- Nebraska Wesleyan University
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Nebraska Wesleyan University 
Established 1887 Type Private Religious affiliation United Methodist Church Endowment $35.7 million[1] Location Lincoln, Nebraska, USA Colors Brown & Gold Nickname Prairie Wolf Website http://www.nebrwesleyan.edu/ 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.[2] It remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Contents
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; 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. [1]
Notable alumni
- Shawn Bouwens - professional football player for the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchises
- Donald Carlyon - former president Delta College (Michigan)
- Carl Curtis - former United States Senator
- John R. Dunning - physicist and key player in the Manhattan Project
- Mignon Eberhart -- mystery novelist
- Rick Evans - singer and guitarist, writer of the hit In the Year 2525 as part of the group Zager and Evans
- Ted Genoways - poet and Virginia Quarterly Review editor
- John M. Gerrard - current Nebraska State Supreme Court Justice
- Gene V Glass - Regents' Professor, Arizona State University, author, social scientist
- Dwight Griswold - former United States Senator and Governor of Nebraska
- Kent Haruf - novelist
- Harry Huge - international lawyer
- Lew Hunter - screenwriter and Chair Emeritus of the UCLA Film Department
- Paul D. Knox - Brigadier General, North Dakota Air National Guard
- Lowen Kruse - minister and current Nebraska state senator
- L. Jay Lemons - current president of Susquehanna University
- James Moeller - jurist and former Vice Chief Justice, Arizona State Supreme Court
- James Munkres - mathematician
- Orville Nave - author of Nave's Topical Bible
- John N. Norton - former United States Representative
- Marian Heiss Price - current Nebraska state senator
- Robert Reed - Science fiction writer
- Ed Schrock - current Nebraska state senator
- Coleen Seng - mayor of Lincoln 2003-2007
- W. Robert Thurber - physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Edwin R. Williams - physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Betty Meisinger Dyer - Philanthropist,
- Glenn & Grace Hefner - parents of Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine
Points of interest
- Alice Abel Arboretum
- Burt Hall
References
- ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2009_NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values.pdf. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
- ^ "America's Best Colleges". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_Americas-Best-Colleges_Rank_4.html.
External links
Colleges and universities in Nebraska Public institutions Private institutions Bellevue · Clarkson · Concordia · Creighton · Doane · Grace · Hastings · Midland · Nebraska Christian · Nebraska Methodist · Nebraska Wesleyan · Summit Christian · Union · York
Community Colleges Central CC · Little Priest · Metropolitan CC · Mid-Plains CC · Nebraska Indian CC · Northeast CC · Southeast CC · Western Nebraska CC
Great Plains Athletic Conference Briar Cliff • Concordia (Nebraska) • Dakota Wesleyan • Doane • Dordt • Hastings • Midland • Morningside • Mount Marty† • Nebraska Wesleyan • Northwestern (Iowa) • Sioux Falls
† does not compete in footballAnnapolis Group Chair Member schools Agnes Scott • Albion • Albright • Allegheny • Alma • Amherst • Augustana • Austin • Bard • Barnard • Bates • Bennington • Berea • Berry • Birmingham-Southern • Bowdoin • Bryn Mawr • Bucknell • Carleton • Centre • Chatham • Claremont McKenna • Coe • Colby • Colgate • Saint Benedict • Colorado • Connecticut • Cornell • Davidson • Denison • DePauw • Dickinson • Drew • Earlham • Eckerd • Franklin & Marshall • Furman • Gettysburg • Gordon • Goucher • Grinnell • Gustavus Adolphus • Hamilton • Hampden-Sydney • Hampshire • Harvey Mudd • Haverford • Hendrix • Hiram • Hobart & William Smith • Hollins • Holy Cross • Hope • Illinois Wesleyan • Juniata • Kalamazoo • Kenyon • Knox • Lafayette • Lake Forest • Lawrence • Lewis & Clark • Luther • Macalester • Manhattan • McDaniel • Middlebury • Millsaps • Monmouth • Moravian • Morehouse • Mount Holyoke • Muhlenberg • Nebraska Wesleyan • Oberlin • Occidental • Oglethorpe • Ohio Wesleyan • Pitzer • Pomona • Presbyterian • Puget Sound • Randolph-Macon • Randolph • Reed • Rhodes • Ripon • Rollins • St. Benedict and St. John's • St. John's • St. Lawrence • St. Olaf • Salem • Sarah Lawrence • Scripps • Sewanee • Skidmore • Smith • Southwestern • Spelman • Swarthmore • Sweet Briar • Transylvania • Trinity College • Trinity University • Union • Ursinus • Vassar • Wabash • Washington • Washington & Jefferson • Washington & Lee • Wellesley • Wesleyan College • Wesleyan University • Westmont • Wheaton • Whitman • Whittier • Willamette • William Jewell • Williams • Wittenberg • WoosterConsortium of Liberal Arts Colleges (CLAC) Albion · Alma · Amherst · Bates · Beloit · Bowdoin · Bryn Mawr · Bucknell · Carleton · Colby · Colgate · Colorado College · Connecticut College · Davidson · Denison · DePauw · Dickinson · Earlham · Eckerd · Franklin & Marshall · Gettysburg · Grinnell · Hamilton · Harvey Mudd · Haverford · Holy Cross · Hope · Kalamazoo · Kenyon · Lafayette · Lawrence · Lewis & Clark · Luther · Macalester · Manhattan · Middlebury · Mills · Mount Holyoke · Muhlenberg · Nebraksa Wesleyan · Oberlin · Occidental · Ohio Wesleyan · Pitzer · Pomona · Reed · Rhodes · Scripps · Sewanee · Skidmore · Smith · St. Lawrence · St. Olaf · Swarthmore · Sweet Briar · Trinity (CT) · Trinity (TX) · Union · Vassar · Wabash · Washington · Washington & Lee · Wellesley · Wesleyan · Westmont · Wheaton (IL) · Wheaton (MA) · Whitman · Whittier · Williams · Wooster
Coordinates: 40°50′21″N 96°39′03″W / 40.83925°N 96.65095°W
Categories:- Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Methodist Church
- Nebraska Wesleyan University
- Universities and colleges in Nebraska
- Educational institutions established in 1887
- Council of Independent Colleges
- National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities members
- Education in Lincoln, Nebraska
- North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
- Members of the Annapolis Group
- Buildings and structures in Lincoln, Nebraska
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