Wilmington College (Ohio)

Wilmington College is a private career-oriented liberal arts institution established by Quakers in 1870 in Wilmington, Ohio, United States. The college is accredited by the North Central Association, Higher Learning Commission (in Chicago).

About Wilmington College
Wilmington College offers undergraduate major programs in a number of academic and career areas including art, English literature, biology, chemistry, history, mathematics, philosophy, psychology, Spanish language and literature, and religion, as well as in such areas as education, business, communications, agriculture, equine studies, athletic training, social work, and more. The college also offers a master's degree program in education, with specialties in special education and reading and undergraduate courses at several sites in Cincinnati. The college welcomes transfer students and has a significant number of commuting students. More than half of the students participate in intercollegiate athletics. Wilmington College students enjoy robust on-site and online library resources. The college's Watson Library is a member of the OPAL (Ohio Private Academic Libraries) consortium and the OhioLINK consortium that provides an integrated catalog, e-resources, and more than 100 research databases.

Main Campus

 * Peace Resource Center: The Wilmington College Peace Resource Center, established in 1975, plays a major role in furthering the peacemaking and reconciliation elements in the mission statement of the college, in large part through providing peace education materials, both locally and throughout the country. The PRC is known, in particular, for its Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial Collection founded on the archives of Barbara Leonard Reynolds, which the college believes is "the world's largest collection (outside of Japan) of reference materials related to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Reynolds' archives are also housed in part at the Earle and Akie Reynolds Archive at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Peace Resource Center is also known for its ProjectTRUST camp (leadership and anti-bullying focus) for middle schoolers and Positive Discipline training for educators. The Center has been active in the Wilmington Community in establishing peer mediation in the local schools. In August 2010, the Peace Resource Center of Wilmington College hosted the National Peace Academy's 2010 Peacebuilding Peacelearning Intensive program on the theme of "Capacitating Community Peacebuilding."


 * Kelly Religious Center: Kelly Religious Center houses the Campus Friends Meeting, The Office of Campus Ministry, faculty offices, and the offices of the Wilmington Yearly Meeting.


 * Kettering Hall: Completed 1960, Science building named for Ohio inventor Charles F. Kettering. Features a rooftop observatory dating back to 1882.


 * College Hall: Opened in 1871, houses classrooms, faculty offices, offices of Admission, Financial Aid, the President's Office, and Academic Affairs. Added to National Register of Historic Places in 1972.


 * Hermann Court: Main athletic building, houses Fred Raizk Arena, an auxiliary gym, a college-sized swimming pool, racquetball courts, weight room, athletic training facilities, and athletic offices.


 * Austin Hall: Completed in 1957, houses student dormitories as well as football and basketball offices. Joined to Pickett Hall.
 * Pickett Hall: Completed in 1965, houses student dormitories. Joined to Austin Hall.
 * Campus Village: Completed in 1998, student apartment-style living.
 * College Commons: Townhouses renovated for the College in 2000.
 * Bailey Hall: Completed in 1909, originally the Bailey Hall of Science, now serves as student residences. Also contains campus health clinic.
 * Marble Hall: Completed in 1950, student residence building built by students, faculty and staff.
 * Pyle Center for Students: Completed in 1956, houses main dining hall, college bookstore, Underground snack bar, post office, and offices.
 * Oscar F. Boyd Cultural Arts Center: Completed in 2005, features David and June Harcum Art Gallery, 440-seat Hugh Heiland Theatre, Meriam R. Hare Quaker Heritage Center, T. Canby Jones Meetinghouse, and two-story academic wing with classrooms.
 * Robinson Communications Center: Opened in 1974, now houses the Academic Resource Center, computer labs, Communication Arts Department, and student publication offices.
 * Williams Stadium: 3,500-seat stadium home to the Quakers football and Lacrosse teams. Aftificial turf installed 2008.

Agricultural program
The only private institution of higher learning in Ohio to offer a degree in Agriculture, Wilmington College operates more than 1000 acre of farmland dedicated to research, applied education and financial support to the college. The Wilmington College agricultural student body, through the leadership of collegiate 4H and the Wilmington College Aggies club, has sponsored livestock judging contests for 50 years.

Greek life
Wilmington College is affiliated with international, national, and local honor societies, as well as fraternities and sororities.

International Organizations

 * Omicron Delta Epsilon
 * Sigma Tau Delta

National Organizations

 * Delta Tau Alpha
 * Lambda Chi Alpha
 * Kappa Delta
 * Sigma Delta Pi
 * Sigma Gamma Rho

Regional Organizations

 * Delta Theta Sigma
 * Delta Theta Sigma Lil Sis

Local Organizations

 * Delta Omega Theta
 * Sigma Zeta
 * Tau Kappa Beta
 * Gamma Phi Gamma
 * Alpha Phi Kappa
 * Psi Beta Omega
 * Phi Alpha Psi Sweethearts

Athletics
Wilmington College teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The Quakers are a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) since the 2000-01 season. They formerly competed in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) between 1998 and 2000. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

National championships have included:


 * Ashley Johnson, NCAA division III polevault champion (2006)
 * Doreen Nagawa, NCAA division III triple-jump champion (2005)
 * Emily Herring, NCAA division III indoor high-jump champion (2004)
 * Women’s basketball team, NCAA division III national champions (2004)
 * Jimmy Wallace, NCAA division III 157-lb. wrestling champion (2002)
 * Nyhla Rothwell, NCAA division III indoor high-jump champion (1997)

Notable Alumni
The alumni association of National Normal University of Lebanon, Ohio (NNU) was merged with the Wilmington College Alumni association, subsequent to the merger of the two institutions upon NNU's closure in 1917.


 * Willis Todhunter Ballard, Western novelist
 * J. Brent Bill, American author
 * Clement L. Brumbaugh (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Keith Cassidy, actor, member of Equity and of the Society of American Fight Directors
 * Horatio C. Claypool (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Myers Y. Cooper (NNU), governor of Ohio
 * Satch Davidson, Major League baseball umpire
 * Francis B. De Witt (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Lucien J. Fenton (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * William T. Fitzgerald (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * John W. Harreld (NNU), a U.S. Representative and Senator from Oklahoma
 * Cordell Hull (NNU), a U.S. Senator from Tennessee and Secretary of State under President Franklin D. Roosevelt; winner of the Nobel Prize in 1945 for his part in founding the United Nations
 * Isaac C. Ketler (NNU), Presbyterian scholar, founder of Grove City College
 * Seth J. Kittay, film and television series distributor
 * Andrew Armstrong Kincannon (NNU), Chancellor of the University of Mississippi
 * Monroe Henry Kulp (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
 * John J. Lentz (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * John A. McDowell (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Thomas Corwin Mendenhall (NNU), an autodidact US physicist and meteorologist
 * Sidney Mishkin, partner in the Mishkin & Fall law firm (retired)
 * Gary Mitchner, American poet
 * Edward E. Moore (NNU), Indiana state senator and Los Angeles City Council member
 * Joseph Haines Moore, American astronomer
 * Stephen Morgan (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Will E. Neal (NNU), a U.S. Representative from West Virginia
 * Miner G. Norton (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Stanley Plumly, a Guggenheim award and multiple Pushcart Prize-winning author, and Poet Laureate for the state of Maryland
 * James D. Post (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * David Raizk, multi-term mayor of Wilmington
 * Robert Randolph, American poet
 * John M. Robsion (NNU), a U.S. Representative and Senator from Kentucky
 * Charles W. Sanders, Ohio politician
 * Gary Sandy, star of the television series WKRP in Cincinnati
 * Roy Joe Stuckey, past president of Jamestown College, North Dakota
 * Tyrone C. Taylor, founder and president of Capitol Advisors on Technology
 * Robert E. Touchton, judge in the Office of Hearings and Appeals for the Social Security Administration in Cincinnati (retired)
 * Nick Wiget, announcer for the Harlem Globetrotters
 * W. D. Twichell (NNU, Class of 1883, civil engineering), Texas surveyor
 * George M. Wertz (NNU), a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania