Nebraska Wesleyan University
Encyclopedia
Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private
, coeducational university
located in Lincoln, Nebraska
. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska
Methodists
. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college
education. Nebraska Wesleyan was ranked the #1 liberal arts college
in Nebraska by U.S. News and World Report in 2002. In 2009, Forbes
ranked it 84th of America's Best Colleges
. It remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
In September 1887, the cornerstone was laid for Old Main, the defining 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 in 1914.
The school is located in the former town of University Place, Nebraska. Today, it is part of Lincoln, Nebraska
; 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). Nebraska Wesleyan offered a Master of Arts
degree until 1937.
The University currently has 48 majors and 39 minors. It recently brought back its graduate programs with a Master of Science
in Nursing
developed in 2000, a Master of Forensic Science degree first offered in 2001 and a Master of Arts
in Historical Studies degree, whose first class graduated on May 19, 2007.
Nebraska Wesleyan has been associated with four emblems in its history, featuring the Sunflower
(1894-1907), the Coyote
(1907-1933), the Plainsman (1933-2000), and the Prairie Wolf
(2000-present). The school colors of brown and gold are a tribute to the first emblem.
A fire on November 17, 2006, at the Phi Kappa Tau
fraternity house killed 1 brother and sent 3 others to the hospital in critical condition. The Lincoln Police later cited 2 men and arrested 1 other on hazing charges as well as illegal possession of fireworks, although not in connection with this fire, resulting in suspension of the fraternity from campus for two to four years. Phi Kappa Tau has returned to Nebraska Wesleyan University in Fall 2011.
http://www.nebrwesleyan.edu/media/releases/20070425PhiTauNatl.html
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
, coeducational university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
Methodists
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
education. Nebraska Wesleyan was ranked the #1 liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in Nebraska by U.S. News and World Report in 2002. In 2009, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
ranked it 84th of America's Best Colleges
Forbes Magazine's List of America's Best Colleges
In 2009 Forbes Magazine, along with The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, compiled a list of America's Best Colleges based on "the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve".- 2009 List :...
. It remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
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, the defining 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 in 1914.
The school is located in the former town of University Place, Nebraska. Today, it is part of Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
; 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). Nebraska Wesleyan offered a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree until 1937.
The University currently has 48 majors and 39 minors. It recently brought back its graduate programs with a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
developed in 2000, a Master of Forensic Science degree first offered in 2001 and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Historical Studies degree, whose first class graduated on May 19, 2007.
Nebraska Wesleyan has been associated with four emblems in its history, featuring the Sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
(1894-1907), the Coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
(1907-1933), the Plainsman (1933-2000), and the Prairie Wolf
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
(2000-present). The school colors of brown and gold are a tribute to the first emblem.
A fire on November 17, 2006, at the Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau is a U.S. national collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of Miami University's Old Main Building in Oxford, Ohio on March 17, 1906...
fraternity house killed 1 brother and sent 3 others to the hospital in critical condition. The Lincoln Police later cited 2 men and arrested 1 other on hazing charges as well as illegal possession of fireworks, although not in connection with this fire, resulting in suspension of the fraternity from campus for two to four years. Phi Kappa Tau has returned to Nebraska Wesleyan University in Fall 2011.
http://www.nebrwesleyan.edu/media/releases/20070425PhiTauNatl.html
Notable alumni
- Shawn BouwensShawn BouwensShawn M. Bouwens is a former professional American football player who played guard for five seasons for the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars.-References:...
- professional football player for the New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, Detroit LionsDetroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, and Jacksonville JaguarsJacksonville JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
NFL franchises - Donald Carlyon - former president Delta CollegeDelta CollegeDelta College is the name of several community colleges in the United States and Canada. Among them are:* Delta College , near Bay City* Delta College , Quebec* Louisiana Delta Community College...
(Michigan) - Carl CurtisCarl CurtisCarl Thomas Curtis was an American politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. He served as a Republican in the House of Representatives and later the Senate ....
- former United States Senator - John R. DunningJohn R. DunningJohn Ray Dunning was an American physicist who played key roles in the development of the atomic bomb. He specialized in neutron physics and did pioneering work in gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
- physicist and key player in the Manhattan ProjectManhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army... - Mignon Eberhart -- mystery novelist
- Rick EvansRick EvansRick Evans is a chart-topping American singer and guitarist.From 1962 he played with the Eccentrics, a group which also included Denny Zager. The group split in 1965. By 1968 Evans and Zager worked as a duo together and had a number one hit with "In the Year 2525," written by Evans, allegedly in...
- singer and guitarist, writer of the hit In the Year 2525In the Year 2525"In the Year 2525 " is a hit song from 1969 by American pop-rock duo Zager and Evans. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. The song was written by Rick Evans in 1964 and originally released on a small regional record label in 1968...
as part of the group Zager and EvansZager and EvansZager & Evans were a Lincoln, Nebraska rock-pop duo of the late 1960s and early 1970s named after its two members, Denny Zager and Rick Evans, who met at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Fellow Nebraska artists Dave Trupp and Mark Dalton backed up the duo on drums and bass respectively... - Ted GenowaysTed GenowaysTed Genoways is the editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review .He graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Texas Tech University with an MA, and from the University of Virginia with an MFA....
- poet and Virginia Quarterly Review editor - John M. GerrardJohn M. GerrardJohn Melvin Gerrard is the youngest person ever appointed to the Nebraska Supreme Court and has served as a justice of that court since 1995...
- current Nebraska State Supreme Court Justice - Gene V Glass - Regents' Professor, Arizona State University, author, social scientist
- Dwight GriswoldDwight GriswoldDwight Palmer Griswold was an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of Nebraska from 1940 to 1946 and U.S. Senator from 1952 to 1954. He was a Republican.-Biography:...
- former United States Senator and Governor of NebraskaGovernor of NebraskaThe Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full... - Kent HarufKent HarufKent Haruf is an award-winning American novelist.-Life:Haruf was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of a Methodist minister...
- novelist - Harry HugeHarry HugeHarry Huge, is a practicing attorney with offices in Charleston, South Carolina.Huge was the plaintiff's attorney in the case of Blankenship v. Boyle, a ruling which enabled a more democratic process in selection of mine union leadership. Thereafter, in 1972, Huge was appointed as a trustee of the...
- international lawyer - Lew HunterLew HunterLewis R. Hunter is an American screenwriter, author and educator and is chairman Emeritus and Professor of Screenwriting at the UCLA Department of Film and Television...
- screenwriter and Chair Emeritus of the UCLA Film Department - Paul D. Knox - Brigadier General, North Dakota Air National Guard
- Lowen KruseLowen KruseLowen Kruse is a Nebraska state senator from Omaha, Nebraska, in the Nebraska Legislature and retired minister for Omaha First United Methodist Church. -Personal life:...
- minister and current Nebraska state senatorNebraska LegislatureThe Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County.... - L. Jay Lemons - current president of Susquehanna UniversitySusquehanna UniversitySusquehanna University is a liberal arts college in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the state capital, Harrisburg.-Academics:...
- James MoellerJames MoellerJames Moeller is an American lawyer and jurist who served as a member of the Arizona Supreme Court for eleven years from 1987 to 1998....
- jurist and former Vice Chief Justice, Arizona State Supreme Court - James MunkresJames MunkresJames Raymond Munkres is a Professor Emeritus of mathematics at MIT and the author of several texts in the area of topology, including Topology , Analysis on Manifolds, Elements of Algebraic Topology, and Elementary Differential Topology...
- mathematician - Orville NaveOrville NaveOrville James Nave was an American Methodist theologian and chaplain in the United States Army. He is best known for compiling Nave's Topical Bible, an index of topics addressed in the Christian Bible.-Early life:...
- author of Nave's Topical BibleNave's Topical BibleNave's Topical Bible is a book written by Orville James Nave 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 untiring study of the Word of God." It is a topical concordance of the... - John N. NortonJohn N. NortonJohn Nathaniel Norton was a Nebraska Democratic politician.Born on a farm near Stromsburg, Nebraska on May 12, 1878, he attended Bryant Normal University in Stromsburg. He graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1901 and University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1903. He served as clerk and...
- former United States Representative - Marian Heiss PriceMarian Heiss PriceMarian Heiss Price is a Nebraska state senator from Lincoln, Nebraska in the Nebraska Legislature and registered nurse. -Personal life:...
- current Nebraska state senatorNebraska LegislatureThe Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County.... - Robert ReedRobert Reed (author)Robert David Reed is a Hugo Award-winning American science fiction author. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the Nebraska Wesleyan University. Reed is an "extraordinarily prolific" genre short-fiction writer with "Alone" being his 200th professional sale...
- Science fiction writer - Ed SchrockEd Schrock (Nebraska)Ed Schrock was a Nebraska state senator from Elm Creek, Nebraska, United States in the Nebraska Legislature and farmer. -Personal life:...
- current Nebraska state senatorNebraska LegislatureThe Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County.... - Coleen SengColeen SengColeen Seng was the 50th mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska. She served as mayor from May 19, 2003 to May 19, 2007. She is best known for seeking payment for $32,000 worth of security expenses, incurred during the 2004 fundraising visit of Dick Cheney.- Political career :Seng was elected in 2003, beating...
- mayor of Lincoln 2003-2007 - W. Robert Thurber - physicist, National Institute of Standards and TechnologyNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyThe National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...
- Edwin R. Williams - physicist, National Institute of Standards and TechnologyNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyThe National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...
- Betty Meisinger Dyer - Philanthropist,
- Glenn & Grace Hefner - parents of Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine