Wesleyan University#Athletics

{{main|History of Wesleyan University}}File:RussellHouseSmaller.jpg (1828), home to the Philosophy department. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001 and is considered one of the finest examples of domestic Greek Revival architecture.{{Cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=782894534&ResourceType=Building|title=National Historic Landmarks Program (NHL)|date=2011-06-06|access-date=2020-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606052547/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=782894534&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=2011-06-06}}]]

Before Wesleyan was founded, a military academy established by Alden Partridge existed, consisting of the campus's North and South Colleges. As this academy failed, New England Methodists bought it and founded in 1831 an all-male Methodist college.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22 Page 22-23] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906091329/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 |date=2015-09-06 }}. Books.google.com (12 November 1909). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Willbur Fisk was the first president. Despite its name, Wesleyan was never an officially denominational seminary, though its curriculum and campus religious life were shaped by a heavy Methodist influence.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22 Page 23] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906091329/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 |date=2015-09-06 }}. Books.google.com (12 November 1909). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. In 1909, it built Judd Hall, named after alumnus Orange Judd, one of the earliest academic buildings devoted exclusively to undergraduate science instruction on any American college or university campus.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&dq=%22Rich+Hall+%22+and+%22wesleyan+university%22&pg=PA130 Pages 129–130] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906090955/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA130&lpg=PA130&dq=%22Rich+Hall+%22+and+%22wesleyan+university%22&source=bl&ots=f-XYj0ySrA&sig=rQZyCHG1PCKipfIB2IoSpODaRag&hl=en&ei=WgqZTrvUDcPs0gHxxf2fBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CEcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22Rich%20Hall%20%22%20and%20%22wesleyan%20university%22&f=false |date=2015-09-06 }}. Books.google.com (12 November 1909). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20811F63B5A1B7493C2AB178CD85F458784F9 Wesleyan University. – Dedication of Judd Hall of National Science, Presentation Address by Orange Judd-Dedicatory Address by Prof. Winchelle-Memorial Chapel, "The Woman Question." Judd Hall of Natural Science. Dedicatory Oration. Dedication of the Memorial Chapel. The Admission of Women.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104122616/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20811F63B5A1B7493C2AB178CD85F458784F9 |date=2013-11-04 }}. New York Times (9 October 2011). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HLqgAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22judd+hall%22+and++%22wesleyan%22&pg=PA267 Page 267] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906083800/https://books.google.com/books?id=HLqgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=%22judd+hall%22+and++%22wesleyan%22&source=bl&ots=uyAaBfoMTA&sig=sCEw7noWRDdAQt0LWh5NejtHYmA&hl=en&ei=nRKWTqSAC8X10gGc4ozoBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=%22judd%20hall%22%20and%20%20%22wesleyan%22&f=false |date=2015-09-06 }}. Books.google.com (19 November 2008). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

The Wesleyan student body numbered about 300 in 1910{{cite web |url=http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |title=Chapter 17, The Wesleyan Story: The Importance of Moral Capital, Burton R. Clark, pp. 369 |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017145723/http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2015 |url-status=live }} and had grown to 800 in 1960.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874053,00.html | magazine=Time | title=Education: New Look at Wesleyan | date=18 April 1960 | access-date=22 May 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220022148/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874053,00.html | archive-date=20 February 2011 | url-status=dead }}

Wesleyan is, along with Amherst and Williams colleges, a member of the Little Three. Wesleyan began as the smallest of the three. Later on, it expanded its programs, qualifying as a university with a variety of graduate offerings and became larger than the other two.{{cite web |url=http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |title=Chapter 17, "The Wesleyan Story: The Importance of Moral Capital", Burton R. Clark, pp. 375, 378 |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017145723/http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2015 |url-status=live }}

File:College row at wesleyan.jpg, Patricelli '92 Theater (not pictured: Judd Hall)]]

In 1872, the university became one of the first U.S. colleges to attempt coeducation by admitting a small number of female students, a venture then known as the "Wesleyan Experiment". "In 1909, the board of trustees voted to stop admitting women as undergraduates, fearing that the school was losing its masculine image and that women would not be able to contribute to the college financially after graduation the way men could."{{cite web>|url=http://www.courant.com/community/connecticut-closeup/hc-connecticut-closeup-wesleyan-university--20110705,0,2421641.story |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515025259/http://www.courant.com/community/connecticut-closeup/hc-connecticut-closeup-wesleyan-university--20110705,0,2421641.story |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-05-15 |title=Connecticut Closeup: Wesleyan University |work=Hartford Courant|publisher= Courant.com |date=5 July 2011|access-date=17 October 2011}} From 1912 to 1970, Wesleyan operated again as an all-male college.[https://books.google.com/books?id=hi2MXDemgpAC&dq=%22Wesleyan+University%22+and+%22College+of+Quantitative+Studies%22&pg=PR7 Page vii] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906095412/https://books.google.com/books?id=hi2MXDemgpAC&pg=PR7&lpg=PR7&dq=%22Wesleyan+University%22+and+%22College+of+Quantitative+Studies%22&source=bl&ots=azPUXQB_UW&sig=umsFSQMIG_YVdtc6byg_hGOHBD0&hl=en&ei=Pc6YTvmXNsrw0gHF0LW4BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFsQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22Wesleyan%20University%22%20and%20%22College%20of%20Quantitative%20Studies%22&f=false|date=2015-09-06}}. Books.google.com (12 November 1909). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

Wesleyan became independent of the Methodist church in 1937. In 2000, the university was designated as a historic Methodist site.{{cite web|url = http://wesleyanargus.com/2009/09/03/wesleyan-history-101-1831-2009/|title = Wesleyan History 101: 1831-2009|publisher = The Wesleyan Argus|access-date = 30 June 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100323051218/http://wesleyanargus.com/2009/09/03/wesleyan-history-101-1831-2009/|archive-date = 23 March 2010|url-status = live}}

Beginning in the late 1950s, president Victor Lloyd Butterfield{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/09/16/archives/dr-butterfield-heads-wesleyan-named-president-to-succeed-mcconaughy.html|title=DR. BUTTERFIELD HEADS WESLEYAN – Named President to Succeed McConaughy, Who Resigned for China Relief Post|work=The New York Times|date=9 October 2011|access-date=17 October 2011|archive-date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723094005/https://www.nytimes.com/1943/09/16/archives/dr-butterfield-heads-wesleyan-named-president-to-succeed-mcconaughy.html|url-status=live}} began a reorganization program that resembled Harvard's house system and Yale's colleges. Undergraduate study would be divided into seven smaller residential colleges, with their own faculty and centralized graduate studies. Doctoral programs and a Center for Advanced Studies (later renamed the Center for the Humanities) were included in this reorganization.{{cite web |url=http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |title=Chapter 17, "The Wesleyan Story: The Importance of Moral Capitol", Burton R. Clark, p. 372, pp.369-378 |date= |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017145723/http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2015 |url-status=live }}[http://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-wi08/le-wi08_Inter_Studies.cfm Paragraphs 5 & 7 and first Reference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928062915/http://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-wi08/le-wi08_Inter_Studies.cfm |date=2011-09-28 }}. Aacu.org. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://library.wcsu.edu/cao/search.tkl?field_query1=dc.subject&query1=neumann%20sigmund Connecticut Archives Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113154127/http://library.wcsu.edu/cao/search.tkl?field_query1=dc.subject&query1=neumann%20sigmund |date=2012-01-13 }}. Library.wcsu.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

The building program begun under this system created three residential colleges on Foss Hill (Foss Hill dormitories), followed by three more residential colleges (Lawn Avenue dormitories, now called Butterfield Colleges). Although the structures were built, only four of the proposed academic programs were begun. Two of those continue today: the College of Letters and the College of Social Studies. It has a student-faculty ratio of 7:1.Albert E. Van Dusen, Connecticut (1961), p 365

Butterfield's successors, Edwin Deacon Etherington (class of 1948)[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/15/business/edwin-etherington-76-ex-amex-president.html Edwin Etherington, 76, Ex-Amex President – New York Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508002707/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/15/business/edwin-etherington-76-ex-amex-president.html |date=2016-05-08 }}. Nytimes.com (15 January 2001). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. and Colin Goetze Campbell,{{cite web |url=http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |title=Chapter 17, "The Wesleyan Story: The Importance of Moral Capitol", Burton R. Clark, p. 379-381 |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017145723/http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2015 |url-status=live }} completed many innovations begun during Butterfield's administration, including the return of women in numbers equal to men;[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827157,00.html Education: Boy Hopes to Meet Girl] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220072450/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827157,00.html |date=2011-12-20 }}. TIME (22 December 1961). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. a quadrupling in the total area of building space devoted to laboratory, studio, and performing arts instruction; and a significant rise in racial, ethnic, and religious diversity and total number of students.[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874053,00.html Education: New Look at Wesleyan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220022148/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874053,00.html |date=2011-02-20 }}. TIME (18 April 1960). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.{{cite web |url=http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |title=Chapter 17, "The Wesleyan Story: The Importance of Moral Capitol", Burton R. Clark, pp. 375-376, 378-381 |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017145723/http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed771/youn/ed77102.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2015 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Rierden |first=Andi |date=1990-05-27 |title=Tensions on Campus: Hope Amid the Rage |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/27/nyregion/tensions-on-campus-hope-amid-the-rage.html |access-date=2023-09-08 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322052914/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/27/nyregion/tensions-on-campus-hope-amid-the-rage.html |url-status=live }}

File:wesolin.jpg]]

Wesleyan occupies a {{convert|360|acre|km2|adj=on}} campus, with over 340 buildings, including the five-building College Row; Olin Memorial Library; Andrus Public Affairs Center; the Exley Science Center; Shanklin and Hall-Atwater Laboratories; the Van Vleck Observatory; Fayerweather with Beckham Hall; Russell House, a National Historic Landmark; the Allbritton Center; the Butterfield dormitories; the Fauver Field dormitories; and the 11-building Center for the Arts complex.

When Wesleyan University was founded in 1831, it took over a campus with two buildings, North College and South College, from 1825. These were originally constructed by the City of Middletown for use by Captain Partridge's American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy. In 1829, after the Connecticut legislature declined it a charter to grant college degrees, Partridge moved his academy to Northfield, Vermont. The academy later became Norwich University and the Middletown buildings were acquired by Wesleyan.

File:wesclark.jpg

The original North College was destroyed in a fire in 1906, but South College survived, being converted into offices that same year. The cupola and the belfry, which contains the Wesleyan Carillon, was designed by Henry Bacon and was added in 1916.{{Cite web|title = Wesleyan: Opening the Door(s) to Higher Education|url = http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2015/06/09/doorsofwesleyan/|website = News @ Wesleyan|access-date = 18 January 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160108113020/http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2015/06/09/doorsofwesleyan/|archive-date = 8 January 2016|url-status = live}}

The original core buildings of the campus were North College and South College. North College, a Nassau Hall-type building seen in most early American college campuses, was replaced after a fire in 1909 with the current North College. South College is the sole building from the beginning

The northern end of High Street contains several large buildings that were former private residences, a few of which were exceptional architectural examples. These include Russell House, a National Historic Landmark, two Alsop family houses, (one is currently the African-American Studies center with student housing; the other is the Digital Design Commons), the Davison infirmary, a second Russell family house that contains the University Development Office, and Downey House. High Street, which is the old center of campus, was once described by Charles Dickens as "the most beautiful street in America".{{cite web|url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/175/wesfacts.html |title=Did You Know / WesFact #1: High Street |access-date=23 November 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070924182431/http://www.wesleyan.edu/175/wesfacts.html |archive-date=24 September 2007 }}, Wesleyan University. Archived on the Internet Archive 24 September 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2011.

File:Allbritton Center.jpg

Wesleyan's 46 undergraduate academic departments.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/about/profile.html University Profile] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412005829/http://www.wesleyan.edu/about/profile.html |date=12 April 2009 }}, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 15 February 2011. 40% of Wesleyan graduates take double majors.[http://novum.ncf.edu/uploads/WZ/uE/WZuE3G2_Lllk8sv5UDUF7A/Values-of-an-Open-Curriculum.pdf The Values of the Open Curriculum: An Alternative Tradition in Liberal Education] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114190144/http://novum.ncf.edu/uploads/WZ/uE/WZuE3G2_Lllk8sv5UDUF7A/Values-of-an-Open-Curriculum.pdf|date=14 January 2012}}. Teagle Foundation "Working Group" White Paper, NCF.edu (upload), pages 23-24 of 112, June 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2011[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/the-top-non-traditional-c_n_584115.html#s91839&title=Wesleyan_University The Top NON-TRADITIONAL Colleges (PHOTOS)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106003134/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/the-top-non-traditional-c_n_584115.html#s91839&title=Wesleyan_University |date=2011-11-06 }}. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

Wesleyan offers 3–2 programs in engineering with the California Institute of Technology and Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. These programs allow undergraduates to receive degrees in five years from both Wesleyan (B.A.) and Caltech or Columbia (B.Sc., Engineering).[http://www.answers.com/topic/wesleyan-university#Columbia_Encyclopedia_ans Columbia Encyclopedia: Wesleyan University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429060901/http://www.answers.com/topic/wesleyan-university#Columbia_Encyclopedia_ans|date=2009-04-29}}, quoted on Answers.com. Retrieved 16 February 2011.[https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-02-22-1Aprinceton22_ST_N.htm Wesleyan University, About the school] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908102737/http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-02-22-1aprinceton22_st_n.htm |date=2012-09-08 }}. Usatoday.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/physics/ugee/3-2.html The "3–2 Program" or "Combined Plan" for the Study of Engineering] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506093929/http://www.wesleyan.edu/physics/ugee/3-2.html |date=6 May 2006 }}, Physics, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 17 February 2011. Additionally, Wesleyan offers a BA/MA Program in the sciences leading to a bachelor's degree in the fourth year and a master's degree in the fifth year. Tuition for the fifth year of the master's degree is waived.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/grad/AcademicResource/bama.html The B.A./M.A. Program in the Sciences At Wesleyan University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130030813/http://www.wesleyan.edu/grad/AcademicResource/bama.html |date=30 January 2009 }}, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 16 February 2011.

Wesleyan does not require undergraduates to take prescribed courses.[http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ605180&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ605180 Coherence Without a Core: Curriculum Planning, Electronic Portfolios, and Enhanced Advising in the Liberal Arts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120000155/http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ605180&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ605180 |date=2012-01-20 }}. Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), EJ605180, authors Richard H. Elphick and William H. Weitzer, _2000_. Retrieved 3 November 2011.[http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/academics 2012 Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303022748/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/academics |date=2012-03-03 }}, Wesleyan University Academic Life, Faculty & Classes, General education/core curriculum required. Retrieved 6 December 2011. Freshmen are offered First Year Initiative seminars,[http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/academics 2012 Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303022748/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/academics |date=2012-03-03 }}, Wesleyan University Academic Life, Student Participation in Special Academic Programs, First Year Experiences. Retrieved 6 December 2011 and undergraduates are encouraged in the first two years of study to take a minimum of two courses from two different departments in diverse subject areas.[http://novum.ncf.edu/uploads/WZ/uE/WZuE3G2_Lllk8sv5UDUF7A/Values-of-an-Open-Curriculum.pdf The Values of the Open Curriculum: An Alternative Tradition in Liberal Education] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114190144/http://novum.ncf.edu/uploads/WZ/uE/WZuE3G2_Lllk8sv5UDUF7A/Values-of-an-Open-Curriculum.pdf |date=14 January 2012 }}. Teagle Foundation "Working Group" White Paper, NCF.edu (upload), pages 23-24, 31-33, 41, 44 of 112, June 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2011

File:Wesleyan University - Butterfield Colleges pano 01.jpg

The Bailey College of the Environment, created in 2009, integrates the following components: 1) a curricular component, including the newly established environmental studies major, the environmental studies certificate, and a senior capstone project; 2) a Think Tank of Wesleyan faculty, scholars of prominence, and undergraduates whose aim is to produce scholarly work that will influence national and international thinking and action on critical environmental issues; and 3) the Collaborative Research Initiative (CRI), which is designed to encourage COE majors with the most potential to undertake environmental research.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120402040401/http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2010/10/19/news/doc4cbd11f7cc8f2345795240.txt?viewmode=fullstory Wesleyan receives $5 M in endowments], Middletown Press. Last paragraph. By Hillary Federico. Published 19 October 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2012.[http://wesinthenews.blogs.wesleyan.edu/files/2012/05/WSJ.comMay222012LiberalArtsSchools.pdf Colleges Get Career-Minded] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705214518/http://wesinthenews.blogs.wesleyan.edu/files/2012/05/WSJ.comMay222012LiberalArtsSchools.pdf |date=2012-07-05 }}, Wall Street Journal (a PDF of the document for those who do not have a subscription to the Journal). Page 2, third and fourth paragraphs. Page 3, last paragraph. By Lauren Weber. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.[http://www.enn.com/press_releases/3489 : Wesleyan University to Host National Conference on Pricing Carbon Emissions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403025043/http://www.enn.com/press_releases/3489 |date=2012-04-03 }}. Enn.com (13 September 2010). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

The university's Film Studies program is led by film historian Jeanine Basinger.[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/22/nyregion/coming-soon-a-marquee-building-at-wesleyan.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Coming Soon, a Marquee Building at Wesleyan – New York Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305150604/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/22/nyregion/coming-soon-a-marquee-building-at-wesleyan.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |date=2016-03-05 }}. Nytimes.com (22 September 2002). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. In 2008, Vanity Fair said: "This tiny Connecticut University, with a total enrollment of 2,700, has turned out a shockingly disproportionate number of Hollywood movers and shakers."[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-35598400_ITM reprinting some of Vanity Fair article, 1 October 2008, Issue 578, p180-180, 1 page, including quoted matter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112093120/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-35598400_ITM |date=12 January 2012 }}, Wesleyan's Entertaining Class (Wesleyan University). Access My Library. Retrieved 18 December 2011.[http://wesleying.org/category/alumni/page/41/ Reprinting in toto Vanity Fair article, 1 October 2008, Issue 578, p180-180, 1 page, 32 Color Photographs, including quoted matter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507222055/http://wesleying.org/category/alumni/page/41/ |date=7 May 2013 }}, Vanity Fair Dedicates Page to Wes Alums, by Mad Joy. Wesleying.org (not published or controlled by the university). 13 September 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2011. Similarly, in 2008, Variety magazine noted Basinger's contribution to the film industry through her work in the Wesleyan Film Studies program, and the large number of alumni of the program now working in Hollywood.Lael Loewenstein, [https://variety.com/2008/biz/markets-festivals/basinger-s-students-make-their-mark-1117983035/ Basinger's students make their mark], Variety.com, 27 March 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2011. University students, biographers, media experts, and scholars from around the world may have full access to The Wesleyan Cinema Archives, which document the film industry during the 20th century and contain the personal papers and film related materials of Ingrid Bergman, Frank Capra, Clint Eastwood, Federico Fellini, Elia Kazan, Frank Perry, Roberto Rossellini, Robert Saudek, Martin Scorsese, Gene Tierney, Raoul Walsh, and John Waters, amongst others.[https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/09/09/clint-eastwood-becomes-a-museum-piece/ Clint Eastwood Becomes A Museum Piece], Clint Eastwood Cinema Collection, Film Study, Wesleyan University Cinema Archives, Chicago Tribune, By Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times News Service. 9 September 1988. Retrieved 18 December 2011.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/cinema Cinema Archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201024307/http://www.wesleyan.edu/cinema/ |date=2005-12-01 }}, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 18 February 2011.

In February 2013, Wesleyan announced the creation of a new College of Film and the Moving Image, incorporating the Film Studies Department, the Center for Film Studies, the Cinema Archives and the Wesleyan Film Series.Lauren Rubenstein, [http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2013/02/20/collegeoffilm/ Wesleyan Creating New College of Film and the Moving Image] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225173615/http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2013/02/20/collegeoffilm/ |date=2013-02-25 }}, The Wesleyan Connection (Wesleyan University's Newsletter), 20 February 2013. Accessed online 2013-02-24.

The College of Integrative Sciences (CIS) provides students with an interdisciplinary education in the sciences, and combines it with hands-on problem solving skills in research. To build interdisciplinary expertise, students must complete both a traditional major in science or mathematics, as well as a "linked" major that combines components from other disciplines to form a coherent plan of study.[http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/tag/college-of-integrative-sciences/ : College of Integrative Sciences to Offer Researched-Based Approach to Learning Science] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715172821/http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/tag/college-of-integrative-sciences/ |date=2015-07-15 }}. wesleyan.edu (29 May 2014).

The College of Letters is an interdisciplinary humanities program offering a three-year B.A. major for the integrative study of European literature, history, and philosophy.Ethan Kleinberg, [http://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-wi08/le-wi08_Inter_Studies.cfm "Interdisciplinary Studies at a Crossroads": "Two models", "Wesleyan University's College of Letters"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928062915/http://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-wi08/le-wi08_Inter_Studies.cfm |date=2011-09-28 }}, The Association of American Colleges and Universities, Winter 2008, Vol. 94, No. 1. Retrieved 22 March 2012.

The College of Social Studies (CSS) was founded in 1959, combining the fields of history, economics, government, and philosophy. Students take 5.5 of the program's 10.5 (thesis-writing students take 11.5) required credits during their sophomore year. Sophomore year focuses on the development of modern Western society from historical, economic, social and political perspectives, and culminates with comprehensive final exams. Seniors are required to write an honors thesis (full year) or senior essay.[http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1592&context=etd_hon_theses&sei-redir=1 Hayes, Jeffrey W., "A History of the College of Social Studies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113074545/http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1592&context=etd_hon_theses&sei-redir=1 |date=2015-01-13 }}, Honors Theses - All. Paper 593. April 1991. 134 pages, Three Appendices. Archives, 1991. Retrieved 25 December 2011.[http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/meier/#c01_2 Inventory of the Gerald M. Meier Papers, 1928-2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911101718/http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/meier/#c01_2 |date=2012-09-11 }}, Duke University Libraries. Collection Overview, Second paragraph, "genesis and growth of the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University". Contents of Collection, Box S1, Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.), College of Social Studies. Retrieved 22 March 2012.Eric Rich, [http://articles.courant.com/1998-12-11/news/9812110433_1_social-studies-social-sciences-emeritus-economics Wesleyan Professor E. Golob Dies, "Helped establish the College of Social Studies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102110900/http://articles.courant.com/1998-12-11/news/9812110433_1_social-studies-social-sciences-emeritus-economics |date=2013-11-02 }}, Hartford Courant, 11 December 1998. Fifth paragraph describes development of CSS program. Retrieved 22 March 2012.

Wesleyan is the sole undergraduate liberal arts college to be designated a Molecular Biophysics Predoctoral Research Training Center by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).{{cite web |url=http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/multimedia/map/molecular/ |title=Molecular Biophysics Predoctoral Research Training Program Institutions |publisher=Publications.nigms.nih.gov |date=19 August 2014 |access-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704152744/http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/multimedia/map/molecular/ |archive-date=4 July 2015 |url-status=live }}

File:Wesleyan University Middletown CT.jpg

Wesleyan's theater program has two theater facilities: the Theatre in the Center for the Arts, a 400-seat space; and the '92 Theater, home to Spike Tape, which is a student-run theater organization. Spike Tape produces upwards of five plays and musicals a semester, completely run by undergraduate students. They can be found at spiketapewes.com.[http://historicbuildingsct.com/?cat=43&paged=2 Historic Buildings of Connecticut » Collegiate] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130126025806/http://historicbuildingsct.com/?cat=43&paged=2|date=2013-01-26}}. Historicbuildingsct.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://wesleyanargus.com/2009/09/25/the-illustrious-history-of-second-stage/ The Illustrious History of Second Stage – Features] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106021528/http://wesleyanargus.com/2009/09/25/the-illustrious-history-of-second-stage/ |date=2011-11-06 }}. The Wesleyan Argus. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://library.wcsu.edu/cao/search.tkl?field_query1=dc.subject&query1=Theater--Connecticut--Middletown--History--20th%20century Connecticut Archives Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113140057/http://library.wcsu.edu/cao/search.tkl?field_query1=dc.subject&query1=Theater--Connecticut--Middletown--History--20th%20century |date=2012-01-13 }}. Library.wcsu.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

Many students participate in the Twelve College Exchange program, which allows for study for a semester or a year at another of the twelve college campuses: Amherst, Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Trinity, Vassar, Wellesley, Wheaton, and the Williams/Mystic Seaport Program in Maritime Studies.[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~finaid/fao/policies/exchange.html Dartmouth College] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126225126/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~finaid/fao/policies/exchange.html |date=2012-01-26 }}, Exchange and Transfer Programs. Twelve College Exchange. Retrieved 14 February 2012.[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/academicdeans/twelve_college.html Mount Holyoke College] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123175953/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/academicdeans/twelve_college |date=2020-11-23 }}, Twelve College Exchange Program. "Participating Institutions". Retrieved 14 February 2012.

Wesleyan has 11 graduate departmental programs in the sciences, mathematics, computer science, psychology, and music.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/grad/ Graduate Studies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504145231/http://www.wesleyan.edu/grad/ |date=2009-05-04 }}, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 18 February 2011. Graduates receive the Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy degrees.[http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424 Wesleyan University, Overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912095518/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424|date=2012-09-12}}, 2012 U.S. News Rankings. Third Paragraph. Retrieved 18 February 2011. Like in many traditional liberal arts colleges in the United States, all of Wesleyan's master's and bachelor's degrees are designated "of Arts" by historical precedent, regardless of the field of study.{{cite web |url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/academic_regulations/advanced_degrees.html |title=Advanced Degrees, Registrar - Wesleyan University |publisher=Wesleyan.edu |access-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704030026/http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/academic_regulations/advanced_degrees.html |archive-date=2015-07-04 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/academic_regulations/degree_requirements.html |title=Degree Requirements, Registrar - Wesleyan University |publisher=Wesleyan.edu |access-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704065440/http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/academic_regulations/degree_requirements.html |archive-date=2015-07-04 |url-status=dead }} Wesleyan also offers a Graduate Liberal Studies Program. Graduates receive the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) or the Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts (MPHIL) degrees.{{Cite web |title=Degree Programs, Masters, GLS - Wesleyan University |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/masters/degree-pgms/index.html |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=www.wesleyan.edu}}

Beginning in 2012, Wesleyan became the first small liberal arts college to partner with a private consortium to design and offer free public access online courses.{{cite web|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/12/06/wellesley-and-wesleyan-hope-moocs-will-inform-campus-based-teaching|title=Wellesley and Wesleyan hope MOOCs will inform campus-based teaching|date=6 December 2012 |access-date=2015-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716125638/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/12/06/wellesley-and-wesleyan-hope-moocs-will-inform-campus-based-teaching|archive-date=2015-07-16|url-status=live}} Wesleyan teaches online courses in Math, Computer Science, Law, Psychology, and Literature, as well as other subjects.

For the Class of 2027 (enrolling Fall 2023), Wesleyan received 14,500 applications and accepted 2,280 (15.7%).{{cite web|last=Neugarten|first=Carolyn|date=April 24, 2023|title=Class of 2027 Statistics: University Sees the Second Largest Applicant Pool Ever, Celebrates First Generation, Low Income Students|url=http://wesleyanargus.com/2023/04/24/class-of-2027-statistics-university-sees-the-second-largest-applicant-pool-celebrates-first-generation-low-income-students/|publisher=The Wesleyan Argus|access-date=September 7, 2023|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907152605/http://wesleyanargus.com/2023/04/24/class-of-2027-statistics-university-sees-the-second-largest-applicant-pool-celebrates-first-generation-low-income-students/|url-status=live}} The median SAT score for admitted freshmen was 770 for math and 750 for evidence-based reading and writing. The median ACT score was 34 for the composite. Since 2014, Wesleyan has been test optional.{{cite web |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/testing.html |title=Standardized Testing |publisher=Wesleyan University |access-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030141425/https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/testing.html |url-status=dead }}

Admission standards at Wesleyan are considered "most selective" by U.S. News & World Report.{{cite magazine|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424|title=Wesleyan University|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=May 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912095518/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424|archive-date=September 12, 2012|url-status=live}} The Princeton Review gives the university an admissions selectivity rating of 96 out of 99.{{cite web |url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college/wesleyan-university-1023852 |title=Wesleyan University |publisher=The Princeton Review |access-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030141424/https://www.princetonreview.com/college/wesleyan-university-1023852 |url-status=live }}

Wesleyan announced in July 2023 that it would no longer give preference in admission to applicants with family or donor ties to the school, officially ending legacy admission at the institution.{{Cite news |last=Patel |first=Vimal |date=2023-07-19 |title=Wesleyan University Ends Legacy Admissions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/us/wesleyan-university-ends-legacy-admissions.html |access-date=2023-07-19 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719174709/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/us/wesleyan-university-ends-legacy-admissions.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2023-07-19 |title=Wesleyan University: Top US college says it will end 'legacy' admissions |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66249601 |access-date=2023-07-21 |archive-date=July 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721022415/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66249601 |url-status=live }}

{{Infobox US university ranking

| Forbes = 54

| USNWR_LA = 14

| Wamo_LA = 3

| THE_WSJ = 43

}}

In the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings, Wesleyan University is tied for 14th overall among national liberal arts colleges. In the 2024 edition, it was ranked first in "Best Colleges for Veterans", 16th in "Best Value Schools", and tied for 36th in "Top Performers on Social Mobility".{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/overall-rankings |title=Wesleyan University Rankings |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |year=2021 |access-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209041318/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/overall-rankings |url-status=live }} Wesleyan University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.{{Citation|title=Connecticut Institutions – NECHE|publisher=New England Commission of Higher Education|url=https://www.neche.org/institutions/ct/|access-date=May 26, 2021|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512135503/https://www.neche.org/institutions/ct/|url-status=dead}}

In the Forbes ranking of the top 500 American colleges for 2024–25, which combines national research universities, liberal arts colleges and military academies in a single survey, Wesleyan University is ranked 54th overall and 12th among liberal arts colleges alone. In another recent Forbes ranking, Wesleyan placed ninth nationally and third among liberal arts colleges.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/colleges/wesleyan-university/?list=top-colleges/|title=America's Top Colleges|date=August 15, 2019|magazine=Forbes|access-date=July 20, 2020|archive-date=July 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721111703/https://www.forbes.com/colleges/wesleyan-university/?list=top-colleges%2F|url-status=live}} According to a study entitled "Revealed Preference Ranking" published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Wesleyan ranks No. 22 among all colleges and universities, and No. 5 among liberal arts colleges only.Christopher Avery, Mark E. Glickman, Caroline M. Hoxby, and Andrew Metrick, "A Revealed Preference Ranking of U.S. Colleges and Universities", NBER Working Paper No. W10803. [https://ssrn.com/abstract=601105 Abstract online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017145723/https://ssrn.com/abstract=601105 |date=2015-10-17 }}, Social Science Research Network The stated purpose of the NBER study was to produce a ranking system that "would be difficult for a college to manipulate" by basing it on the actual demonstrated preferences of highly meritorious students. Wesleyan was listed on the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's 2016 "10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech".{{cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-lukianoff/the-10-worst-colleges-for_b_9243000.html |title=The 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2016 |last=Lukianoff |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Lukianoff |date=17 February 2016 |website=The Huffington Post |access-date=18 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506150549/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-lukianoff/the-10-worst-colleges-for_b_9243000.html |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=live }}

Washington Monthly ranked Wesleyan third in 2022, out of 203 liberal arts colleges in the U.S., based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.{{cite web|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022-college-guide/liberal-arts/|title=2022 Liberal Arts Colleges Ranking|date=30 August 2021|publisher=Washington Monthly|access-date=September 14, 2022|archive-date=December 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225131108/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022-college-guide/liberal-arts/|url-status=live}}

In 2019 Kiplinger ranked Wesleyan 16th of the 149 best value liberal arts colleges in the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/index.php#Table |magazine=Kiplinger's Personal Finance |title=College Finder |date=July 2019 |access-date=2020-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823230821/https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/index.php#Table |archive-date=2019-08-23 |url-status=live }}

File:Olinlibraryfront.jpg

Olin Memorial Library has more than 1.8 million volumes and approximately 10,000 serial subscriptions.[http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/campus-info# Library & Museum Information, Wesleyan University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508090836/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424/campus-info|date=2011-05-08}}. Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com (31 January 2011). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://historicbuildingsct.com/?tag=wesleyan Historic Buildings of Connecticut » Wesleyan] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130125131123/http://historicbuildingsct.com/?tag=wesleyan|date=2013-01-25}}. Historicbuildingsct.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/library/collections/olin/index.html |title=Olin, Library - Wesleyan University |publisher=Wesleyan.edu |access-date=1 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123224203/http://www.wesleyan.edu/library/collections/olin/index.html |archive-date=2012-11-23 |url-status=dead }} Wesleyan's first library was Rich Hall (now '92 Theater), which was built just after the Civil War.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&dq=%22Rich+Hall+%22+and+%22wesleyan+university%22&pg=PA130 Pages 130–132] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906090955/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA130&lpg=PA130&dq=%22Rich+Hall+%22+and+%22wesleyan+university%22&source=bl&ots=f-XYj0ySrA&sig=rQZyCHG1PCKipfIB2IoSpODaRag&hl=en&ei=WgqZTrvUDcPs0gHxxf2fBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CEcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22Rich%20Hall%20%22%20and%20%22wesleyan%20university%22&f=false |date=2015-09-06 }}. Books.google.com (12 November 1909). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Olin Library was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White, built 1925–1927, and dedicated in 1928.

The second largest library on campus is the Science Library, which houses over two hundred fifty thousand volumes.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/scihome/about/aboutscili.html About the Science Library] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907005542/http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/scihome/about/aboutscili.html |date=7 September 2008 }}, Science Library, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 20 February 2011.

The Art Library is housed on the second floor of Olin Library. The Davison Art Collection holds the Print Reference Library on the ground floor of Olin Library. There is also a Music Library (which includes scores and recordings and the World Music Archives) and several department libraries. In 2024, the sound-art work Minute/Year was installed in the main library stairwell.{{cite web |title=Wesleyan University Library Collections. Retrieved 16 November 2011 |url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/library/collections/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724055238/http://www.wesleyan.edu/library/collections/index.html |archive-date=2012-07-24 |access-date=25 August 2012 |publisher=Wesleyan.edu}}{{Cite web |last=Chatfield |first=Andrew |date=2023-12-20 |title=Upcoming Faculty and Alumni Performances and Exhibitions |url=https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/12/20/upcoming-faculty-and-alumni-performances-and-exhibitions/ |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=The Wesleyan Connection |language=en-US |quote=The sound installation “Minute/Year” (2016–present) by artists Kata Kovács and Tom O’Doherty makes its United States premiere in the Wesleyan Olin Library in January 2024 and runs through December 31, 2024. The project uses the daily repeated recording/playback/re-recording of sound in a space to reveal the resonant frequencies of the venue. Presented in collaboration with Professor of Music and Director of Graduate Studies Paula Matthusen. |archive-date=June 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602213458/https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/12/20/upcoming-faculty-and-alumni-performances-and-exhibitions/ |url-status=live }}

File:Richard Alsop IV House.jpg

The Davison Art Collection, until 2019,{{Cite web |date=2025-05-06 |title=University Art Collections to Move to Renovated Olin Basement – The Wesleyan Argus |url=https://wesleyanargus.com/2019/01/31/university-print-collections-to-move-to-renovated-olin-basement/ |access-date=2025-05-20 |language=en-US}} was housed in Alsop House, which is designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.[http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/news_ap_wesleyan_house_named_historic_landmark_200901171705 Wesleyan house named historic landmark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524105646/http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/news_ap_wesleyan_house_named_historic_landmark_200901171705 |date=2011-05-24 }}. WTNH.com (17 January 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://www.ctmuseumquest.com/?page_id=2928 75. Davison Art Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629232213/http://www.ctmuseumquest.com/?page_id=2928 |date=2011-06-29 }}. Ctmuseumquest.com (3 October 2008). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. The Collection is now located in Olin Memorial Library. The Davison Art Collection{{Cite web |title=Welcome - Davison Art Collection - Wesleyan University |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/ |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.wesleyan.edu}} is a large collection consisting primarily of works on paper, including 18,000 prints, 6,000 photographs, several hundred drawings, a small number of paintings, and three-dimensional objects (including artists' books, sculptures, and other objects).[http://www.yale.edu/caas/minutes021204.html Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences Meeting Minutes 12 February 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108111637/http://www.yale.edu/caas/minutes021204.html |date=8 November 2012 }}. Yale.edu (12 February 2004). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/ Davison Art Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416093016/http://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/ |date=2009-04-16 }}, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 20 February 2011.{{Cite web |title=Collection Overview - Davison Art Collection - Wesleyan University |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/collection/index.html |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.wesleyan.edu}} The print collection has works by Dürer, Goya, Rembrandt, Kara Walker, Manet, Norma Morgan, and others.[http://www.museumsusa.org/museums/info/16295 Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606010345/http://www.museumsusa.org/museums/info/16295 |date=2011-06-06 }}. Museumsusa.org (23 June 2011). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.Staff, Press. (2 October 2011) [http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2011/10/02/entertainment/doc4e839334da0ea199971842.txt?viewmode=fullstory Print-making exhibit on display at Davison Art Center – The Middletown Press: Serving Middletown, CT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402040434/http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2011/10/02/entertainment/doc4e839334da0ea199971842.txt?viewmode=fullstory |date=2012-04-02 }}. The Middletown Press. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

The Davison Art Collection exhibits{{Cite web |title=Current Exhibitions - Davison Art Collection - Wesleyan University |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/exhibitions/index.html |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.wesleyan.edu}} in the Anne Goldrach Gallery,{{Cite web |title=Goldrach Gallery - Hours and Parking - Pruzan Art Center - Davison Art Collection - Wesleyan University |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/pruzan-art-center-and-goldrach-gallery/hours.html |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.wesleyan.edu}} located in the Pruzan Art Center.{{Cite web |title=New Pruzan Art Center to Showcase Two Exhibitions from Davison Art Collection |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2024/02/new-pruzan-art-center-to-showcase-two-exhibitions-from-davison-art-collection.html |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=Wesleyan University |language=en}} The Pruzan Art Center was designed by Peterson Rich Office{{Cite web |title=Peterson Rich Office – Wesleyan University Pruzan Arts Center |url=https://www.petersonrichoffice.com/project/davidson-art-center |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.petersonrichoffice.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=PRO’s New Cultural Hub for Wesleyan University Bridges a Campus Divide {{!}} Architectural Record |url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17188-pros-new-cultural-hub-for-wesleyan-university-bridges-a-campus-divide |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.architecturalrecord.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hilburg |first=Jonathan |date=2021-08-03 |title=Peterson Rich Office reveals Wesleyan University’s newest art gallery |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2021/08/peterson-rich-office-reveals-wesleyan-university-newest-art-gallery/ |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=The Architect’s Newspaper |language=en-US}}and opened in 2024. The collection's educational program includes student-curated exhibitions and a study room to support object-based teaching and learning.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/cats/cats_intro.html Museum Publications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410031727/http://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/cats/cats_intro.html |date=2009-04-10 }}, Wesleyan University. Retrieved 20 February 2011.{{Cite web |title=Educational Programs - Davison Art Collection - Wesleyan University |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/education/index.html |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.wesleyan.edu}}

{{main|Douglas cannon}}

In the late 1860s, a yearly contest, the "Cannon Scrap," began between the freshmen, whose mission it was to fire the Douglas Cannon on February 22, and the sophomores, who were charged with foiling the effort. In 1957, the tradition of stealing the cannon began in earnest.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/176892657/|title=Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut on December 3, 1998 · Page 4|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823162933/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/176892657/|archive-date=23 August 2017|url-status=live}}{{Citation|title=The Douglas Cannon - Wesleyan University| date=September 13, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61HzAL-jPa0|language=en|access-date=2020-02-13|archive-date=2020-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123175952/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61HzAL-jPa0|url-status=live}}{{Clarify|reason=does these high jinks still go on?|date=February 2012}}

File:Memorial Chapel Wesleyan University.jpg

The university employs a Jewish rabbi, a Protestant chaplain, and a Muslim chaplain.{{Cite web |title=Meet your chaplains |url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl/meetchaplains.html |access-date=8 May 2024 |website=www.wesleyan.edu |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508053459/https://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl/meetchaplains.html |url-status=live }} There is program housing for Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and Jews.{{Cite web|title = Program Housing, Residential Life - Wesleyan University|url = http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/ugrad_housing/program-housing.html|website = www.wesleyan.edu|access-date = 18 January 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180305205256/http://wesleyan.edu/reslife/ugrad_housing/program-housing.html|archive-date = 5 March 2018|url-status = live}}

File:Wesleyan cardinals mark.png

File:Wesleyan Natatorium.jpg

Wesleyan is a member of the Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), fielding intercollegiate varsity teams in 29 sports. It competes against traditional Little Three rivals Amherst and Williams. Approximately 600 students participate in intercollegiate varsity sports each year.{{cite web |url=http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/ |title=Equity in Athletics Data Analysis Cutting Tool Website |publisher=Ope.ed.gov |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820112931/http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/ |archive-date=20 August 2012 |url-status=live }} Wesleyan is one of the 39 founding members of the NCAA.Leilana McKindra, [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160516110119/http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/NCAANewsArchive/2006/Membership+Information/founding%2Bmembers%2Bhold%2Btrue%2Bto%2Bncaa%2Beducational%2Bmission.html Founding members hold true to NCAA educational mission], The NCAA News, 7 December 2005. Retrieved 20 February 2011. Wesleyan's football and baseball field, Andrus Field, is the oldest continuously used American football field in the world{{Cite web|url=https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/facilities/andrus_football|title=Corwin Stadium at Andrus Field - Football|website=Wesleyan Athletics|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106010409/https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/facilities/andrus_football|archive-date=2019-11-06|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_212836.asp |title=Games Today at the Oldest Football Fields - 11/05/2011 |publisher=Chattanoogan.com |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106141733/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_212836.asp |archive-date=2011-11-06 |url-status=dead }} and the oldest continuously used baseball field in the world.{{Cite web|url=https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/bsb/andrusfieldhistory-baseball.pdf|title=Wesleyan Athletics|website=Wesleyan Athletics|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806221707/https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/bsb/andrusfieldhistory-baseball.pdf|archive-date=2019-08-06|url-status=live}}

With alumni including Bill Belichick, Eric Mangini, and Field Yates, the school has been described by ESPN as a "hotbed for great football minds."{{Cite web|url=https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2015/08/wesleyan-football-pipeline-a-point-of-pride-for-yates/|title=Wesleyan football pipeline a point of pride for Yates|website=ESPN|date=27 August 2015|access-date=2020-11-13|archive-date=November 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113192317/https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2015/08/wesleyan-football-pipeline-a-point-of-pride-for-yates/|url-status=live}} Led by coach John Raba, the winningest lacrosse coach in NESCAC history, the Wesleyan's Men's Lacrosse team won the Division III NCAA championship title in 2018. It was the first national championship in school history.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Amos Magee helped lead Wesleyan University to an ECAC soccer championship and school-best record of 15–1–1 in 1991, and is the Cardinals' all-time leading scorer (35 goals and 85 points).{{cite web|url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/halloffame/inductee-info/2008-fall/amos-magee.html|title=Amos H. Magee '93, Hall of Fame, Athletics – Wesleyan University|work=wesleyan.edu|access-date=September 2, 2022|archive-date=June 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613234249/http://wesleyan.edu/athletics/halloffame/inductee-info/2008-fall/amos-magee.html|url-status=live}} He was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III All-American in 1992, four times was named all-New England, and was inducted into the Wesleyan University Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|url=https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/honors/hall-of-fame-inductees/amos-magee-93/13|title=Amos Magee '93 (2008) - Hall of Fame Inductees|website=Wesleyan University}}

In February 2011, U.S. News & World Report described the university as one of "20 Colleges Where It's Easiest to Get Involved" with a "Students per Club" ratio of "11.66". At that time there were around 270 student groups available to the 3,148 enrolled students.Burnsed, Brian. (15 February 2011) [https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/02/15/20-colleges-where-its-easiest-to-get-involved 20 Colleges Where It's Easiest to Get Involved] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104052524/http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/02/15/20-colleges-where-its-easiest-to-get-involved |date=2013-11-04}}. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

{{main|Wesleyan Student Assembly}}

The Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) is a body of 38 students elected annually to represent Wesleyan University's undergraduate student body. The members of the assembly serve as student advocates in all areas of the university, including matters related to student life, academics, university finances, and campus facilities.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/09/nyregion/the-region-wesleyan-students-seek-greater-voice.html |work=The New York Times |title=THE REGION; Wesleyan Students Seek Greater Voice |date=9 April 1981 |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830200015/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/09/nyregion/the-region-wesleyan-students-seek-greater-voice.html |archive-date=30 August 2017 |url-status=live}}[http://zipcar.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=166 Zipcar Launches Car Sharing Program at Wesleyan University – 5 November 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425070846/http://zipcar.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=166 |date=25 April 2012}}. Zipcar.mediaroom.com (5 November 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/nyregion/dirty-sidewalks-just-naughty-wesleyan-halts-campus-tradition-chalk-messages.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Dirty Sidewalks, or Just Naughty?; Wesleyan Halts a Campus Tradition of Chalk Messages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118092205/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/nyregion/dirty-sidewalks-just-naughty-wesleyan-halts-campus-tradition-chalk-messages.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |date=2016-11-18}}. New York Times (14 November 2002). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.Farley, Margaret. (7 November 2004) [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E2D7173CF934A35752C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all 12th paragraph] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830110137/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E2D7173CF934A35752C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |date=2017-08-30}}. New York Times. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

The Debate Society was founded in 1903{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} and later named in honor of{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} Woodrow Wilson, who had been a professor at Wesleyan between 1888 and 1890 and who "became deeply involved in extracurricular student activities such as the [Wesleyan] debate society."[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wmn1375z25gC&dq=became+deeply+involved+in+extracurricular+student+activities+such+as+the+&pg=PA62 Woodrow Wilson and the Lost world of the Oratorical Statesman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418062719/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wmn1375z25gC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=became+deeply+involved+in+extracurricular+student+activities+such+as+the+%5BWesleyan%5D+debate+society.%22&source=bl&ots=zRH9UXn-FJ&sig=XKrbldBvWfXWQLYWRtx6qGQmNFY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8aIxT5fGGubi0QHGu-yJCA&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=became%20deeply%20involved%20in%20extracurricular%20student%20activities%20such%20as%20the%20 |date=2016-04-18}}, Page 62. By Robert Alexander Kraig. Tamu Press. 21 January 2004. Retrieved 7 February 2012. He "stimulated students to organize opportunity for debate through a House of Commons similar to the one he had started at Johns Hopkins in 1884."{{Cite book |last=Kraig |first=Robert Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wmn1375z25gC&pg=PA62 |title=Woodrow Wilson and the Lost World of the Oratorical Statesman |date=2004 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-58544-275-1 |language=en}}

Another student group is the Environmental Organizers' Network (EON), which campaigns on environmental issues.[http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/solarinfo/news.htm#wesleyan Solar Connecticut – News & Events Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826075108/http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/solarinfo/news.htm#wesleyan |date=2011-08-26}}. Uhaweb.hartford.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/09/06/news/doc4aa46cc1a8458457718812.txt?viewmode=fullstory#photo1 Wes students put effort into reducing waste with Waste Not] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402034747/http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/09/06/news/doc4aa46cc1a8458457718812.txt?viewmode=fullstory#photo1 |date=2012-04-02}}. The Middletown Press. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Wesleyan also owns a tract of land that is used as Long Lane Farm, a {{convert|2|acre|m2|adj=on}} organic vegetable farm run by students.[http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2010/schools/wesleyan-university/surveys/campus-survey Wesleyan University – Green Report Card 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123123025/http://greenreportcard.org/report-card-2010/schools/wesleyan-university/surveys/campus-survey |date=2010-11-23}}. Greenreportcard.org. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

Some of the oldest and most visible student groups are campus publications, including a bi-weekly newspaper, The Wesleyan Argus and a periodical, Hermes, the university's oldest student-run publication.[http://www.collegeotr.com/college_otr/hermes_wesleyans_oldest_progressive_pubication_10846 Wesleyan University OTR: Hermes: Wesleyan's Oldest Progressive Publication] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127035657/http://www.collegeotr.com/college_otr/hermes_wesleyans_oldest_progressive_pubication_10846 |date=27 January 2012}}. Collegeotr.com (22 August 2008). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Until 2008, the student body published the Olla Podrida which was originally a quarterly newspaper in the late 1850s, but was the college yearbook since the Civil War. The Argus is the campus newspaper.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22 Page 42-43] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906091329/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 |date=2015-09-06}}. Books.google.com (12 November 1909). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Wesleying is a student-run weblog that documents undergraduate life at Wesleyan, often receiving up to 10,000 page views a day.[https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-trail/2007/01/24 The Paper Trail – Education] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108010735/http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-trail/2007/01/24 |date=2014-01-08}}. Best Alternative Media Outlet: Wesleyan Blog Trounces Ivy Competition, U.S. News & World Report (24 January 2007). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

Wesleyan was long known as the "Singing College of New England."{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110826053127/http://www.upne.com/0-8195-7078-8.html Chapter One, The Early Decades of the "Singing College", pp. 1–4]}}. Upne.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. The university's "tradition as a 'singing college' had its roots in the vitality of Methodist hymnody."[https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22 Page 48] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906091329/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRmCOK3GLBgC&pg=PA22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 |date=2015-09-06}}. Books.google.com (12 November 1909). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. In 1862, a university glee club made the first tour of Wesleyan singers. The Wesleyan glee club organized by students frequently traveled and performed from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century[https://www.amazon.com/Music-Wesleyan-Gamelan-Garnet-Books/dp/0819570788 Look Inside, Chapter Two, The Glee Club World, pp.4–17] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134302/http://www.amazon.com/Music-Wesleyan-Gamelan-Garnet-Books/dp/0819570788 |date=2016-03-04}}. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://library.wcsu.edu/cao/search.tkl?field_query1=dc.subject&query1=Wesleyan%20Glee%20Club Connecticut Archives Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114122018/http://library.wcsu.edu/cao/search.tkl?field_query1=dc.subject&query1=Wesleyan%20Glee%20Club |date=2012-01-14}}. Library.wcsu.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. and was considered among the best collegiate glee clubs in the late 19th century.[https://www.amazon.com/Music-Wesleyan-Gamelan-Garnet-Books/dp/0819570788 Look Inside, Chapter One, The Early Decades of the "Singing College", pp. 1–2; Chapter Two, The Glee Club World, pp.4–17] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134302/http://www.amazon.com/Music-Wesleyan-Gamelan-Garnet-Books/dp/0819570788 |date=2016-03-04}}. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. It traveled widely giving concerts, including being received twice at the White House (in 1901 by President McKinley and again in 1928 by President Coolidge) and being recorded onto a phonograph record by Thomas Edison. University alumni published the first edition of The Wesleyan Song Book in 1901. Subsequently, the Glee Club twice won the National Intercollegiate Glee Club Competition at Carnegie Hall.[https://www.amazon.com/Music-Wesleyan-Gamelan-Garnet-Books/dp/0819570788 Look Inside, Chapter One, The Early Decades of the "Singing College", pp. 1–2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134302/http://www.amazon.com/Music-Wesleyan-Gamelan-Garnet-Books/dp/0819570788 |date=2016-03-04}}. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Since the Glee Club's disbanding, the tradition of choral singing has been carried on by the Wesleyan Singers, later renamed the Wesleyan Concert Choir, and then renamed again The Wesleyan Ensemble Singers (2010). This tradition also continues today in several student-run a cappella groups on campus, including the Wesleyan Spirits, the university's oldest group. There are at least 13 groups that perform on campus regularly,{{Cite web|url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/creativecampus/studentgroups/music.html|title=Music, Student Groups, Creative Campus - Wesleyan University|website=www.wesleyan.edu|access-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106032057/http://wesleyan.edu/creativecampus/studentgroups/music.html|archive-date=6 November 2016|url-status=live}} with others occasionally created and disbanded, including Triple Major, Notably Sharp, The Cardinal Sinners, The Mazeltones, The Mixolydians, and numerous others.

File:Original Mystical Seven.png

Wesleyan has chapters of Alpha Delta Phi, Alpha Psi Alpha, Chi Psi, Psi Upsilon, and Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE).{{Cite web|url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/greeklife/organizations.html|title=Greek Organizations, Greek Life, Student Affairs - Wesleyan University|website=www.wesleyan.edu|access-date=2020-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213233424/https://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/greeklife/organizations.html|archive-date=2020-02-13|url-status=live}}

However, the only organizations that are active and have society houses on campus (as of 2024), are ADP, Psi U, and The Eclectic Society.

In September 2014, Wesleyan ordered all fraternities with on-campus housing to become co-educational within the next three years.{{cite web|url=http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2014/09/22/wesleyan-fraternities-ordered-to-go-coed/|title=Wesleyan Fraternities Ordered To Go Coed|work=cbslocal.com|access-date=2014-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140923175122/http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2014/09/22/wesleyan-fraternities-ordered-to-go-coed/|archive-date=2014-09-23|url-status=dead}}

In 2015, Wesleyan University ordered the closure of the DKE fraternity house on High Street. In 2017, DKE won the claim against Wesleyan University in a court trial. The jury awarded damages of $386,000 to the Kent Literary Club, DKE's Wesleyan alumni chapter.{{Cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/community/middletown/hc-middletown-dke-verdict-wesleyan-fraternity-0616-20170615-story.html|title=DKE Wins Claim Against Wesleyan In Trial Over Fraternity House Closure|first=SHAWN R.|last=BEALS|website=courant.com|date=15 June 2017 |access-date=2019-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220124359/https://www.courant.com/community/middletown/hc-middletown-dke-verdict-wesleyan-fraternity-0616-20170615-story.html|archive-date=2019-02-20|url-status=live}}

Secretive societies on campus include the Skull & Serpent,[http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424 Wesleyan University | Best College | US News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912095518/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wesleyan-university-1424 |date=2012-09-12 }}. Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com (31 January 2011). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Theta Nu Epsilon,[https://web.archive.org/web/20110728104541/http://www.thetanuepsilon.org/04HistAlp/HistoryAlpha.html Theta Nu Epsilon Society – History of the Alpha Chapter], Theta Nu Epsilon. Retrieved 21 February 2011. Cloak, The Cannon Society, Pigs of Patio, and two Mystical Sevens.

In 2023, around 10 percent of the student body holds citizenship other than that of the United States. There is financial aid available for students from Africa and Asia.

More than 30 books have been published concerning the university, including: The Wesleyan Song Book, by Karl P. Harrington and Carl F. Price (1901);{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrAQAAAAYAAJ&q=%22wesleyan+song+book%22&pg=PP1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101170153/https://books.google.com/books?id=zrAQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&dq=%22wesleyan%20song%20book%22&source=bl&ots=75IUICqXwI&sig=ySBXcjyix_i9nXWhAj8-jlL6HFWM&hl=en&ei=QJOUTt29BInV0QHlx4zlBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw|url-status=dead|title=The Wesleyan Song Book|first1=Karl Pomeroy|last1=Harrington|first2=Carl Fowler|last2=Price|date=November 29, 1901|archive-date=January 1, 2014|publisher=Wesleyan University Musical Association|via=Google Books}} The Goose-Step: A Study of American Education, by Upton Sinclair (1923); Wesleyan's First Century With an Account of the Centennial Celebration, by Carl F. Price (1932);[http://en.papervitamins.com/book/wesleyan%27s-first-century,-with-an-account-of-the-centennial-celebration/edition Wesleyan's first century, with an account of the centennial celebration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128161801/http://en.papervitamins.com/book/wesleyan%27s-first-century,-with-an-account-of-the-centennial-celebration/edition |date=2012-01-28 }} entry on papervitamins.com. Retrieved 21 February 2011. Wesleyan University, 1831–1910: Collegiate Enterprise in New England, by David B. Potts (1999);Wesleyan University, 1831–1910: Collegiate Enterprise in New England, by David B. Potts (1999) ({{ISBN|0-8195-6360-9}}) The Gatekeepers: Inside The Admissions Process of a Premier College, by Jacques Steinberg (2002); One Hundred Semesters: My Adventures as Student, Professor, and University President, and What I Learned along the Way, by William M. Chace (14th president of Wesleyan) (2006);[http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8245.html William M. Chace, One Hundred Semesters: My Adventures as Student, Professor, and University President, and What I Learned along the Way] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726213533/http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8245.html |date=2010-07-26 }}, official page, Princeton University Press. Retrieved 21 February 2011. A History of the Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta, 1837–1970, by William B.B. Moody (2007);A History of the Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta, 1837–1970, by William B.B. Moody, 2007, {{ISBN|0-8195-6840-6}} Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence, by Howard Greene and Matthew Greene (2000); Hidden Ivies: 50 Top Colleges that Rival the Ivy League, by Howard Greene and Matthew Greene (2009); Music at Wesleyan: From Glee Club to Gamelan by Mark Slobin (2010).Music at Wesleyan: From Glee Club to Gamelan by Mark Slobin (2010) ({{ISBN|0819570788}})

John Maher's 1995 work Thinker, Sailer, Brother, Spy: A Novel features a fictional look at the life of a professor (a principal character) in the "hothouse atmosphere of Wesleyan University...."[http://www.abebooks.com/9780964312104/Thinker-Sailor-Brother-Spy-Novel-0964312107/plp 9780964312104: Thinker, Sailor, Brother, Spy: A Novel – AbeBooks – Maher, John: 0964312107] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707074402/http://www.abebooks.com/9780964312104/Thinker-Sailor-Brother-Spy-Novel-0964312107/plp |date=2011-07-07 }}. AbeBooks. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Two of Robert Ludlum's novels are set partially at Wesleyan, The Matlock Paper much of the action takes place in and around the campus of a thinly disguised Wesleyan,[http://topics.dallasnews.com/article/05DjdrucY53jX?q=United+Kingdom Dubious Claims, Streetcars and Freebies], The Dallas Morning News (referring to article by Bart Fisher in New Britain Herald, 5 December 2010), 6 December 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2011. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831084822/http://topics.dallasnews.com/article/05DjdrucY53jX?q=United+Kingdom |date=31 August 2011 }} and also The Chancellor Manuscript where Ludlum refers to Wesleyan as 'a wealthy but minor university'.

The 1963 comedic novel, Night and Silence Who is Here?, by novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson, is thought by many literary critics to be patterned humorously after Wesleyan's Institute for Advanced Studies (now the Center for the Humanities); the main characters comprise and parallel the cast of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870301,00.html | magazine=Time | title=Books: Midsummer Night's Waking | date=26 July 1963 | access-date=29 June 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125152048/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870301,00.html | archive-date=25 November 2010 | url-status=dead }} The Eclectic Society, a play that premiered on 27 January 2010 at the Walnut Street Theatre is based upon the Eclectic Society at the university during the early 1960s.[http://www.wra.net/page.cfm?p=601 Western Reserve Academy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108112323/http://www.wra.net/page.cfm?p=601 |date=2012-11-08 }}, Article entitled, "Spotlight: Eric Conger," The Eclectic Society. Second paragraph. Spring 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2012.[https://web.archive.org/web/20131111044317/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-221329849.html Members only.(PHILADELPHIA)("The Eclectic Society")], Published in American Theatre. By Nicole Estvanik Taylor. First two sentences. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2012. In the 2012 novel Dream School, by novelist Blake Nelson, the protagonist attends an eastern liberal arts college, Wellington College, modeled on Wesleyan.[https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/the-stuff-that-dream-school-is-made-of/ The Stuff That 'Dream School' Is Made Of] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114091501/http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/the-stuff-that-dream-school-is-made-of/ |date=2012-01-14 }}, New York Times' review. Second and third paragraphs. By Naomi Fry. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2012.

Characters in several television series have been portrayed as Wesleyan students or graduates. They include 30 Rock,[http://www.popculturepassionistas.com/2010/09/kevin-dot-com-brown-names-his-favorite.html Kevin "Dot Com" Brown Names His Favorite TV Sidekick] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715103629/http://www.popculturepassionistas.com/2010/09/kevin-dot-com-brown-names-his-favorite.html |date=15 July 2011 }}, popculturepassionistas.com, 2010-09. Retrieved 21 February 2011.[https://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2012/01/30-rock-recap-season-6-episode-3.html 30 Rock Recap: Private Schooled] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130053744/http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2012/01/30-rock-recap-season-6-episode-3.html |date=2012-01-30 }}, nymag.com. Paragraph 5. By Izzy Grinspan. 27 January 2012. Retrieved same date. As the World Turns,{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/arts/television/15soap.html | work=The New York Times | title=As a Lovers' Kiss Turns a World Around | first=Ginia | last=Bellafante | date=15 May 2008 | access-date=23 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028153157/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/arts/television/15soap.html | archive-date=28 October 2016 | url-status=live }}[http://www.soapcentral.com/atwt/whoswho/madeline.php Madeline "Maddie" Coleman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225142542/http://www.soapcentral.com/atwt/whoswho/madeline.php |date=2010-02-25 }}, soapcentral.com. Retrieved 21 February 2011. How I Met Your Mother (characters Ted Mosby, Marshall Eriksen, Lily Aldrin),[http://tv.blinkx.com/show/how-i-met-your-mother/a66ctQ16GJf8c04k How I Met Your Mother] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927054138/http://tv.blinkx.com/show/how-i-met-your-mother/a66ctQ16GJf8c04k |date=27 September 2010 }}, tv.blinx.com. Retrieved 21 February 2011.[http://watch-howimetyourmother.net/1190-how-i-met-your-mother-3-3/ How I Met Your Mother 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724124556/http://watch-howimetyourmother.net/1190-how-i-met-your-mother-3-3/ |date=24 July 2011 }}, watch-howimetyourmother.net. Retrieved 21 February 2011. Buffy the Vampire Slayer,[http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes/badgirls.shtml Bad Girls 9 February 1999 3ABB14] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528160748/http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes/badgirls.shtml |date=28 May 2010 }}, buffyguide.com. Retrieved 21 February 2011. and The West Wing.[https://tv.yahoo.com/the-west-wing/show/episode/6999/recap&vers=long&start=13 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014063704/http://tv.yahoo.com/the-west-wing/show/episode/6999/recap%26vers%3Dlong%26start%3D13 |date=2012-10-14 }}, tv.yahoo.com/the-west-wing, 18 October 2001. Retrieved 21 February 2011.

The 1994 cult comedy film PCU was based on (and filmed in part at) Wesleyan, the alma mater of the screenplay's two writers, Adam Leff and Zak Penn, and represents "an exaggerated view of contemporary college life...."[http://www.mutantreviewers.com/pmovie.html PCU – The website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718202305/http://www.mutantreviewers.com/pmovie.html |date=18 July 2011 }}. Retrieved 21 February 2011. centering on a fictionalized version of the Eclectic Society, known in the film as "The Pit."[http://www.mutantreviewers.com/peclectic.html Eclectic, at PCU – The website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020828152908/http://www.mutantreviewers.com/peclectic.html |date=28 August 2002 }}. Retrieved 28 April 2012.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-01-ca-52476-story.html College Cut Ups | COLLEGE CUT-UPS: Sophomoric, Insensitive and Proud of It – Los Angeles Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704063037/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-01-ca-52476-story.html |date=July 4, 2024 }} . Articles.latimes.com (1 May 1994). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.Bird, Christopher. (20 November 2007) [http://torontoist.com/2007/11/reel_toronto_pc/ Reel Toronto: PCU of T | news] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112102918/http://torontoist.com/2007/11/reel_toronto_pc/ |date=2012-01-12 }}. Torontoist. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

In the autumn of 2010, the Pulitzer prize-winning comic strip Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau featured the university in a series of daily strips.{{cite news | url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/the-butt-of-doonesbury-and-proud-of-it/ | work=The New York Times | title=The Butt of Doonesbury, and Proud of It | date=3 December 2010 | access-date=3 December 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205194338/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/the-butt-of-doonesbury-and-proud-of-it/ | archive-date=5 December 2010 | url-status=live }}

In 2015, Rolling Stone published a long form feature on Wesleyan's drug culture titled "Inside the Wesleyan Molly Bust",{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/inside-the-wesleyan-molly-bust-181785/ | magazine=Rolling Stone | title=Inside the Wesleyan Molly Bust | date=7 October 2015 | access-date=30 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930231921/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/inside-the-wesleyan-molly-bust-181785/ | archive-date=30 September 2018 | url-status=live }} where dozens of students overdosed on tainted ecstasy, leading to the expulsion of five students.

{{main|List of Wesleyan University people|List of Wesleyan University people in politics and government|List of Wesleyan University administration and faculty}}

{{Cleanup gallery|date=June 2023}}

Wesleyan alumni have received external fellowships, including Fulbright, Goldwater, Marshall, Rhodes, Truman, and Watson.[http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/college-rankings/2011/brainiacs.html College Rankings 2011: Brainiacs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615161556/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/college-rankings/2011/brainiacs.html|date=2013-06-15}}. The Daily Beast. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.[http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/college-rankings/2011/brainiacs.wesleyan-university.html College Rankings 2011: Brainiacs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111125928/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/college-rankings/2011/brainiacs.wesleyan-university.html|date=2012-01-11}}. The Daily Beast. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. For the years 2007 through 2011, a total of 42 Wesleyan students and alumni received scholarships under the Fulbright program.[http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/scholarships/prizes/recip2011.html 2011 Recipients, Student Affairs/Deans Office – Wesleyan University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910022233/http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/scholarships/prizes/recip2011.html|date=10 September 2011}}. Wesleyan.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. The university has had at least 87 Watson Fellows since the inception of the program in 1968.Justin Pottle, [http://wesleyanargus.com/2010/04/20/the-watson-legacy-wesleyan-fellows-travel-the-world/ The Watson Legacy: Wesleyan Fellows Travel the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104230426/http://wesleyanargus.com/2010/04/20/the-watson-legacy-wesleyan-fellows-travel-the-world/|date=2011-01-04}}, Wesleyan Argus, Third sentence. Volume CXLVI, No. 41, 20 April 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2011.

Former Wesleyan faculty and affiliates V. S. Naipaul, Woodrow Wilson, and T. S. Eliot have been awarded Nobel Prizes. Gary Yohe, current professor of economics, won a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Satoshi Omura, Max Tishler Professor of Chemistry, was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize for Medicine. Former faculty and affiliates Richard Wilbur, Mark Strand, and Donald Hall were United States Poets Laureate. Composers John Cage and Steve Lehman were both affiliated with the university. Musician Anthony Braxton was an educator and chairman of music at the university for over 20 years, he's received many awards for his career in music. Television notables include writers and co-creators of How I Met Your Mother, Craig Thomas and Carter Bays. Film notables include Joss Whedon, a producer, director, screenwriter, comic book writer, and composer; Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, won a Pulitzer Prize, three Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards, a MacArthur Fellowship, and three Tony Awards; Mike White, a filmmaker and creator of the award-winning show The White Lotus; and Michael Bay, film producer and director.{{Cite web|title=Notable Alumni, About - Wesleyan University|url=https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/alumni.html|website=www.wesleyan.edu|access-date=2020-05-04|archive-date=2020-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507024317/https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/alumni.html|url-status=live}} Tierney Sutton is a multiple Grammy-nominated jazz singer.

File:Lin-Manuel Miranda by Gage Skidmore.jpg|Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright and actor known for Hamilton and In The Heights

File:DavidBrewer.jpg|David Josiah Brewer, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

File:Photo of the Day- 4-20 (34163554775) (cropped).jpg|Bill Belichick, head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels football team, former head coach of the New England Patriots, winner of six Super Bowls as a head coach

File:Michael Bennet Official Photo.jpg|Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator from Colorado and former presidential candidate

File:Michael.bay.png|Michael Bay, director known for Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and the Transformers series

File:Lael Brainard (14438068496).jpg|Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council and former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve

File:Mike White in 2011.jpg|Mike White, writer director known for The One and Only Ivan and The White Lotus

File:Joss Whedon by Gage Skidmore 7.jpg|Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, director of The Avengers and co-writer of Toy Story

File:Bradleywhitford.jpg|Bradley Whitford, actor known for his role in the political drama The West Wing

File:2015 -WinterMeetings- Jed Hoyer (23613745646).jpg|Jed Hoyer, president of baseball operations of the Chicago Cubs and former general manager of the San Diego Padres

File:Amanda Palmer at IFC 2016 - IMG 0132 (24075269118) (cropped).jpg|Amanda Palmer, singer-songwriter, frontwoman of The Dresden Dolls

File:Stephen Talbot seated.jpg|Stephen Talbot, TV documentary producer known for Frontline

File:Garson, Willie.jpg|Willie Garson, actor known for roles in Sex and the City and Hawaii Five-0

File:Headshot of Jim Friedlich during the Knight Media Forum 2019 (46506272564).jpg|Jim Friedlich, media and philanthropy executive

File:Ward Farnsworth.jpg|Ward Farnsworth, former Dean of the University of Texas School of Law

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