Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education. The university has 119 undergraduate majors, minors, and pre-professional programs in addition to three graduate programs.

History

Chartered on January 20, 1887, Nebraska Wesleyan University had an initial enrollment of 96. The initial teaching and administrative staff at this time totaled eight, including the chancellor. In September 1887, the cornerstone was laid for Old Main, which became the central building of the campus. Still with no stairways, windows, or flooring on some floors, classes began in September 1888. The first graduating class was four women in 1890. The second graduating class, in 1891, was made up of four men. Nebraska Wesleyan received accreditation by the

North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

in 1914. The school is located in the former town of University Place, Nebraska. Today, it is part of northeast

; the surrounding neighborhood is a historic residential and shopping area of Lincoln. Early on, Nebraska Wesleyan was a college of liberal arts; schools of art, business and education; a music conservatory; an academy (high school) also comprising an elementary school and kindergarten. The high school was discontinued in 1931, and the primary schools in 1941 (grade school) and 1942 (kindergarten). Construction of the Duane W. Acklie Hall of Science began in 2017 with completion in 2019. It was the first new academic building in University Place in three decades.

Athletics

The Nebraska Wesleyan athletic teams are called the Prairie Wolves. The university is a member of the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

ranks, primarily competing in the

American Rivers Conference The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. From 1927 until August 9, 2018, it was known officially as the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) and commonly as the Iowa Conference. History The A ...

(ARC; formerly known as the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) since the 2016–17 academic year. The Prairie Wolves previously competed in the

Great Plains Athletic Conference The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The con ...

(GPAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...

(NAIA) from 1969–70 to 2015–16; as well as an NCAA D-III Independent while holding dual affiliation membership with the NAIA and the NCAA from 1982 to 2016. Nebraska Wesleyan competes in 21 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and wrestling. Women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, golf, soccer, swimming, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball. Former sports included women's bowling.

Mascot

Nebraska Wesleyan has been associated with four mascots in its history, the Sunflower (1894–1907), the Coyote (1907–1933), the Plainsman (1933–2000), and the Prairie Wolf (2000–present). The school colors are black and gold.

Athletic facilities

Nebraska Wesleyan's athletic facilities include Abel Stadium, which seats approximately 2,500 people and is used for college football, soccer and other events, and Snyder Arena, which seats 2,350 and is used for basketball and volleyball.

Accomplishments

The men's golf team won the 2006 NCAA Division III National Championship, its first in men's golf. The Prairie Wolves won by 10 strokes over the University of Redlands. The men's golf team has also won 35 conference championships; with back to back championships in 2018 and 2019. The men's basketball team won the 2018 NCAA Division III National Championship, its first in men's basketball.

Greek life

;IFC Fraternities *

Phi Kappa Tau Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of November 2022, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 79 active chapters, 6 Associate chapte ...

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international Fraternities and sororities, college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont, and has initiated more than 200,000 members and currently has over 8,700 c ...

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a ...

;Panhellenic Sororities *

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...

Delta Zeta Delta Zeta (, also known as DZ) is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Delta Zeta has 170 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada, and over 200 alumnae chapters in Cana ...

* Willard

Notable alumni

* Brenda Bence – author * Kate Bolz –

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

State Director of Rural Development for Nebraska, former Nebraska State Senator, 2020 Democratic nominee for Nebraska's 1st Congressional District * Shawn Bouwens – professional football player for NFL's New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

* Ralph G. Brooks – 29th

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Nebraska * Carl T. Curtis – former

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Sandy Dennis Sandra Dale Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama ''Splendor in the Grass'' (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1966), she rec ...

– Oscar-winning actress * John R. Dunning – physicist and key player in the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

* Mignon Eberhart – mystery novelist *

Rick Evans Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

– singer and guitarist, writer of hit "

In the Year 2525 "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)" is a 1969 hit song by the American pop-rock duo of Zager and Evans. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. It peaked at number one in the UK Singles Cha ...

" as part of group

Zager and Evans Zager may refer to: * Bruce B. Zager (born 1952), American justice of the Iowa Supreme Court * Michael Zager (born 1943), American record producer *Zager, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran See also * Bert Zagers Bert Aldon Zagers (Janua ...

Ted Genoways Ted Genoways (born April 13, 1972) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer at '' Mother Jones'' and ''The New Republic'', and an editor-at-large at ''Pacific Standard''. His books include ''This Blessed Earth'' and ''T ...

– poet and former

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion" ...

editor * John M. Gerrard – current Judge for the Federal District of Nebraska and former Associate Justice on the Nebraska State Supreme Court *

Gene V Glass Gene V Glass (born June 19, 1940) is an American statistician and researcher working in educational psychology and the social sciences. According to the science writer Morton Hunt, he coined the term "meta-analysis" and illustrated its first use ...

– Regents'

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at Arizona State University, author, social scientist *

Dwight Griswold Dwight Palmer Griswold (November 27, 1893April 12, 1954) was an American publisher and politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. He served as the 25th governor of Nebraska from 1941 to 1947, and in the United States Senate from 1952 until his ...

– former

and

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

* Mary Lou Harkness – university library director *

Kent Haruf Alan Kent Haruf (February 24, 1943 – November 30, 2014) was an American novelist. Life Haruf was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of a Methodist minister. In 1965 he graduated with a BA from Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he would late ...

– novelist * Glenn Hefner – father of Hugh Hefner, former accountant and treasurer for

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

* Robert Hilkemann – Nebraska State Senator * Harry Huge – international lawyer *

Lew Hunter Lewis R. Hunter (July 18, 1935 – January 6, 2023) was an American screenwriter, author and educator, and chairman Emeritus and Professor of Screenwriting at the UCLA Department of Film and Television. Over half of the Oscar winning scripts ov ...

– screenwriter and Chair Emeritus of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Film Department *

Emily Kinney Emily Rebecca Kinney is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for her role as Beth Greene on AMC's horror drama television series '' The Walking Dead'' (2011–2015, 2018). Kinney has also appeared on several other televisi ...

– television and theater actress ('' The Walking Dead'') * Lowen Kruse – minister and former Nebraska State Senator * Jason Licht – general manager of NFL's

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

* James Moeller – former Vice Chief Justice, Arizona State Supreme Court * Bess Gearhart Morrison –

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

speaker *

James Munkres James Raymond Munkres (born August 18, 1930) is a Professor Emeritus of mathematics at MIT and the author of several texts in the area of topology, including ''Topology'' (an undergraduate-level text), ''Analysis on Manifolds'', ''Elements of Alge ...

– Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

* Orville Nave – author of ''

Nave's Topical Bible Nave's Topical Bible is a book written by Orville James Nave (1841–1917) and published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nave was a chaplain in the United States Army and referred to his work as "the result of fourteen years of delight and untiri ...

'' * John N. Norton – former

United States 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 ...

Marian Heiss Price Marian Heiss Price (born August 6, 1938) is a former Nebraska state senator from Lincoln, Nebraska and registered nurse. She is a Republican. __NOTOC__ Personal life Price was born August 6, 1938, in Page, Nebraska, and graduated from Page Hi ...

– former Nebraska State Senator *

Robert Reed Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as the ...

– science-fiction writer *

Ed Schrock Edward Lee Schrock (born April 6, 1941) is a retired naval officer (1964–1988) and American Republican politician who served as a member of the Senate of Virginia from 1996 - 2001. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Jan ...

– former Nebraska State Senator *

Coleen Seng Coleen J. Seng (born February 8, 1936) is a politician, who served as the 50th mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as mayor from May 19, 2003 to May 19, 2007. She is best known for seeking payment for $32,000 ...

– former Mayor of Lincoln, 2003–2007 * Warren K. Urbom – former Chief Judge for the Federal District of Nebraska *

Antwan Wilson Antwan Wilson (born 1972) is an American teacher and school administrator. He was appointed the Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California, in 2014, and resigned effective February 2017. On December 20, 2016, he ...

– former Superintendent,

Oakland Unified School District Oakland Unified School District is a public education school district that operates a total of 80 elementary schools (TK–5), middle schools (6–8), and high schools (9–12). There are also 28 district-authorized charter schools in Oaklan ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, and Chancellor of

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References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 40.83925, N, 96.65095, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Liberal arts colleges in Nebraska Educational institutions established in 1887 Education in Lincoln, Nebraska Buildings and structures in Lincoln, Nebraska 1887 establishments in Nebraska Private universities and colleges in Nebraska