Wilkes University
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| Motto | "Unity Amidst Diversity" |
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| Established | 1933 |
| Type | Private, Independent-related |
| Endowment | $35.8 million [1] |
| President | Joseph E. (Tim) Gilmour, Ph.D |
| Undergraduates | 2,200 |
| Postgraduates | 400 |
| Location | Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Blue and Yellow |
| Mascot | Colonels |
| Website | http://www.wilkes.edu/ |
Wilkes University is a private, non-denominational American university located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It is home to more than 2,200 undergraduates and 400 graduates. Wilkes was founded in 1933 as a satellite campus of Bucknell University, and became an independent institution in 1940, naming itself Wilkes College, after English colonial politician John Wilkes. The school was granted university status in 1990.
The school is best known for its Nesbitt College of Pharmacy and Nursing, which is home to the only Doctor of Pharmacy program in northeastern Pennsylvania, and 1 of the 6 pharmacy schools in Pennsylvania. Its Communication Studies program, as well as the various engineering majors the university offers, are also well-regarded.
Wilkes has an active student media, including a television within the Shelburne Telecommunication Center and radio station (WCLH), a newspaper (The Beacon), a yearbook (The Amnicola), and a student-run public relations agency ("Zebra Communications"). Wilkes has also recently opened "The Studio" which houses the Integrative Media Program, it contains a modern integrated digital media lab.
The Wilkes Graduate Teacher Education Program has classes at more than thirty-two sites throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The school mascot, which was suggested by campus legend former Dean of Student Affairs Emeritus George F. Ralston, is a Colonel and the official colors are blue and yellow. The campus symbol is a letter "W" known affectionately as the "flying W" by students and alumni.
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[edit] Schools
- College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
- College of Science and Engineering
- Nesbitt College of Pharmacy and Nursing
- Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership
[edit] Residential Halls
Wilkes University obtained many 19th century mansions gifted to the University from the coal barons of the region. Renovated over the years, many of these buildings continue to serve as housing for current students. Alumni will often speak highly of their experience in these buildings and form homecoming reunions around them.
All students living on campus are currently given free access to laundry equipment, however commercial coin-operated or metered machines are being considered for the 2007-2008 academic year.
Houses still currently in use include Barre Hall, Catlin Hall, Chesapeake Hall, Delaware Hall, Doane Hall, Fortinsky 227 Hall and Fortinsky 229 Hall, McClintock Hall, Rifkin Hall, Ross Hall (Multicultural House), Schiowitz Hall, Slocum Hall, Sterling Hall, Sturdevant Hall, Sullivan Hall, Waller North Hall and Waller South Hall, Weiss Hall.
[edit] Doane Hall
Doane is located on West River Street. Deemed a "24 hour quiet house", the third floor is inaccessible to students, leading to speculation that the building is haunted.
[edit] Evans Hall
Traditional dormitory housing is provided at Evans Hall. With four floors and about 200 students, Evans is often seen by freshman as an ideal place to make many friends. This building is unique among the campus residences in that it provides bathrooms which are shared with exactly one other room, and air conditioning. The building is largely inhabited by freshman, as it is seen as a great place for new students, and as upperclassmen tend to move into mansion housing or apartments.
[edit] Fortinsky Hall
Fortinsky is divided into two sections; one containing apartments and the other containing single, double, and triple dorm rooms.
[edit] McClintock Hall
McClintock is located on the northern edge of campus on South River Street close to neighboring King's College.
[edit] Schiowitz Hall
Schiowitz, a women's dormitory, is located at 219 South Franklin Street. There is a full kitchen, rather reminiscent of the 1970's with adjoining laundry facilities. A common lounge is located in the front of the first floor.
[edit] Sullivan Hall
Sullivan is located at 271 South River Street.
[edit] Sturdevant Hall
Sturdevant Hall is located at 129 South Franklin Street.
[edit] Waller Halls
Built in 1925, Waller North and Waller South are connected by a narrow stair way on the third floor. Waller South is said to be haunted; students claim they have heard voices at night and that objects have disappeared. It is believed that the basement was once used as a speakeasy
[edit] Dormitory Housing and Apartments
The University also maintains traditional dormitory housing in the Evans. Evans is primarily populated by freshman, as upper classmen tend to prefer living in houses or off-campus apartments.
Some university-owned apartments scattered near campus include University Commons (Corner of West River & Ross), University Towers (10 East South Street), and buildings on Ross, River, and North Hampton Streets.
[edit] Academics
Wilkes University offers many majors in science, education, engineering, business, and liberal arts for undergraduate and graduate students. [1]
[edit] Athletics
The Wilkes University Colonels compete in NCAA Division III athletics, and is a member of the Middle Atlantic Corporation in all sports except wrestling, which is a member of the Metropolitan Wrestling Conference (the MAC having recently dropped wrestling as a sport). Wilkes has 14 different intercollegiate athletic teams. The 14 teams are baseball, mens' basketball, womens' basketball, field hockey, football, golf, lacrosse, mens' soccer, womens' soccer, softball, womens' tennis, mens' tennis, volleyball and wrestling.
The softball team won the Middle Atlantic Corporation region in 2006.
From the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s, Wilkes' wrestling team was a Division I squad, wrestling in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.
The womans soccer team has a record of 9-4-1.
[edit] Events
[edit] Annual High School Mathematics Contest
For over 50 years Wilkes University has been the host of the Annual High School Mathematics Contest as sponsored by the Luzerne County Council of Teachers of Mathematics (LCCTM). Every year juniors and seniors from Luzerne County high schools come to Wilkes University to participate in the competition. The first place winner in both the junior and senior divisions are awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Wilkes University. The 57th Annual High School Mathematics Contest was held Saturday, April 9, 2005.
[edit] ACM Intercollegiate Programming Contest
The Wilkes University Math and Computer Science Department hosts the Eastern Pennsylvania division of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the annual ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. Wilkes University has been host to the event for the last 5 years. There is a total of 9 host schools for the Mid-Atlantic Region.
[edit] Annual Tom Bigler High School Journalism Conference
Each year, hundreds of Pennsylvania high school students attend this annual media oriented event. Each year features a notable keynote speaker, hands-on workshops in the areas of telecommunications, journalism and public relations and panel discussions and presentation from media professionals and personalities. A high school journalism contest and awards ceremony is also a main event.
[edit] Traditions
[edit] Alma Mater
Wilkes, our Alma Mater, we pledge our hearts to thee. Honor, faith, and courage, Truth and loyalty. In our work as in our pleasure, Guide us as a friend; We shall always love thee, Loyal to the end.
Thou shalt lead us onward In search of finer things. May we find the wisdom That thy spirit brings. May our deeds of love and service Ever swell thy fame -- Wilkes, we stand to greet thee! Glory to thy name!
[edit] Fight Song
Wilkes is in town again to "fight, team, fight!" Echo the glad refrain and "fight, team, fight!" Wilkes, it's for you we sing, For Wilkes, the echoes ring. Colonels will win today! Hey!
Down on the field they're playing man-for-man (woman-for-woman) To open another lane. Down on the field and o'er the goal, Wilkes is in town again!
[edit] Wilkes Neologisms
- HSC - Henry Student Center
- Stark or SLC - The Stark Learning Center
- COB - Original name for Breiseth Hall in the 1990s which stood for Classroom/Office Building
- The Square - references the Wilkes-Barre downtown square
- Fountain - refrerences the large water fountain located in downtown square which many first year students run through during orientation as a right of passage.
[edit] The University Mace and Presidential Chain of Office
The mace and the Presidential Chain of Office used in academic celebrations represent traditions dating to the sixteenth century. The mace symbolizes the authority of the University and the Chain of Office designates the presidential leadership of the academy.
The Wilkes University mace and presidential chain of office were gifts of local donors and were first used in 1970 at the inauguration of the second president of Wilkes. They were designed by Ottie Hill Chwalek '61 and executed by Kurt Matzdorf, a nationally recognized gold and silversmith from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
[edit] The University Mace
The sterling silver mace has a gilt knob at its base and a gilt circle at the top bearing the inscription "Wilkes College 1933." The bowl, rising above the neck of the mace, signifies Wilkes-Barre's role as a melting pot, forming a new and vigorous community of people from many different backgrounds. This theme is reiterated in the inscription of the University's motto "Unity Amidst Diversity," which surrounds the upper part of the bowl. The gilt flame symbolizes the enlightenment gained from higher education, while the piece of anthracite coal set in the center of the flame commemorates the origin of the University in a community known for its coal mining past.
[edit] The Presidential Chain of Office
The Presidential Chain of Office, created from sterling silver, has alternating bowls and gilt flames, repeating the motif of the mace. On the front of the four-foot chain hangs a gilt seal of Wilkes that is suspended from a cluster of oak leaves with acorns, suggesting the strength and sturdiness of future generations. On the back of the Presidential Chain of Office is a silver portrait of Dr. Eugene S. Farley, the first President of Wilkes. Gilt oak leaves commemorating his strong leadership of the emerging institution surround Dr. Farley's portrait.
[edit] Clubs, Organizations, and Activities
[edit] Anime Club
Wilkes University Anime Club enjoys Japanese cartoons every Monday and Friday night, and is also known as WAC. The mascot is a penguin.
[edit] Crew Club
Wilkes University Crew team was revived in the Fall of 2003 [2]. During this first season the future of the club was jeopardized as equipment was stolen and the equipment storage building destroyed by arson [3]. In the Fall of 2006, the team held its first home Regatta in more than 30 years. The team took third place in their McAndrew Cup.
[edit] Lacrosse Club
The primary focus of the Lacrosse Club is to re-introduce a sport with a very successful, but short, past. Wilkes' lacrosse team competed at the varsity level throughout the 1970s, taking home a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship in 1975 and sporting the top-scoring tandem in the country in Billy Winter and Gary Geischen. Currently the roster stands at 32 and the team is a full-time member in the NCLL.
[edit] Programing Board
The Programing Board is greatly involved in the students' entertainment at Wilkes. The members bring comedians, popular bands and an assortment of other entertainment. Also the members organize Bingo every Sunday night and special events during holiday celebrations.
[edit] Psychology Club
The Psychology Club is open to anyone on campus who has an interest in Psychology. The club meets weekly, fundraises, goes on field trips, participates in community service projects, and works closely with Step by Step Inc., which is a non-profit organization that provides homes for those with mental-illnesses.
[edit] Running Club
The Running Club is open for anyone who enjoys running. This club usually meets weekly, fundraises, runs in 5k races supporting numerous causes, and partipates in community service activities.
[edit] S.A.V.E.
The [[Society for Animal Advocacy Vegetarianism and Enviromentalism]] is a club open to anyone who has interest in animal rights, vegetarian/vegan/organic diets or enviromental issues like global warming, alternative energy sources, and destruction of the rainforest.
[edit] Ski Club
In recent years, several attempts have been made to form an active Ski Club, with the results largely unsuccessful. Extra effort is being taken to make the club a success this year.
[edit] Sociology and Criminology Club
Organizes and fundraises for trips, in the past this has included the Philadelphia Penitentiary.
[edit] Pre-Pharmacy Club
Promotes successful completion of the pre-pharmacy program, entry into the pharmacy school, and social intereaction among its members. The club hosts other students and practicing professionals as speakers. Socials are hosted among club members.
[edit] Ultimate Frisbee Club
Ultimate frisbee pick-up games are usually played on the greenway Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9PM. This has not yet been formalized or recognized as a club, but exists as an unofficial student activity begun by Steve Kheloussi or Greg Castelli.
[edit] Volleyball
The University is starting a coed intramural volleyball league.
[edit] YMCA
Students are given a free membership to the Wilkes-Barre YMCA which provides a pool, gym, racquetball courts, basketball courts and other athletic facilities.
[edit] Expansion
In 2005 the university acquired the former Wilkes-Barre Call Center building and parking garage on South Main Street. The parking garage is currently being used for student and faculty parking. The Public Safety department has remodeled and relocated to the basement of the garage. The "Call Center" building was renovated and renamed "University Center on Main". The building now houses recreation facilities including tennis and basketball courts, and a rock climbing wall. The datacenter and many offices will be moved to the building. In 2006, an agreement was reached to purchase the University Towers apartment complex at 10 East South Street.
[edit] Bookstore
The university partnered with neighboring King's College, Pennsylvania to operate a joint bookstore in downtown Wilkes-Barre. The new bookstore opened October 17 consolidating two independent bookstores previously run by Follett Higher Education Group,on behalf of the respective schools. The new bookstore run by Barnes & Noble College Booksellers is located in the first and second floors of the Innovation Center @ Wilkes-Barre.[4]
[edit] External links
- Wilkes University
- Wilkes University Athletics Department
- WCLH-FM
- The Beacon
- Wilkes Lacrosse Club
- Luzerne County Council of Teachers of Mathematics (LCCTM)
[edit] References
- ^ Undergraduate Majors and Minors at Wilkes University
- ^ Citation Needed
- ^ Citation Needed
- ^ Wilkes University and King's College Partner with Barnes & Noble in Joint Bookstore Deal
