West Virginia Wesleyan College is a

private college 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 grants. De ...

Buckhannon, West Virginia Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Buckhannon River. The population was 5,299 at the 2020 census. The city is located 60 miles southwest ...

. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. ...

and is currently 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 evangelica ...

. West Virginia Wesleyan College is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Io ...

History

Early history

West Virginia Wesleyan College was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school opened on September 3, 1890, in a new three-story brick building that was where the current Lynch-Raine Administration Building now stands.

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consorti ...

and

Boston University School of Theology Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological sch ...

alumnus Bennett W. Hutchinson was the college's first president. Following ten years focusing on college preparatory work, college-level instruction was first offered in 1900 culminating in the first baccalaureate degrees in 1905. For one year the institution was named Wesleyan University of West Virginia but it was quickly changed to West Virginia Wesleyan College in honor of

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

, the founder of Methodism. Pre-college instruction continued until 1923 when it was discontinued because the high schools in the state had grown enough to adequately perform that task.

Recent years

Dr. Pamela Jubin Balch, a 1971 graduate of Wesleyan, became the college's 18th president in July 2006. Dr. Balch is the first woman to serve as president in the college's history. At the outset of her tenure as President, Balch reinstated the college's briefly-discontinued nursing program as well as its 3-2 engineering program. The college has since expanded its academic programs, adding graduate degrees in athletic training, business administration, English Writing, and nursing. In 2009 Wesleyan opened the $7.2 million Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts followed shortly thereafter by the $8.9 million David E. Reemsnyder Research Center in 2010. A series of residential improvements to the campus were realized in the construction of a new 140-bed residence hall on Camden Avenue as well as a comprehensive renovation and restructuring of Fleming Hall, the college's second oldest permanent residence hall after Agnes Howard Hall. Adding to its already-beautiful and decidedly park-like campus, Wesleyan developed a sprawling green space in front of Wesley Chapel and included a fountain that had long been envisioned for the space since President Stanley Martin's campus master plan of the mid-1960s. Recent academic restructuring has contributed to the academic success of the college, with individual departments now consolidated into seven schools: Arts and Humanities, Athletic Training and Exercise Science, Business, Education, Nursing, Science, and Social Sciences. The College has seen consistent enrollment growth, with the number of students growing from 1,150 in 2006 to around 1,400 at present. Wesleyan students have also enjoyed national success. During the Balch presidency, nine Wesleyan students have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships and one student became the first student from any West Virginia college or university student to become a Mitchell Scholar. Wesleyan's Students in Free Enterprise team has finished among the top 40 in the nation the past two years and Wesleyan ranks fifth among all NCAA Division II colleges and universities in the number of Academic Achievement Award winners. Wesleyan students have also been named NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners each of the last two years. Over 300 science majors have participated in federal and state-funded scientific research projects during the past five years.

Academics

The college offers over 50 undergraduate majors and 33 minors. Wesleyan also has

3-2 engineering 3-2 engineering programs, also called combined plans or dual degree programs, provide a unique opportunity for a liberal arts and engineering education. 3-2 students get a BA from their home institution, often a liberal arts college or university, ...

partnerships with Marshall University and West Virginia University. Undergraduate degrees are awarded in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Bachelor of Music Education. Graduate degrees awarded include the Master of Science in Athletic Training, Master of Business Administration, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and Master of Science in Nursing. Approximately 80% of West Virginia Wesleyan's faculty have earned doctorates or comparable terminal degrees within their field. The student-faculty ratio is 14 to 1, with an average class size of 19.

Campus

The campus boasts 23 major buildings of

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...

, a legacy of the presidency of Stanley H. Martin (1957–1972). The grounds are situated in a park-like setting of more than 100 acres. The campus also hosts a variety of local flora, such as

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

and

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfam ...

trees,

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or ...

s, laurels, and

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s. Some of the recognizable buildings on campus are the Lynch-Raine Administration building, Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library, Reemsnyder Research Center, and Wesley Chapel, which is the highest capacity chapel in West Virginia.

Student life

Wesleyan has retained its residential character; about 90% of the students live on campus, due to its inclusive campus housing policies. There are 21

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

sports teams, and 70 clubs and organizations. The college's athletics teams are the

Bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the ...

s, which compete in the

Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 12 schools, m ...

, of which it was a founding member in 2013. The Bobcats were former members of the

West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) was a collegiate athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early years, and expanded into Pe ...

(WVIAC), having been recognized as having the top athletic program in the WVIAC.by winning, over 151 conference championships and earning a conference dominance of 18 Commissioner's Cups during the past 20 years and eight Presidents' Cups in 14 years. Each year, Wesleyan's 21 NCAA II teams successfully compete at the regional and national levels. Wesleyan also ranks fifth among all NCAA II schools in the number of Academic Achievement Award winners. The

Greek system Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

was initiated on campus in 1925, when the Board of Trustees authorized the establishment of two sororities and three fraternities. The four Panhellenic-affiliated sororities are

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 ...

Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a memb ...

Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Xi Delta (, often referred to as A-''"Zee"''-D ) is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893. Baird's Manual is also available online hereThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois, United Stat ...

, and

Zeta Tau Alpha Zeta Tau Alpha (known as or Zeta) is an international women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its International Office is located in Carmel, Indiana. It ...

. The five Interfraternity Council-affiliated fraternities are

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social fraternity with 181 active chapters and provisional chapters. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest Greek letter fraternity in the United States. The ...

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

, the

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University, Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) i ...

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 ...

, and

Theta Xi Theta Xi () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on April 29, 1864. Of all the social fraternities today, Theta Xi was the only one founded during the Civil War. Its ...

. There are also many additional organizational brotherhoods, sisterhoods, and honorary groups on campus including

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25, ...

, Alpha Psi Omega, Beta Beta Beta, Kappa Phi,

Mortar Board Mortar Board is an American national honor society for college seniors. Mortar Board has 233 chartered collegiate chapters nationwide and 15 alumni chapters. History Mortar Board was the first national honor society for college senior women ...

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University i ...

Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha Theta () is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. It has more than 400,000 members, with new members numbering about 9,000 a year through its 970 chapters. Founding Phi Alpha The ...

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota () is a women's music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its m ...

, Sigma Tau Epsilon, Sigma Tau Delta, and Sigma Theta Epsilon. Wesleyan students are highly active in community engagement projects. Some 87% of students participate in community service through the Center for Community Engagement and Leadership Development (CCE). The CCE has been recognized on both a state and national level for its community service endeavors. Students in the CCE also organized the first collegiate Jump Rope for Heart events in the United States.

Wesleyan traditions

Athletics

Many features of modern campus life at Wesleyan have long traditions. The college currently boasts 21 sports, competing in

. The college offers varsity men's sports in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. The college offers varsity women's sports in basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and volleyball. The 21st varsity sport, women's lacrosse, formally began competition in the fall of 2010. Wesleyan was a member of the

(WVIAC). The WVIAC disbanded after the 2012-13 season and the school joined the new

Wesley Chapel

An important legacy of the college is Wesley Chapel. With the ability to seat 1,800 people, Wesley Chapel annually hosts the West Virginia United Methodist Annual Conference each June. The "Conference Sunday" service, the culmination of the Conference, always fills Wesley Chapel to standing-room-only. Wesley Chapel also provides a fantastic venue for the Arts. Several campus musical groups perform in the Chapel each semester, as well as artists who visit WVWC as a part of its annual "Arts Alive" Program. Many world-renowned artists have performed in Wesley Chapel over the years including a memorable performance by

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

, who famously performed a trumpet solo from the pulpit.

Written histories

*Haught, Thomas W., ''West Virginia Wesleyan College 1890-1940'', Buckhannon, WV: West Virginia Wesleyan College Press, 1940. *McCuskey, Roy, ''All Things Work Together for Good to them that Love God'', Buckhannon, WV: West Virginia Wesleyan College Press, ca. 1950. *Miller, Brett T., ''Our Home Among the Hills: West Virginia Wesleyan's First 125 Years'', Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company Publishers, 2014. *Plummer, Kenneth M., ''A History of West Virginia Wesleyan College, 1890-1965'', Buckhannon, WV: West Virginia Wesleyan College Press, 1965.

Notable alumni

Maggie Anderson Maggie Anderson (born September 23, 1948) is an American poet and editor with roots in Appalachia. Education and beginning of career Anderson attended West Virginia Wesleyan College from 1966–68 and earned a bachelor's degree in English, with ...

(born 1948), poet * Ken Ash (1901–1979), baseball player * Chalmers Ault (1900–1979), American football player * William E. Baker (1873–1954), judge * Pamela Balch, academic; 18th president of West Virginia Wesleyan College *

Len Barnum Leonard Warner "Feets" Barnum (September 18, 1912 – November 24, 1998) was an American football quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the firs ...

(1912–1998), American football player * Cliff Battles (1910–1981), American football player * Thomas Bickerton (born 1958), bishop *

Sheriff Blake John Frederick "Sheriff" Blake (September 17, 1899 – October 31, 1982), was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1920 to 1931 and 1937. He played for the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and C ...

(1899–1982), baseball player *

Shannon Breen Shannon Breen (born March 16, 1989) is an American football center who is a free agent. He played college football at West Virginia Wesleyan. He has been a member of the Milwaukee Mustangs, Green Bay Blizzard, Cleveland Gladiators, Montreal ...

(born 1989), American football player * Jim Brogan (born 1958), basketball player *

Lewis C. Cantley Lewis C. Cantley (born February 20, 1949) is an American cell biologist and biochemist who has made significant advances to the understanding of cancer metabolism. Among his most notable contributions are the discovery and study of the enzyme PI-3 ...

(born 1949), cell biologist *

Ted Cassidy Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor noted for his tall stature at and deep voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of ...

(1932–1979), actor *

Robin Davis Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: ** European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin ** Forest ...

(born 1956), jurist * Ray Dorr (1941–2001), American football player * William Flanagan (1901–1975), American football player * Matt Foreman, activist * Denise Giardina (born 1951), novelist *

L. J. Hanifan Lyda Judson Hanifan (February 12, 1879 – December 11, 1932), better known as L. J. Hanifan, is credited with introducing the concept of social capital. Robert Putnam in his book, ''Bowling Alone'' (2000) credits a 1916 paper by Hanifan as the fir ...

(1879–1932), economist * John Kellison (1886–1971), American football player *

Jason Koon Jason Koon (born August 14, 1985) is an American professional poker player from Weston, West Virginia known for his accomplishments in live and online poker tournaments. Early life Koon graduated from Lewis County High School in 2003 and then a ...

(born 1985), poker player * Oscar Lambert (1890–1970), athlete * Jean Lee Latham (1902–1995), writer *

Blanche Lazzell Blanche Lazzell (October 10, 1878 – June 1, 1956) was an American painter, printmaking, printmaker and designer. Known especially for her Woodcut#White-line woodcut, white-line woodcuts, she was an early modernism, modernist American artist, ...

(1878–1956), painter * John F. McCuskey (born 1947), justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia *

Irene McKinney Irene McKinney (April 20, 1939 – February 4, 2012) was an American poet and editor, and served as the Poet Laureate of the state of West Virginia from her appointment by Governor Gaston Caperton in January 1994 until her death. Biography Thir ...

(1939–2012), poet * Jim Miller (1908–1965), American football player * Scott Douglas Miller, President of Virginia Wesleyan University, former president of Bethany College, Wesley College, and

Lincoln Memorial University Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a private university in Harrogate, Tennessee. LMU's campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. As of fall 2019, it had 1,975 undergraduate and 2,892 graduate and professional students. LMU ...

Greasy Neale Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach. Early life and playing career Neale was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Although writers eventually assumed that Nea ...

(1891–1973), American football player * Daniel Pitt O'Brien (1900–1957), politician * Okey L. Patteson (1898–1989), politician * Anthony Peters (born 1983), American soccer player * Nelson Peterson (1913–1990), American football player * Edward G. Rohrbough (1874–1956), politician * Harry Shriver (1896–1970), baseball player * Stephen Skinner, politician *

Margaret Smith Margaret Smith or Maggie Smith may refer to: People *Margaret Smith Court, known as Margaret Court (born 1942), Australian tennis player *Margaret A. Smith, superintendent of Volusia County Schools *Margaret Bayard Smith (1778–1844), American au ...

(born 1952), politician * David E. Stuart, anthropologist *

Chalmers Tschappat John Chalmers Tschappat, Jr. (June 22, 1896 – February 6, 1958), sometimes listed as John Franklin Tschappat, was an American football player. He played at the tackle position for the Dayton Triangles of the American Professional Football Assoc ...

(1896–1958), American football player * Peter D. Weaver (born 1945), bishop * Lillian Mayfield Wright (1894–1986), poet * Bil Lepp, Storyteller and History Channel TV Host

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Private universities and colleges in West Virginia Education in Upshur County, West Virginia Educational institutions established in 1890 Methodism in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Upshur County, West Virginia 1890 establishments in West Virginia