Washington College

Washington College is a private, independent liberal arts college located on a 112 acre campus in Chestertown, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" named in his honor, through generous financial support, and through service on the college's Board of Visitors and Governors. Washington College is the 10th-oldest college in the United States and was the first college chartered after American independence. The school became coeducational in 1891.

History
Washington College evolved from the Kent County Free School, an institution of more than 60 years’ standing in “Chester Town,” which by the college’s founding date of 1782 had reached considerable strength and importance as a port city. George Washington consented to the fledgling college’s use of his name, pledged the sum of 50 guineas to its establishment, and extended his warm wishes for the “lasting and extensive usefulness” of the institution. He would later serve on Washington College’s Board of Visitors and Governors—his only such involvement with an institution of higher learning during his lifetime.

The college’s first president, the Reverend William Smith, was a prominent figure in colonial affairs of letters and church, and he had a wide acquaintance among the great men of colonial days including Benjamin Franklin. Joining General Washington on the Board of Visitors and Governors of the new college were such distinguished figures as U.S. Senator John Henry, Congressman Joshua Seney and his Excellency William Paca, Governor of Maryland. The Maryland legislature granted its first college charter upon Washington College in May 1782. The following spring, on May 14, 1783, the college held its first commencement.

With his election as first President of the United States, General Washington retired from the Board of Visitors and Governors and accepted the honorary degree of doctor of laws, which a delegation from Chestertown presented to him on June 24, 1789, in New York, then the seat of Congress. Since Washington’s last visit to campus, Washington College has hosted five U.S. presidents: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush.

The original college building, opened in 1788, was destroyed by fire January 11, 1827. The oldest existing building — Middle Hall — was erected in 1844 on the site of the original college building. By 1860, Middle Hall was joined by East and West Halls. All three structures, known as the Hill Dorms, are on the Maryland Register of Historic Places.

Student body and admissions


For the 2011-2012 academic year, 56.6% of applicants were accepted to the college. Approximately 1,400 undergraduates and 100 graduate students attend Washington College, 47 percent from Maryland and the balance from 35 other states and forty foreign nations. Approximately 8 percent of the American undergraduates are minority students and approximately 8 percent are international citizens. Approximately 5 percent of the college's student body is "non-traditional" (25 years old or older). Approximately 80 percent of all students live in college residence halls; the rest commute either from off-campus housing or from home.

Tuition for the 2012-2013 year is $39,208 and total expenses per annum (including room, board, and fees) are $48,768. Approximately 85 percent of the student body receives some form of need-based financial aid or merit-based scholarship award. The cost of attendance has been rising in recent years, with the overall costs (including room and board) increasing by roughly $2,000 per year.

Rankings
Washington College has had a regional reputation for excellence for some time, especially in Maryland. However, under the new president, Mitchell Reiss, greater national recognition is the goal. The fruits of this effort are visible with Washington College's recent ranking among the top liberal arts institutions in the United States according to U.S. News rankings. In the 2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges, Washington College rose 19 positions to 93rd in the nation in the National Liberal Arts Colleges category.

Honorary societies

 * Alpha Kappa Delta - Sociology
 * Beta Beta Beta - Biology
 * Society of Junior Fellows - undergraduate research colloquium
 * Lambda Alpha - Anthropology
 * Nu Delta Alpha - Dance
 * Gamma Sigma Epsilon - Chemistry
 * Omicron Delta Epsilon - Economics
 * Omicron Delta Kappa - Leadership
 * Order of Omega - Leadership within Greek Life
 * Phi Alpha Theta - History
 * Phi Beta Kappa- Liberal Arts and Sciences
 * Phi Sigma Tau - Philosophy
 * Pi Delta Phi - French Studies
 * Pi Lambda Theta - Education
 * Pi Sigma Alpha - Political Science
 * Psi Chi - Psychology
 * Sigma Beta Delta - Business
 * Sigma Tau Delta - English
 * Sigma Xi - Science/Engineering

Literary prizes
Each year, Washington College awards the nation's largest undergraduate literary prize. Since 1968, the Sophie Kerr Prize has been presented to one graduating senior who demonstrates the greatest literary promise. The endowment created by Sophie Kerr, a writer who published 23 novels and dozens of short stories, has provided more than $1.4 million in prize money to young writers. At a ceremony held at the Poets House in New York City on May 17, 2011, Lisa Jones was selected as the winner of the $61,000 Sophie Kerr Prize.

In 2005, Washington College inaugurated another literary prize, the George Washington Book Prize, administered by the college's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and awarded in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington's Mount Vernon. The prize is awarded annually to the most significant new book about the founding era. At $50,000, the prize is one of the most generous book awards in the United States. Richard Beeman won the 2010 George Washington Book Prize for his work, Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution.

Student life
The school has over 90 student clubs. freshmen, unless local, are required to live on-campus. On-campus housing is available for approximately 900 students. Most students (70-75 percent) stay on-campus over the weekend to participate in various social and recreational activities. Approximately 30 percent of students attend graduate school in the first year following graduation and approximately 45 percent do so within five years. Student/faculty ratio: 12/1. Average class size is 17. The school confers the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Arts (in English, psychology and history).

Sustainability initiatives are branded George Goes Green and include a green pledge, recycling, composting, an annual energy reduction competition, and use of biofuels. Washington College has also joined American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment with a Campus Carbon Neutrality goal. The Center for Environment & Society oversees the Chesapeake Semester program, four interdisciplinary courses that use the College's location in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to explore environmental issues and advocacy.

Washington College is host to the Harwood Series, which includes speeches by national politicians, and media pundits. In recent years, Haley Barbour, Howard Dean, John McCain, James Carville, Cokie Roberts, Chris Matthews, Ellen Sauerbrey, Donna Shalala, Eugene McCarthy, Cornel West, Birch Bayh, Gary Hart, Richard Lugar, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Karl Rove have appeared on campus. Entertainers such as the Counting Crows, Bruce Hornsby, Eddy Arnold, Wayne Brady, Jason Mraz, DJ Kool, Guster, Nick Swardson, Jamie Kennedy, Gym Class Heroes and Larry Hagman have all appeared on campus in one capacity or another. Because of its reputation as a liberal arts school with creative writing being a strength, writers such as John Barth, Ray Bradbury, Bobbie Ann Mason, Colum McCann, Junot Diaz, and Robert Pinsky have given readings at the campus.

Greek Life
Greek life at Washington College comprises four men's fraternities and three women's sororities, fraternities are mainly housed on the "quad", and sororities line the "Western Shore" housing.

Men's fraternities


 * Theta Chi Beta Eta
 * Kappa Alpha Order Beta Omega
 * Phi Delta Theta MD Gamma
 * Kappa Sigma Omicron Phi

Sororities


 * Alpha Chi Omega Beta Pi
 * Alpha Omicron Pi Sigma Tau
 * Zeta Tau Alpha Gamma Beta

Traditions
George Washington Birthday Ball: A college-wide dance where students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the college come together to celebrate George Washington's birthday. The event usually takes place on, or around, the actual date of George Washington's birth. Formal dress is required for all in attendance.

The All Campus Picnic: A carnival held for the students and community members before the beginning of the academic year.

The Renaissance Christmas Dinner: Held before the beginning of Winter Break and features performances by the Early Music Consort and Vocal Consort of the College.

War on the Shore: The annual men's lacrosse game, held in late spring between Washington College and Salisbury University, two of Maryland's Eastern Shore's undergraduate schools. Beginning in 2004, the winner of the game has been awarded the Charles B. Clark Cup.

May Day: Started in 1968 by Professor Bennett Lamond of the English Department, who retired in 2004. He brought a class out onto the green, where they read poetry and drank wine. Later that night some of the students returned, and Washington College's May Day celebration was born. Since then, May Day has become a two-day festival on April 30 and May 1, often involving public nudity by a percentage of the student body. The event draws many students as spectators.

Notable alumni and affiliates
The college boasts of a notable list of persons who served on the original Board of visitors and governors, including:


 * George Washington, U.S. President
 * William Paca, signer of the Declaration of Independence, governor of Maryland, and U.S. Representative
 * Samuel Chase, signer of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Representative, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
 * John Henry, U.S. Senator
 * Joshua Seney, U.S. Representative
 * Robert Goldsborough, U.S. Representative
 * Joseph Nicholson, U.S. Representative

Notable alumni

 * John Emory, Class of 1805, educator, namesake of Emory University*
 * Benjamin H. Vandervoort, Class of 1938, highly decorated WWII paratrooper. John Wayne portrayed him in The Longest Day.
 * Col. Hiram Staunton Brown, Class of 1900, president of RKO Movie Studios
 * Mary Adele France, Class of 1900, established junior college now known as St. Mary's College of Maryland
 * James M. Cain, Class of 1910, journalist, screenwriter and novelist
 * Louis L. Goldstein, Class of 1935, Comptroller of Maryland; the state's longest-serving elected official
 * William O. Baker, Class of 1935, President of Bell Labs
 * Robert K. Crane, Class of 1942, American biochemist, discoverer of sodium-glucose cotransport.
 * Ralph Snyderman, Class of 1961, Chancellor Emeritus, Duke University and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine
 * Terumi Kohwi-Shigematsu, Class of 1971, Molecular Biologist, University of California - Berkeley Laboratory, Life Sciences Division
 * Thomas Bortmes, Class of 1973, USN, Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence
 * Kenneth Merz, Class of 1981, computational chemist, University of Florida - Quantum Theory Project
 * Peter Turchi, Class of 1982, Writer, teacher, Arizona State University
 * Victoria Hagan, Class of 1983, Interior Designer
 * H. Lawrence Culp, Class of 1985, President and CEO of Danaher

Honorary degree recipients

 * Rev. John Andrews, D.D.
 * Rev. J. Wilson Sutton, D.D.
 * Louis Freeh

Varsity sports


Washington College has competed in intercollegiate athletics since the 19th century. Its oldest current varsity sports are the baseball team, which dates back to at least the early 1870s, and the men's basketball team, which plays its 100th season in 2011-12. Men's teams are known as the Shoremen; women's teams are known as the Shorewomen.

Fourteen of Washington College's 17 varsity teams compete in the Centennial Conference. The men's and women's rowing teams compete in the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (MARC), while the sailing team competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA), a part of the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). The college's 17 varsity teams are:


 * Baseball (M)
 * Basketball (M, W)
 * Field Hockey (W)
 * Lacrosse (M, W)
 * Rowing (M, W)
 * Sailing (Co-ed)
 * Soccer (M, W)
 * Softball (W)
 * Swimming (M, W)
 * Tennis (M, W)
 * Volleyball (W)

The college is known athletically for its men's lacrosse team. It won the 1998 NCAA Division III National Championship and a share of the 1954 USILA Laurie Cox Division National Championship. The men's lacrosse team has participated in the NCAA Division II or III Tournament 28 times since 1974 and the NCAA Division III Championship game eight times. Washington College Men's Lacrosse players have earned All-America honors 226 times.

The men's lacrosse team, along with the women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, and field hockey teams, competes on Kibler Field at Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium. Completed in 2006, the stadium was named one of the top 10 venues for collegiate lacrosse by Lacrosse Magazine.

The college's men's tennis team emerged as a national power in the 1980s and won the 1994 and 1997 NCAA Division III National Championships. It has competed in 18 NCAA Division III Tournaments and won 20 conference championships since 1986. From 1985 until 2005, the team won 122 consecutive conference dual matches. Washington College men's tennis players have earned All-America honors 42 times, while their female counterparts have earned All-America honors 11 times. The women's tennis team competed in the 1992 NCAA Division III Tournament. Both tennis teams play their home matches outdoors at the Ellen Bordley Schottland Tennis Center. During inclement weather, matches are played indoors at the Johnson Lifetime Fitness Center.

Washington College's women's rowing team qualified for the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Division III Championships as an at-large eight, while the men's rowing team won the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship. The sailing team competed in the ICSA Co-Ed National Semifinals in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and advanced to the ICSA Co-Ed National Championship Finals in 2009. The rowing and sailing teams host regattas on the Chester River and call the college's Truslow Boat House and Lelia Hynson Boating Park home.

The swim teams have enjoyed a history of success sending individual swimmers to the NCAA Division III Championships. Female swimmers have earned All-America honors 21 times, while male swimmers have achieved that feat three times. Home swim meets are held inside Casey Swim Center.

Eight baseball players who played at Washington College have gone on to play in the Major Leagues, including two-time National League home run leader and four-time All-Star "Swish" Nicholson. Athey Baseball Park, renovated in 2009, is the home of the baseball team.

The men's basketball team has made four appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, most recently in 1990, when it advanced to the national semifinals. It also posted a perfect 20-0 record during the 1924-25 season. The men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team play their home games inside Cain Athletic Center.

The field hockey team advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1996 and 1997, while the men's soccer team played in the NCAA College Division Tournament in 1973.

While men have been playing varsity sports at Washington College for well over a century, varsity opportunities for women have been a more recent development. The first varsity sports for women – rowing, tennis, and volleyball – were added in the mid-1970s and were followed by the additions of softball, lacrosse, field hockey, and swimming by the mid-1980s. Varsity women's basketball began play during the 1993-94 season, while co-ed sailing was elevated to varsity status four years later. The women's soccer team is the college's newest varsity sport; it began play during the fall of 1998.

Washington College fielded a varsity football team through 1950, a men's track and field team through 1982, and a men's cross country team through 1989. The college has also previously sponsored varsity men's golf and varsity wrestling during its history.

A number of famous athletes and coaches have spoken at Washington College, including Super Bowl-winning head coach Brian Billick, Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, and former Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.

Club, intramural, and recreational sports
Recent club sports offerings at Washington College have included:


 * Men & Women's Crew
 * Dance Club & Team
 * Equestrian Club & Team
 * Men's Lacrosse
 * Men's Rugby
 * Running Club
 * Skeet and Trap Club
 * Wakeboard and Waterski Club
 * Wilderness and Adventure Club
 * Women's Lacrosse
 * Women's Rugby

Club sports are student-run and funded by the Student Government Association.

Among Washington College's most successful club sports is its equestrian team. Founded in 2002, the team has been represented at collegiate national championships in both hunt seat and western riding competitions.

The Men's Rugby Club has also enjoyed a recent surge of success and has gained national attention in both 15's and 7's play.

The athletic department also offers a variety of intramural sports, open to the student body, faculty, and staff. Recent intramural sports have included co-ed soccer, co-ed dodgeball, co-ed flag football, co-ed basketball, co-ed volleyball, co-ed kickball, and co-ed ultimate.

Recreation trips are sponsored by the athletic department and student affairs and have included white water rafting, skiing, rock-fishing, rock climbing, crabbing, camping, cycling, and water skiing and wakeboarding.

Facilities
Despite the economic downturn, Washington College recently invested $70 million in its physical plant. In Fall 2009, the College opened two major new facilities: The Gibson Center for the Arts and the Hodson Hall Commons.

After undergoing a $24 million renovation and expansion of the original structure, the Gibson Center for the Arts now accommodates a recital hall, an art gallery, a mainstage theatre and a small experimental theatre in addition to classrooms, practice rooms and faculty offices.

Hodson Hall Commons, another renovation/expansion project, reflects the historic features of adjoining Hodson Hall while accommodating the interests of today’s students. The Commons' first floor offers a central entertainment and performance space alongside café-style dining options and the Hodson Student Center. The main dining hall is located on the Common's second floor, providing scenic views of the surrounding campus.

Residence halls
Middle, East and West Halls stand on the crest of a low hill (the terrace) at the center of campus. Middle Hall (built 1844) and East and West Halls (built 1854) hold a special place in the history of Washington College in that they are the oldest surviving campus buildings. They serve as monuments to the original Common Building (completed in 1789), whose site they occupy. They are all three story buildings constructed of brick.

They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

They now function as follows:
 * East Hall—The International House is a three-floor coed building that serves as a home for students interested in international relation and foreign language study. This theme house has a faculty advisor and has limited housing available for new students.
 * Middle Hall—The Creative Arts House is a coed building for students interested in drama, music, visual art, literature, and the creative arts in general. Limited housing available for new students.
 * West Hall—The Science House is a three-floor coed building that serves as a home for students interested in the natural sciences. This theme house has a faculty advisor and is limited to upperclassmen.

Other residence halls include:
 * Caroline House—This three-floor coed building houses men on the first and second floors, and women on the third floor.
 * Cecil House—This building is configured to accommodate four three-student suites and two six-student suites. Phi Delta Theta Fraternity resides here.
 * Chester Hall—This is a three-floor coed building housing students of all years. It contains both full suites (with common room) and partial suites (without common room). All suites have a double and two singles. There is a lounge and kitchenette on each floor with a full kitchen on the first floor.
 * Dorchester House—This building is configured to accommodate four three-man suites and two six-man suites. Kappa Sigma Fraternity resides here.
 * Harford House—This three-floor building is configured to accommodate four seven-person suites per floor.
 * Kent House—This is a two-floor building, co-ed by hallway.
 * Minta Martin—This single-sex building houses women only; residents include but are not limited to members of the Alpha Chi Omega and Zeta Tau Alpha sororities.
 * North Campus/Western Shore Residence Halls (Allegany, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's)—These eleven buildings contain four apartment-style suites. Each suite contains four single bedrooms, two baths, a common area, and kitchenette. These halls are limited to upperclassmen. Two new apartment-style suite buildings, Sassafras and Chester, opened in the Fall semester of 2008.
 * Queen Anne House—This two-floor, co-ed building is home to the substance-free program. Alcohol and tobacco products are prohibited in this building.
 * Reid Hall—This three-floor building is for women only.
 * Sassafras Hall—This is a three-floor coed building housing students of all years. It contains both full suites (with common room) and partial suites (without common room). All suites have a double and two singles. There is a lounge and kitchenette on each floor with a full kitchen on the first floor. This building also houses a small exercise room and snack bar open to all residential students.
 * Somerset House—This four-floor building houses only men. The fourth floor is occupied by Theta Chi Fraternity.
 * Talbot House—This building is configured to accommodate four three-student suites and two six-student suites. Kappa Alpha Order resides here.
 * Wicomico House—This is a two-floor men's building. Men are housed on both floors. Until recently, it was a coed dorm with men housed on the first floor, and women on the second floor.
 * Worcester House—This is a two-floor coed building, housing men on the first floor and women on the second floor.
 * Kent Crossing (Fall 2011-onward)- In order to accommodate the increasing size of the student population, the department of Residence Life has leased out apartments at the nearby Kent Crossing apartment complex. This housing is available to juniors and seniors in good academic standing.

Academic buildings

 * Casey Academic Center
 * Daly Hall
 * Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts
 * The Constance Stuart Larrabee Arts Center
 * Louis Goldstein Hall
 * Clifton M. Miller Library
 * Rose O'Neill Literary House
 * Sears House
 * The John S. Toll Science Center
 * Dunning Hall and the Alonzo G. Decker Jr. Laboratory Center
 * Joseph H. McLain '37 Atrium
 * William Smith Hall

Athletic facilities

 * Athey Field
 * Benjamin Johnson Lifetime Fitness Center
 * Cain Athletic Center
 * The Eugene B. Casey Swim Center
 * Kibler Field at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium
 * The Ellen Bordley Schottland Tennis Center
 * The Lelia Hynson Boating Park (off-campus on the Chester River)
 * Truslow Boat House (off-campus on the Chester River)
 * Athey Baseball Park
 * Shriver Field (named in memory of Eleanor Ringgold and Samuel Shriver, Sr., grandparents of Eleanor Shriver Magee '93 and Pam Shriver)



Administrative buildings

 * Alumni House
 * Bunting Hall
 * Custom House
 * Spanish House

Other

 * Brown Cottage
 * Hodson Hall (Dining Hall, Cafe, Quick Shop Eatery, Hynson Study Lounge)
 * Hynson Pavilion (off-campus near Chester River)
 * Hynson-Ringgold House (President's House)
 * Nussbaum House
 * White Cottage

Past Washington College presidents

 * William Smith 1782-1789
 * Colin Ferguson 1793-1805
 * Hugh McGuire 1813-1815
 * Joab G. Cooper 1816-1817
 * Gerard E. Stack 1817-1818
 * Francis Waters 1818-1823
 * Timothy Clowes 1823-1829
 * Peter Clark 1829-1832
 * Richard W. Ringgold 1832-1854
 * Francis Waters 1854-1860
 * Andrew J. Sutton 1860-1867
 * Robert C. Berkeley 1867-1873
 * William J. Rivers 1873-1887
 * Thomas N. Williams 1887-1889
 * Charles W. Reid 1889-1903
 * James W. Cain 1903-1918
 * Clarence P. Gould 1919-1923
 * Paul E. Titsworth 1923-1933
 * Gilbert W. Mead 1933-1949
 * Daniel Z. Gibson 1950-1970
 * Charles J. Merdinger 1970-1973
 * Joseph H. McLain 1973-1981
 * Garry E. Clarke (acting), 1981–1982
 * Douglass Cater 1982-1990
 * Charles H. Trout 1990-1995
 * John S. Toll 1995-2004
 * Baird Tipson 2004-2010
 * Mitchell Reiss 2010-