North Carolina Wesleyan College

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North Carolina Wesleyan College is a private four-year coeducational, liberal arts college, located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Founded in 1956, the school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and offers a number of preprofessional programs. North Carolina Wesleyan also offers evening courses at its 200-acre (0.81 km²) Rocky Mount campus, as well as satellite locations in Morrisville and Goldsboro.

History

During the 1950s, when the flourishing and democratization of American higher education was setting an example for the rest of the world, the citizens of Rocky Mount began to plan for their own college. What those citizens had the foresight to recognize was the importance to a post-war community of an institution of higher learning. A college would be an intellectual center for the City and for Nash and Edgecombe Counties.

An offer of partnership was made to the United Methodist Church which, in the spring of 1956, announced Rocky Mount as the site of a new college. It made good sense. Rocky Mount was within twenty-five miles of the spot where plans for the first Methodist school in America had been discussed in 1780: it was in the home of the Reverend John Dickens near Eden church in Halifax County that Bishop Asbury raised the matter. Moreover, there was a strong and vital Methodist constituency in the region. Thus the school was named after John Wesley. We should not confuse NC Wesleyan Collge for Wesleyan University, the NESCAC school in Middltown, CT. Rocky Mount and the North Carolina Conference both pledged large sums of funding to build a College which, it was established, would be built in the colonial architectural style. Chartered by the State of North Carolina on October 25, 1956, a new Board of Trustees was established. Led by its first Chairman Mr. W. Jasper Smith, the Board set out to build a college. A capital campaign saw the community and the Church pledge $4 million for construction on the magnificent 200-acre (0.81 km²) property donated by the Braswell family north of the City. By 1960, the College welcomed its first class of students.

During its relatively short history, North Carolina Wesleyan has remained faithful to its goal of providing undergraduate education in a residential setting. The academic curriculum, based on the traditional liberal arts, has developed and matured into a mixture of the pure liberal arts and sciences, and of vocational degrees. During the past ten years, a strong multi-campus adult degree program has developed in Raleigh-Durham, Goldsboro and Rocky Mount. North Carolina Wesleyan’s relationship with the United Methodist Church has similarly evolved. Our diverse student body is composed of all shades of belief and non-belief. It is composed of all ages. Yet Charles Wesley’s dictum to "Unite the pair so long disjoined – knowledge and vital piety" continues to inform the academic and social life of the College.

As the College nears a half-century, its nine thousand alumni can attest to the importance Wesleyan college has meant in their lives. Sustained leadership and support from the Rocky Mount community continue to inspire the College, which is set to face the challenge of the 21st century with resolution, hope and vigor.

Campus Information

Main Campus

The attractively planned 200-acre (0.81 km²) campus contains six residence halls, nine academic and main buildings, Everett Gymnasium, Dunn Center for the Performing Arts Center and outdoor athletic facilities, including soccer field, baseball field, tennis courts, intramural fields, and softball field.

Enrollment

About 600 students in the traditional Rocky Mount program. Another 800 students are enrolled in the evening college programs at sites in Rocky Mount, Morrisville, and Goldsboro.

Academic

• Student-Faculty Ratio: 17 to 1
• Degrees Offered: The college offers 22 degrees in both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science.
• Bachelor of Suuhkknn Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The Teacher Education Program is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)

Bachelor of Arts

• Chemistry
• Justice Studies
• Psychology
• Theater
• English
• Mathematics
• Religious Studies
• History
• Political Science
• Sociology

Bachelor of Science

• Accounting
• Biology
• Business Administration
• Chemistry
• Computer Information Systems
• Elementary Education
• Environmental Science
• Exercise Science
• Mathematics
• Middle Grades Education
• Pre-Medicine
• Special Education

Culture/Art

Cultural Programs

• Visiting Writers Series
• Performing Arts Series
• Staley Lecture Series
• Mims Gallery Exhibits
• Four Sisters Gallery

Special Collections

• The Lynch Collection of Outsider Art
• Johnson Collection of North Carolina Maps
• Black Mountain College Collection

Student Organizations

Honors Societies

• Alpha Phi Sigma - National Criminal Justice Honor Society.
• Omicron Delta Kappa - national honorary leadership fraternity.
• Phi Eta Sigma - national collegiate scholastic honor society for freshman.
• Pi Gamma Mu - International Honor Society for Social Sciences.
• Psi Chi - National Honor Society for Psychology.
• Sigma Tau Delta - International English Honors Society.

Student Groups

• Black Student Association (BSA)
• The Refuge Campus Ministries Club
• Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
• Future Alumni Association (FAA)
• Voices of Triumph
• Visions of Beauty
• Stepping Stars Dance Team
• Psychology Club
• Club Dramatica
• Science Club
• Politics Club
• Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB)
• Rotaract Club
• Habitat For Humanity
• Math Club
• Music Club
• Campus Activities Board
• Sisters of Distinction (SOD)
• Cinematography Club

Performing Groups

• The Wesleyan Singers College Choir
• The NC Wesleyan Jazz Band
• Gospel Choir
• Wesleyan Players

Student Publications

• The Decree (newspaper)
• The Dissenter (yearbook)

Athletics

North Carolina Wesleyan is a member of NCAA Division III and the USA South Athletic Conference. The Battling Bishops compete in a total of 12 sports:

Men's

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Football
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Golf

Women's

• Soccer
• Basketball
• Softball
• Volleyball
• Tennis
• Cross Country

The men's baseball program has two Division III National Championships in 1989 and again in 1999.

The college's football program was established in 2005.

The NCWC football team finished the 2007 regular season with an 8-2 mark, its best overall record in the program's short history. The Battling Bishops made it to the NCAA Division III Football tournament as the USA South champion, where they upset top-seed Washington & Jefferson in the first round 35-34. Not only was this Wesleyan's first post-season victory, but the first time the top seed lost to a number 8 seed since 1975. [1]

NCWC's Soccer program has also begun to gain more support and notoriety in recent years after successful showings in division tournaments and having alumnus Mamadou Danso, or "futty" as he is known, go on to play professional soccer for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer.

External links

• North Carolina Wesleyan website

Coordinates: 36°01′03″N 77°46′34″W / 36.017482°N 77.7761614°W / 36.017482; -77.7761614