Wilson College is aprivate,Presbyterian-related college in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1869 by twoPresbyterian ministers, it was named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson.
For 144 years, Wilson operated as awomen's college. In 2013 the college's board of trustees voted to make the college coeducational beginning in the 2013–2014 academic year, with male residential students beginning in fall 2014.
The college was founded as the "Wilson Female College" by Tryon Edwards and James W. Wightman,[4] pastors of Presbyterian churches in nearbyHagerstown, Maryland, andGreencastle, Pennsylvania.[5] The original charter was granted by the Pennsylvania Legislature on March 24, 1869.[6][7] The college took its present name, "Wilson College", in 1920.[8] Wilson was one of the first colleges in the U.S. to accept only female students. Its 1870 promotional materials stated that the college was a place for women "to be leaders, not followers, in society".[9][10] Instruction began in 1870, with the first academic degree awarded in 1874.[11]
The college was modeled after theSeven Sisters colleges.[12] It was named for Sarah Wilson (1795–1871),[13] whose donations were used to purchase the campus land.[14][15][16]
Although it nearly closed its doors in 1979, a lawsuit organized by students, faculty, parents and an alumnae association succeeded in allowing the college to remain open. It is one of the few colleges to survive a scheduled closing.[21][22] It subsequently adopted thePhoenix as its mascot, to symbolize the college's survival.
In 1982, Wilson began offering a continuing studies program (now known as the Adult Degree Program) to meet the needs of adults seeking post-secondary education. In 1996, the college was one of the first in the nation to offer on-campus residential housing for single mothers living with children.[23][24]
The first men to attend Wilson entered at the end ofWorld War II when an influx of male students created shortages at co-educational and men's colleges. These men attended classes for one year before transferring to other colleges. Men later became eligible to earn degrees from Wilson through the Adult Degree Program, although the traditional undergraduate college remained a college for women. In 2013, the college's board of trustees voted to extend coeducation across all programs; the first male residential students began studies at Wilson in fall 2014.[25][26]
The Wilson College campus is located at the edge of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on both sides of theConococheague Creek.[27] The property was originally bought from newspaper editor and state senatorAlexander McClure, whose home had been burnt in 1864 by Confederates under the orders of GeneralJubal Early.[28] The home was rebuilt before being sold to the college.[29]
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The college offers 34 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors, and master's degrees. The most popular majors are in the fields of agriculture and agricultural sciences, animal-assisted therapy, biological sciences, nursing, and veterinary nursing.[30][31]
Wilson competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball. Club sports include archery, equestrian and pep talk. The women's equestrian team competes in numerousIHSA and other events.[32]
Wilson began sponsoring men's sports in 2014–15, when the college became coeducational.
Basketball and Volleyball teams play in the Gannett Memorial Field House, located on campus. Softball, Lacrosse, and Soccer teams compete at the fields located in Kris' Meadow, adjacent to the campus' own farm land and facilities. Baseball plays at historic Henninger Field nearby in downtown Chambersburg, renovated and reopened in 2019.
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