Drew University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming one ...

. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. In 1867, financier and railroad tycoon

Daniel Drew Daniel Drew (July 29, 1797 – September 18, 1879) was an American businessman, steamship and railroad developer, and financier. Summarizing his life, Henry Clews wrote: "Of all the great operators of Wall Street ... Daniel Drew furnishes t ...

purchased an estate in Madison to establish a

theological seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

to train candidates for Methodist ministry. The seminary later expanded to offer an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

liberal arts curriculum in 1928 and

graduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

in 1955. The College of Liberal Arts, serving more than 1,600 undergraduate students, offers strong concentrations in the natural sciences, social sciences, languages and literatures, humanities and the arts, and in several interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields. The Drew Theological School, the third-oldest of thirteen Methodist seminaries affiliated with the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

,General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Theological Schools
Retrieved October 13, 2013. currently enrolls more than 350 students preparing for careers in the ministry and the academic study of theology. The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, enrolling more than 250 graduate students, offers master's and doctoral degrees in a variety of specialized and interdisciplinary fields. While affiliated with the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

faith, Drew University makes no religious demands of its students. Although many of the Theological School's students and faculty are Methodists, students of all faiths are admitted to any program within the university. The United Methodist Church's General Commission on Archives and History is located on campus; the commission maintains an archive of Methodist records and artifacts from the 19th century to the present.

Campus

Drew University is located in

, a borough approximately west of New York City.Caldwell, Dave
"Living in Madison, N.J.; A Town Right Out of Central Casting"
in ''The New York Times'' (June 15, 2008). Retrieved October 13, 2013. Known as "the Rose City" because of its rose-cultivating industry in the nineteenth century,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

is an affluent commuter town in New Jersey's Morris County. It is connected with the northern section of the state and Midtown Manhattan through the

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

Morris & Essex Lines The Morris & Essex Lines are a group of former Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (DL&W) railroad lines in New Jersey now owned and operated by NJ Transit. The lines include service offered on the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. P ...

. The university hosts the

Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of the largest professional Shakespeare companies in North America, serving over 100,000 adults and children annually. Located in Madison, New Jersey, it is the state's largest theatre company dedica ...

, an independent professional theatre company. The university sits on the former estate of William Gibbons (1794–1852), who owned the New York–New Jersey steamboat business that became famous from the Thomas ''

Gibbons v. Ogden ''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United Sta ...

'' case, and who pieced together a estate in

in 1832. He named his holdings "The Forest," which gives Drew its nickname of the "University in the Forest". The following year, Gibbons commissioned the design and construction of a

Greek revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

antebellum-style residence that was completed in 1836. In 1867, financier and railroad

tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

(1797–1879) purchased Gibbons' estate from his descendants for $140,000.Drew University
"A Brief History of Mead Hall"
. Retrieved October 13, 2013.Cunningham, John T. ''Images of America: Madison'' (Dover, New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing, 1998), 19, 31. Drew, a devout

, donated the estate to the church to establish a Methodist theological seminary. The estate's mansion would be renamed "

Mead Hall Among the early Germanic peoples, a mead hall or feasting hall was a large building with a single room intended to receive guests and serve as a center of community social life. From the fifth century to the Early Middle Ages such a building was t ...

" in honor of Drew's wife, Roxanna Mead. Several motion pictures, TV productions, and music videos have used Drew University as a filming location. The campus has been featured in films such as '' So Fine'' (1981), ''

Deconstructing Harry ''Deconstructing Harry'' is a 1997 American black comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Caroline Aaron, Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis and others. The fil ...

'' (1997), ''

The Family Stone ''The Family Stone'' is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Thomas Bezucha. Produced by Michael London and distributed by 20th Century Fox, it stars an ensemble cast, including Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulrone ...

'' (2005), '' Spinning into Butter'' (2008), ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'' (2008); and in television programs such as ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'' and '' Friday Night Lights''. Drew's academic buildings feature a mix of Greek Revival, Collegiate Gothic, and neoclassical architecture on a campus that is a serene, wooded oasis in the middle of a bustling suburban town. The campus features the Drew Forest Preserve, an expanse that was recently restored with the planting of 1,100 native trees and shrubs by the university community and volunteer assistance from pharmaceutical manufacturer

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

(a large, local employer), the

US Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

, the New Jersey Audubon Society.Parke, John
Stewardship Blog: "Reforestation and a Partnership Grows at Drew University"
, New Jersey Audubon Society (June 10, 2011). Retrieved October 13, 2013. The university's campus also features the Florence and Robert Zuck Arboretum, named for two botany faculty members, containing a mixture of native and non-native trees, plants and two small glacial ponds supporting populations of turtles, goldfish,

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

, and muskrats, and various species of birds including migratory fowl such as

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

, ducks, and herons. The preserve and arboretum both provide a natural laboratory for the instruction of students in the study of biology and life sciences and for research, but is also open to the public by appointment. According to the New Jersey chapter of the

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

, the arboretum and forest preserve is "important for

groundwater recharge Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...

and runoff reduction within the Passaic River watershed and the

Buried Valley Aquifer System The Buried Valley Aquifer System is a buried valley aquifer in the central basin of the Passaic River watershed in New Jersey, as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This region impacts drinking ...

History

From estate to seminary (1832–1928)

In 1866, Daniel Drew approached church leaders during the Methodist Centenary Celebration with an offer to build, equip, and endow a

near New York City.Drew University
Presidents of Drew University: John McClintock
Retrieved October 13, 2013. Adapted from Joy, James Richard (editor). ''The Teachers of Drew, 1867–9142, A Commemorative Volume issued on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of Drew Theological Seminary, October 15, 1942'' (Madison, New Jersey: Drew University, 1942). Drew asked that his pastor, John McClintock (1814–1870), be appointed to lead the seminary as its first president. Instruction began under the direction of McClintock as both president and professor of

practical theology Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...

after the first students were admitted in 1867. Drew is the third-oldest of thirteen Methodist seminaries affiliated with the

. Drew offered professional training for candidates to the ministry augmented by "an opportunity for a broad culture through the study of the humanities." The seminary attracted a faculty that made influential contributions to Methodist theology and biblical scholarship, including James Strong (1822–1894), a professor of

exegetical theology Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations ...

, who collaborated with McClintock on the ten-volume ''Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature'' (1867–1881), and researched, compiled, and published '' Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible'' (1890) during his tenure at the seminary.Drew University
"James Strong, A.B., A.M., S.T.D., LL.D., Professor of Exegetical Theology, 1868–1894"
Retrieved October 13, 2013. Adapted from Joy, James Richard (editor). ''The Teachers of Drew, 1867–9142, A Commemorative Volume issued on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of Drew Theological Seminary, October 15, 1942'' (Madison, New Jersey: Drew University, 1942). Writings on early church theology and Christian practice were translated into Chinese for use by foreign missions.General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church
Drew University, The Theological School
(2013). Retrieved October 13, 2013.

As a liberal arts college (1928–1990)

Drew Theological Seminary faculty c1880s

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Drew Theological Seminary educated and trained hundreds of Methodist ministers. It began to expand its role with the addition of a course of study for women in 1920 when it established a "College of Missions."Drew University
A Short History of Drew University
citing Cunningham, John T. ''University in the Forest: The Story of Drew University'' 3rd Edition (Florham Park, New Jersey: Afton Publishing, 2002). Retrieved October 23, 2013. This course would be renamed the "College of Religious Education and Missions" in 1929 but was short-lived. In 1928, Drew Theological Seminary accepted a gift of $1.5 million from brothers Arthur J. Baldwin (1868–1939) and Leonard D. Baldwin (1866–1933) to establish an undergraduate liberal arts college. The Baldwins were successful attorneys who were raised on a farm in

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western bo ...

. Both brothers attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

.Cunningham, John T
"Baldwin Brothers and Brothers College"
originally published in ''Drew Magazine'' (Winter 1999). Retrieved October 23, 2013. Cunningham states they studied law at Columbia, but no other source substantiates that.Knox, Herman W. (editor).
Who's Who in New York: A Biographical Dictionary of Prominent Citizens of New York City and State. Seventh Edition, 1917–1918
'. (New York: Who's Who Publications, Inc., 1918), 44, 46. They established a law firm with former

New Jersey governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

John Griggs spanning "varied interests in lumbering, manufacturing, transportation, and other enterprises that ranged from owning the Grosvenor Hotel in New York City to Arthur's legal counseling for the rising McGraw-Hill publishing empire." The Baldwins became acquainted with the seminary's president, Ezra Squier Tipple, who "welcomed the brothers to his prominent New York City Methodist Church when they came to Manhattan." Leonard Baldwin eventually became a trustee of the seminary in 1919. The donation originally consisted of $500,000 to build a college building, and $1,000,000 in the form of Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) stock. However, the Baldwins exchanged the stock with a gift of cash in October 1928. Brothers College Courtyard

In their modesty and in recognition of their sibling affection, the Baldwins asked that it be named "Brothers College." The theological seminary then changed its name to "Drew University" to reflect its expanded role. Brothers College, later renamed as the "College of Liberal Arts", opened in September 1928 with its first class of 12 students. Brothers College would incorporate the women's program and become coeducational in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when school officials recognized that the military draft and war effort would reduce the all-male student body. Drew offered admission to

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

personnel through the

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

. Drew was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the program which offered students a path to a naval officers' commission. Drew began offering graduate-level education in 1912. The university expanded its graduate education programs, focusing on religious studies and establishing the Graduate School, a third of Drew's degree-granting entities, in 1955, under the leadership of the university's seventh president, Fred Holloway. Holloway also delivered on goals set during previous administrations, overseeing the renovation and rebuilding of the Drew campus, including the Baldwin Gymnasium and several dormitories. Four years later, it would expand the curriculum into other areas of the humanities. The Graduate School was renamed as the "Caspersen School of Graduate Studies" after a pledge of $5,000,000 in 1999 by financier Finn M. W. Caspersen (1941–2009) and his wife (and Drew alumna) Barbara Morris Caspersen (1945-2017). SWB snow renovations

During the 1970s, the college also established, with generous assistance from the

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitt ...

, a now widely imitated freshman seminar program. It allows first-year students to participate, with faculty who also serve as their academic advisers, in intensive study of a topic of hopefully mutual interest. Interdisciplinary study became a focus of the curriculum as well, with the creation of majors in behavioral studies,

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

and

Russian studies Russian studies is an interdisciplinary field crossing politics, history, culture, economics, and languages of Russia and its neighborhood, often grouped under Soviet and Communist studies. Russian studies should not be confused with the study of ...

, and minors in such fields as

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Sch ...

arts administration The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

and

museology Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education. Terminology The w ...

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of managemen ...

, dance,

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and writing. In 1984, psychology professors Philip Jensen and Richard Detweiler led an effort to provide a personal computer and application software to all incoming freshman, a program referred to as the "Computer Initiative". Drew was the first liberal arts college to have such a requirement. The Computer Initiative differentiates Drew from other liberal arts colleges, and continues to this day. As a result, Drew has considerably fewer public computing labs than comparable schools its size, using the centrally-managed student laptops for instructional and general-purpose computing use.

Drew University today (1990–present)

After serving two terms as New Jersey's 48th governor,

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

(born 1935) was appointed as Drew's tenth president in 1990. He would serve for 15 years before retiring in 2005. As president, Kean raised Drew's profile, overseeing fundraising efforts that tripled the size of the university's endowment, adding new faculty in

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, and

Middle Eastern studies Middle Eastern studies (sometimes referred to as Near Eastern studies) is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, and geography of the Middle East, an area that is gene ...

, significantly increased opportunities for students to study abroad, increased applications from prospective students, and committed more than $60 million to construction of new buildings and renovation of older buildings—principally student residence halls. After Kean's retirement, the trustees selected Robert Weisbuch, former president of the

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey that aims to strengthen American democracy by “cultivating the talent, ideas, ...

, as Drew's eleventh president in 2005. He served for seven years, and stepped down in June 2012. Under Weisbuch's direction, Drew became SAT-optional. From 2006 to 2013, applicants were allowed to submit a graded high school essay instead of

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

or ACT scores. In 2013, the university reinstated the SAT (or ACT) as an admission requirement, and changed course two years later in 2015, making it optional once again. MaryAnn Baenninger became the president of Drew University in July 2014 after serving 10 years as the president of the

College of Saint Benedict The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related private, Catholic higher education institutions in Minnesota. The College of Saint Benedict is a women's college located in St. Joseph, while Saint John's Univ ...

. She succeeded Vivian A. Bull, a former economics professor and associate dean of the college at Drew and former president of

Linfield College Linfield University is a private university with campuses in McMinnville, and Portland, Oregon. Linfield Wildcats athletics participates in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Linfield reported a combined 1,755 students after the fal ...

, who served as Drew's interim president from 2012 to 2014. The 2015

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

was shared by William Campbell, a research fellow at Drew University, for his work developing a drug that treats parasitic diseases. Undergraduate tuition, room and board for the 2017–2018 academic year was $62,000 (excluding books, personal expenditures, and health insurance), making Drew among the most expensive private universities in New Jersey.Cost of Attendance
Drew University. Retrieved September 13, 2017. In September 2017, the school announced that it was cutting the list price of its tuition for the 2018–2019 school year by 20%, from $48,300 to $36,600, as part of an effort to make the school more appealing to prospective students who had been deterred by the sticker price, which had been one of the state's highest. In May 2020, it was announced by the school's board of trustees that President Baenninger would step down at the conclusion of her contract on July 31, 2020. In July, the school's search committee announced the appointment of Thomas J. Schwarz as interim president, beginning on August 1, 2020. Schwarz had previously served as president of Purchase College, SUNY, from 2002 to 2019 and was named President Emeritus of Purchase College shortly following his retirement.

Academics

Accreditation and affiliations

Drew University is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools with approval granted to offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs and professional or post-graduate certificates. Drew was first accredited in 1932 and its accreditation was reaffirmed after a recent review concluded in 2016. Since 1938, the theological seminary at Drew has been accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The assoc ...

.Drew University. See the section on "Accreditation" a
Theological School Admissions – Degree Program Information
Retrieved October 16, 2013.The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada – The Commission on Accrediting
Member Schools: Drew University Theological School
Retrieved October 17, 2013. Drew's accreditation is scheduled for a comprehensive evaluation in 2020–2021 for renewal. Drew's MAT program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation. All of the university's programs are approved and accredited by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. Drew is one of 119 institutions that are members of the National Association of Schools and Colleges of The United Methodist Church (NASCUMC). Drew is also a member of the

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educatio ...

, Council of Graduate Schools,

Association of American Colleges and Universities The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It works to improve quality and equity in undergraduate education and advance liberal education. ...

, and the

Council for Advancement and Support of Education The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketing ...

Undergraduate programs

Drew University offers programs leading to the traditional undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Arts ( BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS) through its College of Liberal Arts. Traditional core liberal arts courses are required of Drew students within a general education curriculum that allows them to shape an individual academic program. Drew's programs emphasize depth, independent research,

experiential learning Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students ...

, and collaborative teaming. A declared minor is required in the general education program, and students choose from structured disciplinary and interdisciplinary offerings, or may design a minor course of study, subject to faculty approval. The university provides undergraduate major concentrations in 50 academic areas and an additional 20 minor concentrations. The ''

Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

'' has consistently ranked Drew as having a top 20 theatre program in the United States since 2011. Below is a list of key programs available to undergraduate students: * Semester on Wall Street: an 8-credit program where 20 students attend classes twice a week in New York City at St. John's University, located in the Financial District. Students have guest lecturers from the various banks, organizations, and financial agencies. * Semester on the United Nations: an 8-credit program where 20 students attend classes twice a week in New York City in the Church Center, directly across from

UN Headquarters The United Nations is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, and the complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neig ...

. Students have guest lecturers from the

UN Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat (french: link=no, Secrétariat des Nations unies) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the a ...

and NGOs, and attend meetings of the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. * Research Institute for Scientists Emeriti (RISE): selected students engage in research under the supervision of retired industrial scientists. * Drew Summer Science Institute: an on-campus summer program that pairs approximately 15 Drew students with faculty mentors for an intensive experience working full-time on a research project. * New York Semester on Contemporary Art: an 8-credit program where students meet weekly to discuss timely issues, and then visit New York City

art museums An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...

two days a week. * London Semester: a 16-credit program where students explore political and social change in Great Britain.

Graduate programs

Graduate education Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

has taken place at Drew University since 1912. Initially, graduate education was limited to theology and was conducted through the Theological School. In 1955, the Graduate School was established to take responsibility for the academic (i.e., non-ministerial) study of religion at the graduate level and allow for the development of new graduate programs. In 1999, in exchange for a private donation made by Barbara and Finn Caspersen, the school was renamed the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. In 2006, the Graduate Division of Religion (GDR), which includes programs in

biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...

and

early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

, historical studies, religion & society, and theological & philosophical studies, was moved from the Graduate School to the Theological School. The transition was made to reflect current trends in the academic study of religion. In 2006, the school created a

Master of Arts in Teaching The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or Master of Science in Teaching (MST) degree is generally a pre-service degree that usually requires a minimum of 30 semester hours beyond the bachelor's degree. While the program often requires education c ...

(MAT) program, In recent years, the school has also added Master of Education, Master of Finance, and data analytics degrees. As of 2019, the Graduate School offered 10-degree programs, including an earned

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree. In February 2022 it was announced that the university would halt admissions to their PhD program in History & Culture.

Theological degree programs

Drew Theological School admitted its first students in 1867. Until the 1950s, the school was known as the Drew Theological Seminary, and most students sought a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

(B.Div.) degree, which was considered the standard for becoming a minister in an established church. Occasionally, the seminary did issue other degrees, such a Master of Arts (MA) or a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

(Th.D.) to students engaged in the graduate study of religion. Starting in 1920 women were admitted as students, and most notably

Olive Winchester Olive May Winchester (1879–1947) was an American ordained minister and a pioneer biblical scholar and theologian in the Church of the Nazarene, who was in 1912 the first woman ordained by any trinitarian Christian denomination in the United K ...

was issued a Doctor of Theology in 1925, and became the first female ordained minister in Great Britain. The school is often noted for its strong ties to Korean Methodism. The Rev.

Henry Appenzeller Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller (February 6, 1858 – June 11, 1902) was a Methodist missionary. He and four other missionaries, including Horace N. Allen, Horace G. Underwood, William B. Scranton, and Mary F. Scranton introduced Protestant Chr ...

, a graduate of the Theological School, became the first Christian missionary to Korea. He worked to establish the

Korean Methodist Church The Korean Methodist Church is a large Methodist denomination in South Korea, with approximately 1.5 million members. Methodist missionaries came from the United States in the late 19th century. It became independent in 1930, and celebrated its cent ...

, schools and universities, and he translated the Bible into Korean. As a result of his work and his connection to Drew, the Theological School's matriculating class includes many students from South Korea. One of the 13 official seminaries of the

, the Theological School prepares those pursuing ministry in the United Methodist Church. The student body also includes students preparing for ministry in other Christian denominations, and those from other faith communities. As of 2019, the Theological School offers six different degree programs. In October 2018, the school launched the "Drew Social Justice Leadership Project" which allows students, partners and professors to express their thoughts, and share their experience regarding social justice issues in an accessible way.

Rose Memorial Library and Methodist Archives

Built in 1938 with funds donated by Lenox S. Rose, the Rose Memorial Library houses the university's library collections offering 558,000 bound volumes, more than 378,000

microform Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...

s, 10,000 periodical titles in electronic database subscriptions, and about 2,700 periodical subscriptions in paper form. The facility also includes a media resource center and learning center. The library has been designated a selective depository for U.S. government publications in accordance with the

Federal Depository Library Program The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a government program created to make U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. As of April 2021, there are 1,114 depository libraries in the United States and its ter ...

. Drew also maintains collections of official documents from the United Nations and the state of New Jersey. There are over 400,000 documents in the collection.Drew University
Policies and Regulations
Retrieved November 23, 2013. Drew University houses the United Methodist Archives and History Center administered by the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History. This collection is among the most comprehensive collections of Methodist books, documents and artifacts in the world offering insight into eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English and American religious and cultural history. Special Collections at Drew University cover a wide range of materials from the 11th century to the present. Topics include religious materials such as hymnbooks, prayer books, and Bibles, as well as non-religious materials such as witchcraft, literature, graphic novels, and science fiction magazines. Most notably, the collection holds a first edition of the King James Bible. The library's special collections include a collection of books, manuscripts, artifacts and papers of Nebraska-born author

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...

(1873–1947). This collection, which is regarded as the best collection of Cather's papers assembled in the United States, was given to the university by several donors, including Frederick B. Adams, former director of the

Pierpont Morgan Library The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th ...

; Earl and Achsah Brewster, longtime friends of Cather; violinist

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

; and by Finn and Barbara Caspersen.

Athletics

Originally known as "The Circuit Riders" in honor of their Methodist origins, Drew's sports teams are known as the Rangers and compete in the NCAA's

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. The Rangers field 20 teams (11 female, 9 male) in 12 varsity sports. Drew is a member of the

Landmark Conference The Landmark Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the eastern United States in the states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, plus Washington, D.C. ...

for men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, baseball, field hockey and softball. The Rangers compete as an independent in men's and women's fencing, which compete in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA), the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) and the Eastern Women's Fencing Conference (EWFC), and co-ed equestrian, which competes in the

Intercollegiate Horse Show Association The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) is a nonprofit organization composed of men and women of all riding levels and offers individual and team competition in hunter seat equitation, Western horsemanship and reining at more than 400 m ...

(IHSA). Drew offers many club teams including

ultimate frisbee Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...

and Drew's women's and men's rugby teams, which are part of the collegiate division of the Metropolitan New York Rugby Football Union. Drew has several intramural sports programs.

Notable people

In the university's 146-year history, Drew's faculty and alumni have taken leading roles in the ministry and missions of the United Methodist Church and other Christian denominations, in spiritual instruction, in academia, in public service, and in the professional world. Drew's faculty, starting with John McClintock and James Strong—especially with his magnum opus, ''

Strong's Concordance ''The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible'', generally known as ''Strong's Concordance'', is a Bible concordance, an index of every word in the King James Version (KJV), constructed under the direction of James Strong. Strong first published h ...

''—to recent faculty members including philosopher Robert S. Corrington, the founder of "ecstatic naturalism"; ethics professor

Thomas C. Oden Thomas Clark Oden (1931–2016) was an American Methodist theologian and religious author. He is often regarded as the father of the paleo-orthodox theological movement and is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the 20th ...

, the founder of

paleo-orthodoxy Paleo-orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek παλαιός "ancient" and Koine Greek ὀρθοδοξία "correct belief") is a Protestant Christian theological movement in the United States which emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and w ...

, and

Leonard Sweet Leonard I. Sweet is an American theologian, semiotician, church historian, pastor, and author. Sweet currently serves as the E. Stanley Jones Professor Emeritus at Drew Theological School at Drew University, in Madison, New Jersey; Charles Wes ...

, a leader in the

emerging church movement The emerging church is a Christian Protestant movement of the late 20th and early 21st centuries that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants are variously described as Protestant, post-Protestant, evangelical, post-evangelical, ...

, have continued to impact Christian theology and spiritual scholarship. Other faculty have included lexicographer

Robert L. Chapman Robert Lundquist Chapman (December 28, 1920 – January 27, 2002) was an American professor of English literature who edited several dictionaries and thesauri. Chapman was born in Huntington, West Virginia to Curtis W. Chapman, a typewriter ...

, editor of the fourth and fifth editions of ''

Roget's Thesaurus ''Roget's Thesaurus'' is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer. History It was released to the public on 29 April 1852. Roget was i ...

''; Ira Progoff, a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

, developed the Intensive Journal Method, and researcher of

depth psychology Depth psychology (from the German term ''Tiefenpsychologie'') refers to the practice and research of the science of the unconscious, covering both psychoanalysis and psychology. It is also defined as the psychological theory that explores the rela ...

; and Irish history scholar

Christine Kinealy Christine Kinealy is an Irish historian, author, and founding director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University. She is an authority on Irish history.

. William Campbell, research fellow in Drew's RISE institute, was awarded the 2015

. According to the UMC, Drew's seminary now has more than 3,500 alumni and alumnae "in 45 states and 18 foreign countries, including 21 bishops of The United Methodist Church." Among these alumni: Henry G. Appenzeller (BD 1885) was the first Methodist missionary to Korea and fostered a relationship between Korea, the church, and Drew that endures to this day;,

Peter Deunov Peter Dunoff ( ; bg, Петър Дънов ; July 11, 1864 – December 27, 1944), also known by his spiritual name Beinsa Douno ( bg, Беинса Дуно, links=no ), and often called the Master by his followers, was a Bulgarian philosopher an ...

(1892), Bulgarian philosopher and spiritual teacher, and

(Th.D. 1925), a

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas. With its members co ...

theologian, was the first female ordained minister in Great Britain.

Frederick Brown Harris Frederick Brown Harris (April 10, 1883 – August 18, 1970), a Methodist clergyman has the distinction of the longest service record as Chaplain of the Senate (24 years), in a term of service interrupted by the chaplaincy of Peter Marshall. E ...

(1912) was twice the

Chaplain of the United States Senate The chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for senators, their staffs, and their families. The chaplain is appoi ...

. Alumni include popular historian and journalist

John T. Cunningham John T. Cunningham (June 26, 1915 – June 7, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and historian who published numerous works related to the history of his native state, New Jersey. Long known as "New Jersey’s popular historian", his '' ...

(BA 1938); Craig Stanford (BA 1978), a biology and anthropology professor and director of the Jane Goodall Research Center at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

; and Jeff Smith (M.Div. 1965), minister, cookbook author, host of '' The Frugal Gourmet'' a television program that aired from 1973 to 1997. Several Drew alumni have had careers in public service, including Nathaniel Raymond (BA 1999), human rights advocate involved in investigations into the

Dasht-i-Leili massacre The Dasht-i-Leili massacre occurred in December 2001 during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan when 250 to 2,000 Taliban prisoners were shot and/or suffocated to death in metal shipping containers while being transferred by Junbish-i Milli soldi ...

;

Holly Bakke Holly Bakke is an American attorney who served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance from 2002 to 2005 in the administration of Governor James E. McGreevey. She received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Drew University ...

(BA 1973), an attorney who served as New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance (2002–2005);Kean University. "Ms. Holly Bakke, Esq., Trustee" a
About Kean – Leadership & Governance – Board of Trustees – Members
. Retrieved October 31, 2013.

Peter Verniero Peter G. Verniero (born April 30, 1959 in Montclair, New Jersey) is an American lawyer and jurist from New Jersey. He previously served as a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and as New Jersey Attorney General; he is presently in private p ...

(BA 1981), a former

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confir ...

and

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...

justice; and

Thomas J. Aquilino Thomas Joseph Aquilino Jr. (born December 7, 1939) is a United States federal judge, Senior United States Judge of the United States Court of International Trade. Biography Aquilino was born in 1939 in Mount Kisco, New York, Mount Kisco, New Yo ...

(BA 1962), a federal judge on the

United States Court of International Trade The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Int'l Trade or Intl. Trade) is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in New York City, it exercises ...

.Federal Judicial Center
Biographical Directory of Federal Judges: Aquilino, Thomas Joseph Jr.
Retrieved October 31, 2013.

Gallery

File:Asbury Hall Drew University.jpg, Asbury Hall Dormitory File:Asbury & embury.jpg, Asbury Hall on the right, Embury Hall on the left File:SWB front gate Drew University.jpg, Top of Bowne Memorial Gateway File:Welch & Holloway Spring.jpg, Welch and Holloway Dormitory Halls File:Drewgraduation.jpg, Graduation parade File:Drewpath.jpg File:Drewscenery.jpg File:Drewscenery2.jpg File:Drewstudents.jpg File:Drewstudentsinuc.jpg File:Outsideclass.jpg File:Studentswalking.jpg

Notes

References

; Citations

External links

*
Drew Athletics website
* {{authority control Arboreta in New Jersey Botanical gardens in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1867 Universities and colleges in Morris County, New Jersey Liberal arts colleges in New Jersey 1867 establishments in New Jersey Madison, New Jersey Universities and colleges affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church Private universities and colleges in New Jersey