Wesley College was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. It was acquired by

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

in 2021 and is now the DSU Downtown campus.

History

The institution was founded in 1873 as Wilmington Conference Academy, a

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

. During this period

Annie Jump Cannon Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...

, a prominent astronomer who pioneered stellar classification, graduated valedictorian from Wilmington Conference Academy in 1880. It became a two-year college in 1918 and renamed the Wesley Collegiate Institute. It was renamed again in 1941 as Wesley Junior College, and again in 1958 as Wesley College. The institution conferred its first four-year degrees in 1978. In its last decades, the college experienced significant financial challenges and relied on state funding and grants. At one point in 2019, had the state not given Wesley $3 million, students would have lost access to federal financial aid and salaries would have been at risk. In early 2021, members of the college faculty voted "no confidence" against Wesley's last president,

Robert E. Clark II Robert Edward Clark II is a retired officer of the United States Navy and the last President of Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. Early life and education Clark was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was raised in Howell, New Jersey; Ann A ...

, but the college's board of trustees subsequently dismissed the resolution and supported him. On June 30, 2021,

(DSU) began the formal process of purchasing Wesley College. This made DSU "the first historically Black college or university to acquire another college." The acquisition was finalized one year later, on July 1, 2021. Approximately 60 percent of the Wesley community were offered employment by Delaware State University. DSU took on Wesley College's debts and did not directly pay to purchase the university. All Wesley students with non-adverse records were permitted to become DSU students. After the acquisition, the campus was known as DSU Downtown, while the Wesley name remained attached to the Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences housed at the campus.

Academics

Prior to ceasing operations, many of its students pursued a

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

program of study. At its close, Wesley College had 917 students.

Athletics

The institution competed in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

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 ...

athletics in the Atlantic East Conference. Its teams were known as the Wolverines.

Notable alumni

Wesley Junior College, Dover, Del (74686)

William N. Andrews William Noble Andrews (November 13, 1876 – December 27, 1937) was a Congressman for the 1st congressional district of Maryland who served one term from 1919 to 1921. Early life William Noble Andrews was born on November 13, 1876, in Hurlock, ...

(1898) lawyer and

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician, including serving as

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for Maryland's 1st congressional district (1919–1921) * Colin R.J. Bonini (1991)

politician, including serving as a member of the Delaware Senate from the 16th district (since 1995) * Joe Callahan (B.S. 2016)

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) *

(1880) Astronomer * Wayne Gilchrest (A.A., 1971)

politician, including serving as

for Maryland's 1st congressional district (1991–2009) *

Matt Gono Matthew Gono (born May 10, 1996) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Wesley College. He went undrafted and signed with the Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants. Professional career Atlanta ...

(2017) professional football player for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the

(NFL) *

Charles M. Oberly, III Charles Monroe Oberly III (born November 9, 1946) is an American attorney from Delaware. He had served as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware from 2010 to 2017 and had served as Attorney General of Delaware from 1983 to 1995. Ear ...

(A.A., 1966) lawyer and

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician, including serving as Delaware Attorney General (1983–1995); U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware (since 2010) * Bryan Robinson professional football player; awarded all-American football player *

Carolyn Bunny Welsh Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania is the former Sheriff of Chester County, Pennsylvania. She held the position from 2000 to 2020. On November 24, 2020, she was arraigned on theft and diversion of services charges along with Ha ...

politician, former sheriff of

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

References

External links

*
DSU & Wesley
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