Western Connecticut State University

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Western Connecticut State University
Established 1903
Type Public State university
President James Schmotter
Staff 876 (223 full-time faculty, 308 part-time faculty)
Undergraduates 5,907
Postgraduates 94
Location Danbury, CT, USA
Campus Urban, 398 acres on two campuses
Colors Blue and Copper
Mascot Colonials
Website www.wcsu.edu

Western Connecticut State University (Western, WestConn or WCSU) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. Founded in 1903, WestConn has an arts and sciences curriculum, a business school, and several professional programs, including elementary and secondary education, nursing, music performance, and social work. It is also home to The Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies.

Contents

[edit] History

WestConn started as a teachers' college, training the primary and secondary school educators for Connecticut's Fairfield County and surrounding areas. The school's name has changed over the years as it has focused on additional areas of study. First named the Danbury Normal School, in the 1950s it was called the Danbury State Teachers College. It was renamed as Danbury State College in 1959, then Western Connecticut State College in 1967, and finally, in 1983, Western Connecticut State University.[1]

[edit] Structure

[edit] Schools

  • Ancell School of Business
  • School of Arts and Sciences
  • School of Visual and Performing Arts
  • School of Professional Studies
  • Division of Graduate Studies

[edit] Campus

Western has two campuses located five miles apart connected by a campus bus service.

The Midtown Campus is the original campus, located near Downtown Danbury. It is home to the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Professional Studies, and most of the school administration. There are also some housing facilities and the original student center.

The West Side Campus is located on land purchased in the 1970s on the outskirts of Danbury. This 439 acre lot is home to the Ancell School of Business, the sports facilities (including football and baseball stadiums and Feldman Arena), a nature center, amphitheater, and several dormitories. On January 23rd, 2007 the new WestSide Campus Center was officially opened. This new facility serves as a student center, meeting and banquet facility for the West Side Campus.

A major improvement program was started in the mid-1990s to beautify the campus. Several several parking lots became green space, and improvements were made to the landscaping. While a significant improvement, the full extent of this beautification is not immediately apparent, and will take several years to reach full maturity.

Located on the campus of Naugatuck Valley Community College is the "Western at Waterbury" program. This program offers undergraduate courses and the Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.).

[edit] Buildings

Midtown Campus

University Hall (Offices)

White Hall (Classrooms)

Warner Hall (Classrooms)

Ruth A. Haas Library

Berkshire Hall (Classrooms & Theatre)

Science Building (Classrooms & Laboratories)

Old Main (Registrar, Fin. Aid, Cashier & Offices)

Higgins Hall (Classrooms)

Fairfield Hall (Dormitory)

Newbury Hall (Dormitory)

Litchfield Hall (Dormitory)

Student Center

Newman Center (Catholic Faith)

Alumni Hall (Child Care)

WestSide Campus

Classroom Building (Classrooms & Robert Young Library)

Campus Center (Student Center & Multi-use facility)

O'Neill Center (Feldman Arena, Sports Facilities)

Football Stadium

Pinney Hall (Dormitory)

Centennial Hall (Dormitory)

Grasso Hall (Dormitory)

Observatory

[edit] Student body

As of 2005, WestConn has approximately 4,000 full-time undergraduates and 1,900 graduate or part-time students.[1]

Most of the students at WestConn come from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Nearly all commuter students come from western Connecticut, Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester Counties in New York.

[edit] Student Activities / Student Life

[edit] Student Government Association

The Student Government Association (SGA) governs the Student Activity Fund and student organizations at the university. Its has 3 branches of government: the legislative branch, an executive branch and the judicial branch. The legislative branch, know as the Student Senate has 24 members elected at large by the student body. The executive branch comprises of a President, Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Student Affairs and the Vice President of Finance. The Judicial branch is comprised of a Chief Justice appointed by the President and approved by the Senate and two justices who are elected at large.

[edit] SGA Legal Clinic

Western Connecticut State University is one of the few schools in the US to have a fully funded center to provide legal counseling to students. Funded by the Student Government Association, the center provides students with initial legal counseling and advice. The clinic does not represent students in court.

The legal clinic seeks to educate students about their rights and responsibilities through the sharing of information and legal resources, various informational programs and presentations, as well as individualized student counseling. Established in 1998 the advisor to the legal clinic has been Dr. Harold B. Schramm, Professor of English and Justice and Law Administration.

[edit] College radio station WXCI

For further information, see: WXCI

The college radio station, WXCI, 91.7 FM, broadcasts to Connecticut and New York at 3,000 watts. It also streams its broadcasts on the Web.

[edit] The Echo - WCSU Student Newspaper

The Echo is a student-run newspaper, founded in 1955, and subsidized by student fees and advertising income.

The Echo is published weekly in tabloid format, though in the past it has been published in broadsheet format.

[edit] Athletics

WestConn is a member of the NCAA Division III and the Eastern College Athletic Conference and fields teams in baseball, basketball, lacrosse, football, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball.

WestConn also fields several nationally competitive club sports on campus including Men's Rugby, Women's Rugby, Cheerleading, and Men's Hockey.

[edit] Venues

Varsity Sports

  • Baseball: Athletic fields baseball stadium
  • Basketball: Feldman Arena at the O'Neill Center
  • Football: Westside Athletic Complex (football stadium, aka WAC)
  • Lacrosse: Westside Athletic Complex
  • Soccer: Westside Athletic Complex
  • Softball: Athletic fields softball field
  • Swimming: O'Neill Center
  • Tennis: O'Neil Center outdoor tennis courts
  • Volleyball: Feldman Arena at the O'Neill Center

Non-varsity Sports

  • Hockey: Danbury Ice Arena
  • Rugby: Athletic practice fields

[edit] Greek Life

WestConn's Greek community is made up of three fraternities: Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Zeta Beta Tau, and three sororities: Alpha Delta Pi, Delta Gamma Phi, and Kappa Chi Alpha. As of November 2006, none of the Greek fraternities and sororities have an established on-campus houses.

[edit] Debate Society

The Roger Sherman Debate Society participates in tournaments sanctioned by the Cross Examination Debate Association. The team competes in the North East Conference.

[edit] Noteworthy Faculty

The following faculty are noteworthy for their published works or field work or both.

  • Bruce Collins, Finance, Equity Derivatives
  • Ronald Drozdenko, Marketing, Marketing Databases
  • Rob Eisenson, Physics, Astronomy, and Meteorology, Broadcast Meteorology
  • Christopher Kukk, Social Sciences, Policy
  • Tara Kuther, Psychology, Adolescent Development
  • Frederick Maidment, Management, Human Resources and Entrepreneurship
  • R. Averell Manes, Social Sciences, Conflict Resolution
  • Harold Schramm, Justice and Law, Legal Studies and Law
  • Marie Wright, MIS, Information Security
  • Kathleen "Casey" Jordan, Justice and Law, Criminology
  • Ted Schwartz, Justice and Law, Forensic Science

[edit] Meteorology Program and Weather Center

WestConn is currently the only school, college or university in the state of Connecticut to offer a degree in meteorology. Currently, students can enter the Meteorology branch of the Bachelor's of Science program and choose from two different track options - Theoretical Meteorology or Operational Meteorology and Weathercasting.

The student population of meteorology majors nearly doubled between the 2005-06 school year and the current 2006-07 school year.[citation needed] The program has particular strength in broadcast meteorology. They are the only meteorology program in the country to have a full-time faculty member who is an American Meteorological Society Certified Broadcast Meteorologist.

WestConn hosted the first Tri-State Weather Conference on on October 7th, 2006. The keynote speakers were Dr. Louis W. Uccellini of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and former Weather Channel's winter weather expert Paul Kocin.

The university's Weather Center is located in the midtown campus. Student meteorologists and long standing Assistant to the Director of Meteorological Studies, Gary J. Lessor[2], create weather forecasts for local media outlets and businesses. The Weather Center also distributes information via its weather website

[edit] Other schools in the Connecticut State University system

Its three sister schools are Eastern, Central, and Southern Connecticut State University.

[edit] External links

  1. ^ http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/ConnecticutCC.htm. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
  2. ^ WCSU Weather Center Staff


Public Colleges and Universities in Connecticut
Central Connecticut • Charter Oak • Eastern Connecticut • Southern Connecticut • UConn • Western Connecticut
New Jersey Athletic Conference
Buffalo State† • Kean • Montclair State • New Jersey • New Jersey City‡ • Ramapo‡ • Richard Stockton‡ • Rowan • Rutgers-Camden‡ • Rutgers-Newark‡ • SUNY Cortland† • Western Connecticut State† • William Paterson
† football-only member  ‡ non-football member
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