of the first independent college placement counseling services in the United States...
's Colleges That Change Lives
Colleges That Change Lives
Colleges That Change Lives is a college educational guide by Loren Pope. It was originally published in 1996, with a second edition in 2000, and a third edition in 2006...
.
Wheaton College ranked 15th in "Best Undergraduate Teaching" by US News and World Report for national liberal arts colleges.
History
Wheaton College was founded in 1860. Its predecessor, the Illinois Institute, had been founded in late 1853 by Wesleyan Methodists as a college and preparatory school. Wheaton's first president, Jonathan BlanchardJonathan Blanchard (Wheaton)
Jonathan Blanchard was a pastor, educator, social reformer, abolitionist and the first president of Wheaton College, which was founded in 1860.-At Wheaton College:...
, was a former president of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County....
and a staunch abolitionist with ties to Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
. Mired in financial trouble and unable to sustain the institution, the Wesleyans looked to Blanchard for new leadership. He took on the role as president in 1860, having suggested several Congregationalist appointees to the board of trustees the previous year. The Wesleyans, similar in spirit and mission to the Congregationalists, were happy to relinquish control of the Illinois Institute. Blanchard officially separated the college from any denominational support and was responsible for its new name, given in honor of trustee and benefactor Warren L. Wheaton.
A dogged reformer, Blanchard began his public campaign for abolitionism
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
with the American Anti-Slavery Society
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass was a key leader of this society and often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown was another freed slave who often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had...
in 1836, at the age of twenty-five. Later in his life, after the Civil War, he began a sustained campaign against Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. This culminated in a national presidential campaign on the American Anti-Masonic Party
Anti-Masonic Party
The Anti-Masonic Party was the first "third party" in the United States. It strongly opposed Freemasonry and was founded as a single-issue party aspiring to become a major party....
ticket in 1884.
In 2009, it was confirmed that under Blanchard's leadership, the College was a stop on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. The confirmation came from the letters of Ezra Cook, one of Blanchard's relatives by marriage, who notes that the town and College's anti-slavery beliefs were so widely held that "that he, along with hundreds of other Wheaton residents, had seen and spoken with many fugitive slaves".
Blanchard consistently lobbied for universal co-education and was a strong proponent of reform through strong public education open to all. At this time, Wheaton was the only school in Illinois with a college-level women's program. Also, Wheaton saw its first graduate of color in 1866, when Edward Breathitte Sellers took his degree. Additionally, he is likely the first African-American college graduate in Illinois.
In 1882, Charles A. Blanchard
Charles A. Blanchard
Charles A. Blanchard was the second president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He succeeded his father, Jonathan Blanchard, to the office in 1882 and served Wheaton in that capacity until his death, in 1925....
succeeded his father as president of the college.
In the fall of 1925, J. Oliver Buswell
J. Oliver Buswell
James Oliver Buswell, Jr. was a Presbyterian fundamentalist educator and institution builder.-Education:...
, an outspoken Presbyterian, delivered a series of lectures at Wheaton College. Shortly thereafter, President Charles Blanchard died, and Buswell was called to be the third president of Wheaton. Upon his installation in April 1926, he became the nation's youngest college president at age 31. Buswell's tenure was characterized by expanding enrollment (from approximately 400 in 1925 to 1,100 in 1940), a building program, strong academic development, and a boom in the institution's reputation. It was also known for growing divisiveness over faculty scholarship and personality clashes. In 1940, this tension led to the firing of Buswell for being, as two historians of the college put it, "too argumentative in temperament and too intellectual in his approach to Christianity." By the late 1940s, Wheaton was emerging as a standard-bearer of Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
.
By 1950, enrollment at the college surpassed 1,600, and in the second half of the twentieth century, enrollment growth and more selective admissions accompanied athletic success, additional and improved facilities, and expanded programs.
In 1951, Honey Rock, a camp in northern Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, was purchased by the college.
In 2010, The public phase of The Promise of Wheaton campaign came to a close with $250.7 million raised, an "unprecedented 5-1/2 year campaign figure for Wheaton College".
In 2010, Wheaton College become the first American Associate University of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation
Tony Blair Faith Foundation
The Tony Blair Faith Foundation was established by Tony Blair in May 2008.-The Foundation:The Foundation was launched in May 2008 in New York at the headquarters of media group Time Warner. In his speech Blair outlined its aim that "idealism becomes the new realism", and that one of its goals was...
’s Faith and Globalization Initiative. Tony Blair noted that the partnership will "give emerging leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom the opportunity to explore in depth the critical issues of how faith impacts the modern world today through different faith and cultural lenses" and that Wheaton's participation will "greatly enrich the Initiative".
Academics
According to The Princeton ReviewThe Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...
's The Best 351 Colleges, "If the integration of faith and learning
Integration of faith and learning
The integration of faith and learning is a focus of many religious institutions of higher education. The broad concept encompasses the idea that the worldview and faith of the student should be deeply connected to the learning experience...
is what you want out of a college, Wheaton is arguably the best school in the nation with a Christ-based worldview." Students may choose from about 40 majors in many liberal arts disciplines and in the sciences. Some of the most popular in recent years have been Business, Communications, English, Biology, Biblical Studies, Political Science, International Relations, and Psychology.
It is currently ranked #1 for best cafeteria food in the nation according to the Princeton review.
In 2009 U.S. News & World Report ranked Wheaton College 56 out of 265 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges. Wheaton continued to achieve exceptional rankings in several areas of the report:
- #15 in freshmen retention (95.0%)
- #21 in six-year graduation rate (86%) (2007 Report)
- #25 in SAT/ACT scores (1250–1440) (2007 Report)
- #39 in percentage of freshmen graduating in the top 10 percent of their high-school classes (54%) (2007 Report)
In recent years, Wheaton's overall ranking has been as high as 44. Wheaton asserts that its US News and World Report ranking is lower than that of academically comparable counterparts because Wheaton is ranked lower in financial resources due to its lower tuition costs and smaller endowment.
Wheaton College ranked ninth in the nation in the total number of graduates (all fields) who went on to earn doctorates (during the period of 1986-1995) according to Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential national liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States....
's latest survey, which included more than 900 private colleges and universities.
Wheaton is ranked 34 among all national liberal arts colleges for "Best Undergraduate Teaching" by the US News and World Report.
The 2010 Fiske Guide to Colleges named Wheaton College to its list of 44 Best Buy colleges and universities, based on the institution's quality of academics in relation to the cost of attendance.
Kiplinger's rates Wheaton 17th for Best Values in Liberal Arts Colleges 2010-2011. Kiplinger's rankings measure academic quality and affordability, with quality accounting for two-thirds of the total.
Wheaton is now ranked sixth among all Liberal Arts Colleges in the number of graduates it sends to Teach for America.
A leading conservative Catholic journal, First Things, ranked Wheaton the #1 school in America. The First Things rankings “measured” the academic, social, and religious dimensions of American institutions of higher education.
All members of the college community—staff, faculty, and students—are asked to sign and adhere to Wheaton's Community Covenant (http://www.wheaton.edu/welcome/aboutus_community.html), which details expected standards of behavior. The college revised the Covenant in 2003. It now allows undergraduate students to dance at college-sponsored events and gives "adult faculty members and grad students ... the freedom to choose whether they want to smoke
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
or drink alcohol, at least while off-campus."
Conservatory of Music
Wheaton College is home to an internationally-recognized Conservatory of Music, fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. The Conservatory offers two professional music degrees: the Bachelor of Music (with emphases in performance, suzukiSuzuki method
The Suzuki method is a method of teaching music that emerged in the mid-20th century.-Background:The Suzuki Method was conceived in the mid-20th century by Shin'ichi Suzuki, a Japanese violinist who desired to bring beauty to the lives of children in his country after the devastation of World War II...
pedagogy, composition, history and literature, conducting, collaborative piano, or elective studies) and the Bachelor of Music Education. 100% of the teaching faculty in the Conservatory hold doctorates. There are approximately 200 music majors in the Conservatory, with a student-faculty ratio of 7:1. Music majors and liberal arts majors alike perform in the Conservatory's six large ensembles: Concert Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Men's Glee Club
Wheaton College Men's Glee Club
The Wheaton College Men's Glee Club is an all-male glee club , at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois currently conducted by Dr. Mary Hopper....
, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra, and Women's Chorale. Graduates include world famous conductor John Nelson, Grammy Award winning American soprano Sylvia McNair, and Wendy White of the Metropolitan Opera.
Artist Series
The Artist Series at Wheaton College, operating under the umbrella of the Conservatory of Music, is a subscription concert series that brings world-class performers to the Wheaton College community. Previous Artist Series performers include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel and the Symphonica Toscanini, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, The Canadian Brass, and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards & Band of the Coldstream Guard. The Artist Series frequently partners with Wheaton College Conservatory graduates, including Sylvia McNair, soprano, and John Nelson, conductor.Graduate School
The Wheaton College Graduate School founded in 1937, with the intent to provide further theological and ministerial training. Graduate students come from all over the world to attend, and may study for an M.A., M.A.T., or Ph.D. in Biblical and Theological Studies, or a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. The once widely respected Department of Communications of the Graduate School has been closed. Approximately 550 graduate students are enrolled.Off-campus study
Wheaton gives students a number of popular off-campus study opportunities.The college sponsors study-abroad programs in Asia, England, France, Germany, the Holy Lands, Latin America, and Spain, as well as a summer program in Washington, D.C. Participants in Wheaton-in-England, one of the most popular annual programs, take 2–3 courses in literature while studying in London and St. Anne's College, Oxford.
Many students also participate in the Human Needs and Global Resources program. The HNGR program matches select students with six-month internships in the Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
, including opportunities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
In 1935, The Wheaton College Science Station was established in the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
for field instruction in the natural sciences.
In 1951, HoneyRock, the Northwoods Campus of Wheaton College, was established in Three Lakes, WI. HoneyRock is not only a year round camp for young people but it offers a variety of leadership schools and courses for students. Nearly 3000 people utilize HoneyRock each year.
Due to Wheaton's membership in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Wheaton students may also study at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, the Los Angeles Film Studies Center, Wesley Institute
Wesley Institute
Wesley Institute is a tertiary education provider in Sydney, Australia offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in counselling, creative arts , education and theology.-History:...
in Australia, and Xi'an Foreign Language University in China. The CCCU also sponsors programs in American studies, Latin American studies, Middle Eastern studies, Russian studies, and journalism.
Campus
Blanchard Hall
Blanchard Hall is a building located on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Construction of the building began in 1853, and the building was completed in 1927. The building takes its name from Jonathan Blanchard, the founder of Wheaton College, and his son Charles A. Blanchard...
, a limestone building built as the main College building in 1853. At the time, the College building was one of only two on campus, the other (called the "boarding hall") being a frame building at the foot of the hill crowned by the two-story building. Jonathan Blanchard had a vision for the expansion of this structure into its present castle-like architecture. The architectural influence is, supposedly, patterned after buildings at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
which Blanchard admired on a trip to England in 1843. After four additions (1871, 1873, 1890, 1927) the Main Building was completed in 1927. In this year, under college president J. Oliver Buswell
J. Oliver Buswell
James Oliver Buswell, Jr. was a Presbyterian fundamentalist educator and institution builder.-Education:...
, Jr., the Main Building was renamed Blanchard Hall, to honor Wheaton's first two presidents, Jonathan Blanchard
Jonathan Blanchard (Wheaton)
Jonathan Blanchard was a pastor, educator, social reformer, abolitionist and the first president of Wheaton College, which was founded in 1860.-At Wheaton College:...
and his son Charles Blanchard.
Academic
In 1900 the brick "Industrial Building" was built. From 1917–45 it housed the Wheaton Academy, and from 1945–60 the Graduate School. In 1960 it was renamed Buswell Hall, and in 1980 renamed Schell Hall in honor of Edward R. Schell.The science departments were housed in Breyer (Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
) and Armerding (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...
, Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, Math, and Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
) halls until the 2010-2011 school year when Wheaton's new Science Center was completed. Armerding Hall was also the home to the Wheaton College Observatory (a feature of the college since the presidency of Charles Blanchard in the late-nineteenth century).
The Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, housed in McAlister Hall and neighboring Pierce Memorial Chapel, is an internationally recognized music school and holds the distinction of being the only conservatory within an Evangelical school of higher education. The approximately 200 students within the conservatory focus on a range of fields within music including education, performance, composition, and history. Student recitals, required for graduation with a music degree, are generally held in Pierce Memorial Chapel.
Athletics
The Gymnasium, later renamed Adams Hall, was built in 1898. Today it serves as home to the ArtArt
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
Department and was renovated in early 2010.
Alumni Gymnasium (renamed the Edward A. Coray Alumni Gymnasium in 1968, in honor of Coach Ed Coray's long service), was built during the Edman presidency and paid for by alumni. The cornerstone was laid at homecoming on October 11, 1941. A copper box placed in the cornerstone contained a copy of the Wheaton Record, the Wheaton Daily Journal, a college catalog, a student directory, and a copy of the Homecoming program.
Wyngarten Health Center was built in 1958, followed by Centennial Gymnasium in 1959-60, which was extensively renovated and expanded in 2000. It is now known as King Arena and is part of the Sports and Recreation Complex (SRC) and houses the majority of the college's athletic and fitness facilities.
Library and collections
The Library, named after college trustee Robert E. Nicholas, opened in January 1952. In 1975 Buswell Memorial Library, named for the college's third president J. Oliver BuswellJ. Oliver Buswell
James Oliver Buswell, Jr. was a Presbyterian fundamentalist educator and institution builder.-Education:...
, Jr., was built adjacent to the Nicholas Library and an interior corridor linked the two, creating the college's main library. The building also contains the Peter Stam Music Library, located downstairs and named in honor of the Conservatory of Music's first head, Peter Stam.
The Marion E. Wade Center, formerly housed in Buswell Library, moved to its new purpose-built home in September 2001. The Marion E. Wade Center, established in 1965 by professor of English Clyde S. Kilby, is an extensive research library and museum of the books and papers of seven British writers: C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
, G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
, J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, Owen Barfield
Owen Barfield
Owen Barfield was a British philosopher, author, poet, and critic.Barfield was born in London. He was educated at Highgate School and Wadham College, Oxford and in 1920 received a 1st class degree in English language and literature. After finishing his B. Litt., which became the book Poetic...
, Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
, George MacDonald
George MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
, and Charles Williams
Charles Williams (UK writer)
Charles Walter Stansby Williams was a British poet, novelist, theologian, literary critic, and member of the Inklings.- Biography :...
. The Wade Center has memorabilia of the Inklings
Inklings
The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction, and encouraged the writing of fantasy...
, including C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' writing desk and a wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
from his childhood home constructed by his grandfather widely thought to have inspired the Chronicles of Narnia series (although Westmont College
Westmont College
Westmont offers 26 majors, including: alternative major, art, biology, chemistry, communication studies, computer science, economics and business, education program, engineering physics, English, history, European studies, kinesiology, liberal studies, mathematics, modern languages , music,...
also owns a wardrobe that once belonged to Lewis), Charles Williams's bookcases, J.R.R. Tolkien's writing desk where he wrote the entirety of The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
and worked on The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, and Pauline Baynes
Pauline Baynes
Pauline Diana Baynes was an English book illustrator, whose work encompassed more than 100 books, notably those by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. She was born in Hove, Sussex....
's original map of Narnia.
Buswell Library's special collections also include the archived correspondence, manuscripts, articles, photos, and other papers of Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her young-adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time...
, the Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
-winning author of A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1962. The story revolves around a young girl whose father, a government scientist, has gone missing after working on a mysterious project called a tesseract. The book won a Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and...
. With items dating as early as 1919, the collection is composed largely of material sent to the college by L'Engle and has been supplemented by the college with books and other supporting materials. The collection is the most comprehensive research center for L'Engle's work.
List of campus buildings
(See below for residence halls)- Adams Hall – former gymnasium, currently houses Art Department, renovated building reopened in January 2009
- Anderson Commons - food, games, CPO
- Armerding Hall – former science building (Biology, Math/Computer Science, and Physics); annexed to Breyer Hall; named after the fifth president
- Beamer Center – student center (dining hall, post office, student activities facilities, etc.)
- Billy Graham CenterBilly Graham CenterThe Billy Graham Center was founded and opened in 1981 on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Named after Billy Graham, the center is the primary location for many of Wheaton College's bible and theology classes, as well as the graduate school's main headquarters, and host to...
– Advancement, evangelism programs, Billy Graham Center Archives, College Archives & Special Collections (division of the college library), Barrows Auditorium, media resources, graduate school admissions and student services, academic departments (Biblical and Theological Studies, Christian Education/Christian Formation and Ministry, Communications, Intercultural Studies, Psychology); named after the famous alumnusBilly GrahamWilliam Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for... - Blanchard Hall – President’s Office, Provost’s Office, Vice President of Finance, accounting, computing services, human resources, purchasing, academic departments (Education, English, History, Philosophy, Sociology/Anthropology); first College building; named after the first two presidents
- Breyer Hall – former science building (Chemistry and Geology); annexed to Armerding Hall
- Buswell Memorial Library – main stacks, music library, reference
- Central Heating and Cooling Plant
- Chase Service Center – public safety, physical plant (auto shop, lock shop, transportation center, etc.)
- Edman Memorial ChapelEdman Memorial ChapelEdman Memorial Chapel is an auditorium facility on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Its primary purpose is as a chapel, though it is also used for numerous concerts and other large events...
– chapel auditorium and support space, 2009 renovation includes instrumental rehearsal room and instructional space for Conservatory of Music; named after the fourth president
- Harbor House – executive retreat and conference center
- Jenks Hall – Arena Theater, ROTC/Military Science
- Marion E. Wade Center
- McAlister Hall – Conservatory of MusicWheaton College Conservatory of MusicThe Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College is a music conservatory located in Wheaton, Illinois. It is both a department and professional school of Wheaton College. It currently has 21 full-time faculty members and approximately 200 undergraduate music majors, and is fully accredited by the...
- Memorial Student Center – former student center, renovated and reopened in January 2008, houses Business/Economics and Political Science/International Relations; named in honor of students who fought in World War IIWorld War IIWorld 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...
- Pierce Chapel – Conservatory of Music and Community School of the Arts, recital hall
- Schell Hall – HoneyRock office
- Science Center – opened 2010, houses all academic departments formerly housed in Armerding, Breyer, and SRC
- Sports and Recreation Complex – Athletics, field house, pool, climbing wall, fitness center
- Student Services Building – bookstore, career services, financial aid, housing/residence life, registrar, student accounts, Student Development, undergraduate admissions
- Westgate – Alumni Association; formerly the President's Home
- Wyngarden – student health services, Foreign Language
Student life
The Memorial Student Center (MSC) was dedicated on June 11, 1951. It was built in memory of over 1,600 former students and graduates who served in World War IIWorld 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...
, and in honor of those 39 who gave their lives. It housed the Student Union Café, nicknamed "the Stupe" (which has since been moved to the Beamer Center). An early pamphlet described the new building and listed some of the rules for its use, such as No Rook Playing and No Playing of Boogie-Woogie, Jazz, or Otherwise Abusing the Piano. The MSC was remodeled during the Fall semester of 2007 for academic use, and is now home to the Business Economics department, the Political Science and International Relations department, and the J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy.
The MSC was remodeled according to the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The MSC was the first building renovated according to these standards and sets higher standards than existing EPA standards. Many of the materials that were used were post-consumer and over 20% of the materials were manufactured within a 500 miles (804.7 km) radius of the College.http://www.wheaton.edu/Leed/ The MSC remodeling is part of the current capital campaign, The Promise of Wheaton.
The Dining Hall (now the "Student Services Building") opened January 4, 1953. Today it houses Student Development, Undergraduate Admissions, and the College Bookstore.
Jenks Hall is home to the Arena Theater, which was established in the Fall of 1974 and has staged over 100 full length productions.
In the fall of 2004, the Todd M. Beamer
Todd Beamer
Lisa Beamer was born on april 10, 1969 in Albany, New york.Lisa Beamer is the widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the United Flight 93 crash as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
Student Center was completed. Beamer, a Wheaton alumnus, was part of a small group of passengers who stormed hijackers on United Flight 93, thus bringing down the plane in rural Pennsylvania during the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, and preventing it from reaching its target. The $20+ million dollar project was commissioned in order to meet the needs of the growing college community. Along with its spacious and sleek modern design, the Beamer Center features a convenience store known as the "C-Store", the "Stupe" (the name derives from students shortening the previous nickname for the campus Student Union, "Stupid Onion", which in turn is a jocular mispronunciation of Student Union), a bakery café named "Sam's" (named after the former Vice President of Student Development Sam Shellhammer, who retired following the 2007-08 school year after serving Wheaton's campus community for thirty years), several reading rooms and lounges, a recreation/game room, a prayer chapel, an expanded college post office, the offices for several organizations and departments, and several other event rooms. In the fall of 2006, strong rain storms created a flood that destroyed the lower level of the Beamer Center. Wheaton College has since restored the flood-damaged building.
The official student newspaper at Wheaton College is the Wheaton Record, a weekly publication with a circulation of 3400, in existence since 1876. The Record is produced by students, published by the college, and distributed each Friday after chapel free of charge. The Record was the recipient of the 2006 John David Reed General Excellence Award and has received 13 other awards from the Illinois College Press Association, of which it is a member. The Record is also a member of the Associated Collegiate Press.
In addition, Wheaton College has many organizations on campus that range from helping the poor and needy in Chicago to the arts and Improvisation
Residence Halls
- Fischer Hall, on the north side of campus, houses freshman and sophomore men and women
- McManis-Evans Hall, overlooking the quad, houses sophomore, junior, and senior men and women
- Smith-Traber Hall, houses freshman and sophomore men (Traber) and women (Smith)
- Williston Hall, built in the nineteenth century as the first separate residence hall, houses sophomore men and women
Juniors and seniors are also eligible to live in one of sixteen campus houses, apartments (five complexes), or off-campus.
Spirituality
The Chapel, on the corner of Washington and Franklin streets, was dedicated on November 15, 1925. This building was also used by the college for commencements and other important assemblies. In 1936–37, it was renamed the Orlinda Childs Pierce Memorial Chapel. Neighboring McAlister Hall is home to the Conservatory of Music and houses conservatory faculty offices, several music classrooms, and the practice rooms used daily by conservatory students.College Church
College Church
College Church is an independent church in Wheaton, Illinois with "strong historic ties" to Wheaton College. The church is led by a number of pastors, directors, and a board of elders. Dr. Josh Moody currently holds the position of Senior Pastor of College Church...
, located across Washington Street form the College, is not formally associated with the College, although it has long been closely associated with the college.
The college's regular chapel services are held in Edman Memorial Chapel, which seats 2,400. It is named for V. Raymond Edman, fourth president of the college. Edman died in 1967 while speaking in chapel. He was preaching on being in the presence of the King, and the recording is available in the Wheaton chapel archives. This chapel/auditorium is also used for many events of Wheaton's performing arts programs. In 2000, an entirely handcrafted organ made by Casavant Frères
Casavant Frères
Casavant Frères is a prominent Canadian company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building fine pipe organs since 1879. As of 2008, they have produced over 3800 organs.- Company history :...
of Canada was installed.
Other
The building housing the Billy GrahamBilly Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
Center (BGC), named after one of the college's most well-known graduates, opened in September 1980. The Billy Graham Center
Billy Graham Center
The Billy Graham Center was founded and opened in 1981 on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Named after Billy Graham, the center is the primary location for many of Wheaton College's bible and theology classes, as well as the graduate school's main headquarters, and host to...
itself, as the repository of the evangelist's corporate records, had existed since 1974. The BGC houses several evangelism institutes, a museum of the history of evangelism, the college's Archives and Special Collections, as well as the Wheaton College Graduate School and the school radio station, WETN 88.1 FM
WETN
WETN is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian format. Licensed to Wheaton, Illinois, USA, it serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by The Trustees of Wheaton College and is the oldest continually operating station in the county...
.
The Women's Building, renamed Williston Hall in 1930–31 (in honor of longtime Blanchard friend and donor J. P. Williston), was built in 1895. Its construction required the college to borrow $6,000. After seventy-eight years of housing only women, Williston Hall is now being converted into a coed dormitory opened also to men starting in the fall semester of 2009 http://www.wheaton.edu/uploads/Zi/X6/ZiX65OE475231l3dxXZWhg/2009-2010-Application.pdf.
The President's House, or Westgate, formerly owned by college trustee John M. Oury, was presented to President Buswell on the tenth anniversary of his inauguration, April 23, 1936. This served as the home of three of Wheaton's subsequent presidents. It now houses the Office of Alumni Relations.
In 1951, HoneyRock http://www.honeyrockcamp.org/, the Northwoods Campus of Wheaton College, was established in Three Lakes, Wisconsin
Three Lakes, Wisconsin
Three Lakes is a town in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,339 at the 2000 census. The census-designated place of Three Lakes is located in the town.-Geography:...
. HoneyRock is not only a year round camp for young people, but it offers a variety of leadership schools and courses for students. Nearly 3000 people utilize HoneyRock each year. Through HoneyRock the college owns nearly 800 acres (323.7 ha) in Northern Wisconsin.
The Senior Bench at Wheaton College is one of the oldest and most legendary rivalries in the school’s 150 year history. According to dusty archives files and whispers of oral tradition, the graduating class of 1912 is believed to have bequeathed a hefty concrete monument to solidify its place in the annals of her alma mater.
Anchored in front of Blanchard Hall and first photographed for the 1934 Tower yearbook, it was intended for seniors only, but through the decades envious undergraduates soon coveted its prized status. A great rivalry began in 1949 when juniors from the class of 1950 stole the top two foot by seven foot section while the seniors were away on their annual retreat.
Many ingenious, inventive, and sometimes illegal methods have been employed by rival classes in their passionate pursuit of securing this nearly 800-pound stone slab. During the 1950s an exact replica was cast by the class of 1957 in a foolhardy attempt to trick the other classes, yet to no avail. The class of 1959 is heralded for one of the most amazing bench showings as it suspended the bench from a helicopter and flew it over the Homecoming football game.
Another infamous bench caper was hatched when seniors from the class of 1963 traveled by train to Colorado for their yearly retreat. As the train stopped at Mendota, Illinois the bench was shown by the juniors who had arrived by car to taunt the seniors. A melee ensued and a scheduled thirty second stop erupted into a two hour delay as railroad agents, local police and the Interstate Commerce Commission were all summoned to sort out this violation of federal law.
The current rules surrounding possession of the bench were enacted after seniors from the class of 1966 showed the bench in chapel and were greeted by slashed tires and cut ignition wires in the parking lot. The bench was confiscated by the Dean of Students and mysteriously destroyed while under lock and key. A replica soon surfaced and the tradition was resurrected. Henceforth all bench activity has been limited to the junior and senior classes, the bench must remain within a one-mile (1.6 km) radius of Blanchard Hall, half of the bench must be visible at all times, and the bench must be shown twice a year and never in chapel.
In subsequent decades the passionate rivalry has ebbed and flowed as soil analysis kits, airplanes, wiretaps, high-speed car chases, Billy Graham, wishing wells, and even eBay, have all been employed in pursuit of this elusive prize for all Wheaton students.
Athletics
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin is a college athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Its member teams are located in Illinois and Wisconsin. CCIW schools have won 35 Division III national championships since 1973. The conference was founded in 1946 as the...
. The men's basketball team won the first NCAA Small College National Championship in 1958, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan in the finals, 89-65. The Wheaton men's soccer team captured the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
The NCAA began conducting a Men's Division I Soccer Championship tournament in 1959 with an eight-team tournament. Currently, the tournament field consists of 48 teams...
in 1984 and 1997, to go with runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2006. The women's soccer team won the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship
NCAA Women's Soccer Championship
NCAA Women's Soccer Championships are divided into three divisions. This article lists NCAA Women's soccer championships.-Division I:The NCAA began conducting a Women's Division I Soccer Championship tournament in 1982 with a 12-team tournament...
in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Wheaton athletics also competed in basketball at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Basketball at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Basketball appeared at the 1904 Summer Olympics for the first time, as a demonstration sport. There were four different events in Saint Louis for basketball competition.-Amateur championships:*Buffalo German YMCA def. Missouri AC, 97-8...
. The 1967-68 women's basketball team finished their season undefeated in 11 games, including a victory over the University of Iowa. Wheaton College was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States.-History:...
from 1919-1937.
Gil Dodds (athlete)
Gil Dodds (athlete)
Gilbert Lothair Dodds , called "The Flying Parson", was an American distance runner and athlete. In the 1940s, he held the American and world records for the mile run. He was awarded the James E...
(MA '48), one-time world record holder for the indoor mile, NCAA cross country champion, and three time Wanamaker Mile
Wanamaker Mile
The Wanamaker Mile is an event held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City's Madison Square Garden.The event is an indoor one-mile race. It was first held in 1908, and in 1926 became known as the "Wanamaker." It is named in honor of the head of the Wanamaker's Department Store in New...
champion, was the men's track & field coach at Wheaton in the late 1940s and 1950s.
In 2008 Andy Studebaker
Andrew Studebaker
Andrew Studebaker is an American football Outside Linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wheaton...
was selected in the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and he was subsequently signed to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
.
Criticism and controversy
Wheaton College has received criticism in recent years from both conservative and liberal alumni. Areas of controversy have included evolutionary biology being generally accepted in the science departments. Wheaton College was prominently featured in the PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary Evolution
PBS: Evolution
Evolution is a 2001 documentary series by the American broadcaster Public Broadcasting Service and WGBH on evolutionary biology.The spokespeople for the series were Jane Goodall , Kenneth R. Miller and Stephen Jay Gould , Eugenie C. Scott , Arthur Peacocke and Arnold Thomas...
, which showcased Wheaton's tolerance for theistic evolution
Theistic evolution
Theistic evolution or evolutionary creation is a concept that asserts that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution...
. This attitude contrasts with that in the 1990s, when science faculty were required to sign a statement that they reject human descent from hominid ancestors. Initially, those who declared they were 'unsure' whether or not humans had evolved were given one year to change their mind before facing dismissal; this was later relaxed, and scientists were allowed to stay on as long as they did not endorse human evolution.
In general, on issues of religion and science, the college holds the view that Christian faith and science are not at odds. One example of this is the college's hosting of a chapel address by climatologist Sir John Houghton
John T. Houghton
As co-chair of the IPCC, he defends the IPCC process, in particular against charges of failure to consider non-CO2 explanations of climate change. In evidence to, the Select Committee on Science and Technology in 2000 he said:...
in 2007.
The school's mascot was changed from the Crusaders to the Thunder in 2000, as the image of a mounted Crusader was deemed potentially offensive and reminiscent of a controversial period in Christian history. The change was noted in the national press, and some alumni objected to the change. Other suggestions for a new mascot name that were rejected included the Mastodons — a reference to Perry Mastodon
Perry Mastodon
Perry Mastodon is the name for some mastodon skeletal remains that were discovered along Riford Road in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The remains were found on the property of Judge and Mrs. Joseph Sam Perry, thus inspiring naming the remains after them...
, which is a mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
skeleton that was dug up nearby and is now on display on the college campus in the brand new science building. While still known as the "Thunder", in 2010 the mascot was officially changed to a mastodon named "Tor Thunder" to integrate the official and unofficial mascots.
Wheaton again appeared in the news when Joshua Hochschild, assistant professor of 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...
, was dismissed in 2004 for becoming Roman Catholic. Wheaton's president said his "personal desire" to retain Hochschild, "a gifted brother in Christ", was outweighed by his duty to employ "faculty who embody the institution's Protestant convictions".
In 2008, English professor Kent Gramm resigned after declining to give the college administration details of his pending divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
from his wife of 30 years.
Wheaton College was one of the schools visited by the 2006 Soulforce
Soulforce (organization)
Soulforce is an American social justice and civil rights organization that supports acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people through dialogue and creative forms of nonviolent direct action...
Equality Ride
Equality Ride
The Equality Ride is a periodic LGBT rights bus journey across the United States led by young adults and sponsored by Soulforce, a national LGBT nonprofit organization. Its primary goal is to foster dialogue on issues of faith, sexuality, and gender, and discrimination against lesbian, gay,...
which sought to engage in dialogue with students at universities with policies barring homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
behavior. According to Equality Ride founder Jake Reitan, the Equality Ride was founded after he met a gay student from Wheaton several years earlier. While Wheaton did not officially invite the group to campus, administrators responded cordially to the visit and worked with Soulforce to develop a schedule of events on campus, including a debate between members of the Equality Ride and members of the Wheaton community.
In 2011, OneWheaton
OneWheaton
OneWheaton is a group of Wheaton College alumni that formed in 2011 to provide support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning students at the evangelical Christian college.- History :...
— a group of alumni who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer individuals, along with their allies — organized in response to Wheaton College's chapel series titled "Sexuality and Wholeness" and the surrounding conversations on campus. The group's members believe that the classification of homosexuality as sinful is incorrect and damaging. OneWheaton's stated purpose is to provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning students and alumni at Wheaton and other colleges.
Presidents
- Jonathan BlanchardJonathan Blanchard (Wheaton)Jonathan Blanchard was a pastor, educator, social reformer, abolitionist and the first president of Wheaton College, which was founded in 1860.-At Wheaton College:...
(1860–1882) - Charles A. BlanchardCharles A. BlanchardCharles A. Blanchard was the second president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He succeeded his father, Jonathan Blanchard, to the office in 1882 and served Wheaton in that capacity until his death, in 1925....
(1882–1925) - J. Oliver BuswellJ. Oliver BuswellJames Oliver Buswell, Jr. was a Presbyterian fundamentalist educator and institution builder.-Education:...
(1926–1940) - V. Raymond Edman (1941–1965)
- Hudson ArmerdingHudson ArmerdingHudson Taylor Armerding was President of Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, from 1965-1982. He was also President of the National Association of Evangelicals from 1970-1972.-Biography:...
(1965–1982) - J. Richard Chase (1982–1993)
- A. Duane LitfinDuane LitfinA. Duane Litfin was the seventh president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He holds an undergraduate degree in biblical studies and a master's degree in theology from Philadelphia Biblical University . His two doctoral degrees are from Purdue University and Oxford...
(1993—2010) - Philip G. RykenPhilip RykenPhilip Graham Ryken is president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Dr. Ryken was inaugurated on Friday, September 17, 2010 at Edman Chapel.-Education:...
(2010–present)
Notable alumni
Wheaton College has continuously produced leaders of distinction. Influential Wheaton alumni include Evangelist Billy GrahamBilly Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
’43, former Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
’64, Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola Bonnie Pruett Wurzbacher ’77, former Director of Presidential Speech Writing And Assistant to the President Michael Gerson
Michael Gerson
Michael John Gerson is an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with the ONE Campaign, and a former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as President George W...
’86, and September 11th hero of United Flight 93 Todd Beamer
Todd Beamer
Lisa Beamer was born on april 10, 1969 in Albany, New york.Lisa Beamer is the widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the United Flight 93 crash as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
’91.