Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. 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 2015. In 2009, Forbes ranked it 84th of America's Best Colleges. 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; 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 119 majors, minors and pre-professional programs. It also offers graduate programs: a Master of Science in Nursing, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Education.
Nebraska Wesleyan has been associated with four mascots 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.
Athletics
Nebraska Wesleyan athletic teams are known the Prairie Wolves. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and wrestling. Women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.
Formerly a duel member of both the NAIA and NCAA, Nebraska Wesleyan moved exclusively to the NCAA as part of its 2016 move to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The football team played Pepperdine Waves in the 1947 Will Rogers Bowl, the only postseason bowl appearance for either school.
Notable alumni
- Brenda Bence - author, senior executive coach and branding expert
- Shawn Bouwens - professional football player for the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchises
- Ralph G. Brooks - 29th Governor of Nebraska
- Donald Carlyon - former president Delta College (Michigan)
- Carl Curtis - former United States Senator
- John R. Dunning - physicist and key player in the Manhattan Project
- Betty Meisinger Dyer - Philanthropist
- 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
- Glenn & Grace Hefner - parents of Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine
- Harry Huge - international lawyer
- Lew Hunter - screenwriter and Chair Emeritus of the UCLA Film Department
- Emily Kinney (2006) - television and theater actress (The Walking Dead)
- 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 - former Nebraska state senator
- Robert Reed - Science fiction writer
- Jon Scholz - businessman
- Ed Schrock - former Nebraska state senator
- Coleen Seng - mayor of Lincoln 2003-2007
- Dwight Starkey - comedian
- W. Robert Thurber - physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Edwin R. Williams - physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Antwan Wilson - Superintendent, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland, California
Points of interest
- Abel Stadium
- Alice Abel Arboretum
- Burt Hall
- Lucas Hall
References
External links
- Nebraska Wesleyan Official Website
- Nebraska Wesleyan Official Athletics Website