Wilson College is 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 ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

-related college in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1869 by two

ministers, it was named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson of nearby

St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania St. Thomas Township is a township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,917 at the 2020 census. It is the birthplace of both Baseball Hall of Fame member Nellie Fox, and United States Army brigadier general and l ...

, who gave $30,000 toward the purchase of the land and home of Alexander McClure. For 144 years, Wilson operated as a women's college. In 2013 the college's board of trustees voted to make the college coeducational beginning in the 2013–2014 academic year, with male residential students beginning in fall 2014.

History

1869–1900

The college was founded by the Rev. Tryon Edwards and the Rev. James W. Wightman, pastors of Presbyterian churches in nearby

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

, and Greencastle, Pennsylvania. The original charter was granted by the Pennsylvania Legislature on March 24, 1869. First named Wilson Female College, it took its present name in 1920. Wilson was one of the first colleges in the U.S. to accept only female students. Its 1870 promotional materials stated that the college was a place for women "to be leaders, not followers, in society". Instruction began in 1870, with the first academic degree awarded in 1874. The college was modeled after

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

. It was named for Sarah Wilson (1795–1871), whose donations were used to purchase the campus land.

1900–2000

Anna Jane McKeag Anna Jane McKeag (1864–1947), was an American PhD psychologist who was a university professor and the first woman president of Wilson College. Life and work McKeag was born March 13, 1864, in West Finley, Pennsylvania. In her early years, she ...

was inaugurated as Wilson's first woman president in 1911, and served until 1915 when she was succeeded by

Ethelbert Dudley Warfield Ethelbert Dudley Warfield, D.D., LL.D. (March 16, 1861 – July 6, 1936) was an American professor of history and college president who served as president of Miami University, Lafayette College and Wilson College. As Miami University's youngest ...

. In 1967 the Wilson College sailing team won the first Intercollegiate Sailing Association national championship held in a women's event (dinghy). In the 1970s, two tropical storms, Agnes in 1972 and Eloise in 1975, caused flood damage to low-lying buildings on campus. Although it nearly closed its doors in 1979, a lawsuit organized by students, faculty, parents and an alumnae association succeeded in allowing the college to remain open, making it one of the few colleges to survive a scheduled closing. It subsequently adopted the Phoenix as its mascot, to symbolize the college's survival. In 1982, Wilson began offering a continuing studies program (now known as the Adult Degree Program) to meet the needs of adults seeking post-secondary education. In 1996, the college was one of the first in the nation to offer an on-campus residential educational experience for single mothers with children.

2000–present

Beginning in summer 2006, Wilson offered its first graduate-degree program, a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) for certified elementary school teachers. The college currently offers six graduate degree programs. The first men to attend Wilson entered at the end of

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 an influx of male students created shortages at co-educational and men's colleges. These men attended classes for one year before transferring to other colleges. Men later became eligible to earn degrees from Wilson through the Adult Degree Program, although the traditional undergraduate college remained a College For Women. In January 2013, the college's board of trustees voted to extend coeducation across all programs; male commuter students were admitted in fall 2013, with the first male residential students beginning in fall 2014.

Campus

The Wilson College campus is located at the edge of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on both sides of the Conococheague Creek. The property was originally bought from Alexander McClure, whose home ''Norland'', had been burnt in 1864 by Confederates under the orders of General Jubal Early. The home was rebuilt before being sold to the college.

Academics

The college offers 34 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors, and master's degrees. The most popular majors are in the fields of agriculture and agricultural sciences, animal-assisted therapy, biological sciences, nursing, and veterinary/animal health.

Athletics

Wilson athletic teams are the Phoenix. The college is a member of the

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 ...

level of the

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 ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) since the 2018–19 academic year. The Phoenix previously competed in the

United East Conference The United East Conference (UEC), formerly known as the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of th ...

(UEC; formerly known as the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) until after the 2020–21 academic year) from 2007–08 to 2017–18. Wilson competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball. Club sports include archery, equestrian and pep talk. The women's equestrian team competes in numerous IHSA and other events. Wilson began sponsoring men's sports since the 2014–15 academic year when the college became coeducational; starting with basketball and golf, followed by soccer, volleyball and baseball in the following years.

Notable alumnae

Betty Andujar Elizabeth Richards Andujar (November 6, 1912 – June 8, 1997), was a homemaker, civic activist, and politician, the first Republican woman to be elected and serve in the Texas State Senate. From 1973 to 1983, Andujar represented District 12 ...

, Texas politician *

Emily Bacon Emily Partridge Bacon was the first physician in Philadelphia to devote her practice exclusively to pediatrics. She introduced numerous innovations in her fifty-year hospital career, including the creation of a "well-baby" clinic, and a counseling ...

(1891–1972), physician * Pauline Morrow Austin, meteorologist *

Pauline Donnan Pauline Keller Donnan (September 21, 1885 — August 9, 1934) was an American soprano opera singer who worked with blinded veterans after World War I. Early life Pauline Keller Donnan was from Joplin, Missouri, the daughter of Andrew Fuller Donna ...

(1885–1934), opera singer * Amy Gilbert (1895–1980), historian * Zack Hanle, cooking author and journalist *

Katherine Laich Katherine Laich (January 24, 1910 – November 16, 1992) was a prominent librarian and leader in the profession. She served as president of the American Library Association from 1972 to 1973. Education Laich earned her undergraduate degree from ...

(1910–1992), librarian *

Kate Hevner Mueller Kate Hevner Mueller (November 1, 1898 – August 10, 1984) was an American psychologist and educator who served as Dean of Women at Indiana University during 1938–1949. Biography Born Kate Lucile Hevner in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, ...

(1898–1984), psychologist and educator * Irene Neal, painter * Mary Lawson Neff (1862–1945), neurologist *

Hannah J. Patterson Hannah Jane Patterson (November 5, 1879 – August 21, 1937) was an American suffragist and social activist. She was a key member of the women's suffrage movement in Pennsylvania and worked for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. D ...

(1879–1937), suffragist * Bonnie Lineweaver Paul, attorney and politician * Joan Risch, homemaker who went missing from her home in the Boston suburbs in 1961 *

Sally Hoyt Spofford Sally Hoyt Spofford ( Sarah Elizabeth Foresman; April 11, 1914 – October 26, 2002) was an American ornithologist who was long associated with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. In retirement, she was involved in conservation and birding in ...

(1914–2002), ornithologist * Elizabeth Schofield (1935–2005), archaeologist and classical scholar *

Rosedith Sitgreaves Rosedith Sitgreaves Bowker (1915 – February 1, 1992) was an American statistician who taught at Columbia University and Stanford University.. Her publications included research on random matrices and Kendall's W. Rosedith Sitgreaves was born i ...

(1915–1992), statistician and professor *

Delia Velculescu Delia Velculescu (born in 1975) is a Romanian-American economist and the IMF mission chief in Greece during the Greek government debt crisis, before her replacement by Peter Dolman in 2018. She was born Delia Moraru in the city of Sibiu, in Transy ...

, economist * Frances Wick (1875–1941), physicist

References

External links

Wilson College

Wilson College Athletics
{{authority control Second Empire architecture in Pennsylvania Colonial Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Gothic Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1869 School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Franklin County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania state historical marker significations 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Pennsylvania Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania