Warren Wilson College

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Warren Wilson College Farm

Flooding after Hurricane Frances, Sept. 2004

Warren Wilson College is a small liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina just east of Asheville, near U.S. Highway 70. It is known for its curriculum of work, academics, and service, called "the Triad." The Triad requires every student to work an on-campus job, perform at least one hundred hours of community service over four years and complete a requisite course of academic work in order to graduate.

Warren Wilson is one of the few colleges in the United States that require students to work for the institution in order to graduate. It is part of the Work Colleges Consortium, which also includes Alice Lloyd College, Berea College, Blackburn College, College of the Ozarks, Ecclesia College and Sterling College. The college still operates a working farm.

[edit] History

The property was purchased in 1893 by the Women's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church. The women of the church were concerned that many Americans in isolated areas were not receiving a proper education. The women decided to establish church supported schools in areas where there were no public services. There was a need for a nonconventional grading system as the young people who came to these mission schools usually had no prior formal education.

In 1894 the Asheville Farm School officially opened with 25 boys attending and a professional staff of three. It was not until 1923 that the school graduated its first class. The first post-high school programs offering vocational training began in 1936. School leaders hoped that this type of training would give the students more prospects in the job market.

In 1942 the junior college division was established. That same year the Asheville Farm School merged with the Dorland-Bell School of Hot Springs, which brought high school age girls to campus. The Farm School and junior college operated under a common administration.

After World War II, the public education system in North Carolina improved dramatically and the need for the mission's high school diminished. The last high school class at WWC graduated in 1957.

WWC made history in 1952 by becoming one of the first colleges or universities in the Old Confederacy to desegregate, when it invited Alma Shippy, an African-American, to attend.^[1]

WWC was a junior college until 1967, when it became a four-year college offering six majors. The first bachelor's degrees were awarded in 1969. In 1972, the National Board of Missions deeded the WWC property over to the college's Board of Trustees.

[edit] Current

Since that time, the college has grown into a small (about 800 students) liberal arts school with some nationally known programs. In contrast to its original student population of underprivileged mountain youth, Warren Wilson now enrolls students of many different geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. It confers both bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees and, via its MFA Program for Writers, the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. In addition to traditional majors such as biology and English, undergraduates have the option of majoring in outdoor leadership or environmental studies.

The college has been featured in Outside Magazine, which named Warren Wilson and Asheville No. 4 on it list of "40 schools that turn out smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environmental ethos, and a A+ sense of adventure." The college also has been profiled in The New York Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe and Southern Living, among many publications. Warren Wilson College was also ranked No. 5 on the Princeton Reviews list of the most politically liberal colleges in the country.

Warren Wilson maintains a working relationship with the North Carolina chapter of Outward Bound, located on the western edge of campus. The college also has forged partnerships with The Jane Goodall Institute, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Mountain Area Child and Family Center and many other organizations.

William Sanborn "Sandy" Pfeiffer, Ph.D., began serving as the college's sixth President in July 2006. He was formally installed in April 2007.

Warren Wilson College is renowned for its environmental commitment. The college's farm was named 2006 "Outstanding Conservation Farm Family" for the Mountain Region of North Carolina. The recently dedicated Doug and Darcy Orr Cottage is only the second building in North Carolina to receive the prestigious "Gold" level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The college also received the national 2006 Campus Sustainability Achievement Award.

The Natural Science Seminar is the name for the undergraduate research and presentation that is required for all B.S. degrees given by the college. Students completing undergraduate research as a part of the Natural Science Seminar (NSS) often present their research at the North Carolina Academy of Science conference, and have historically taken home many awards.^[2]

[edit] Notable Events, Rankings, and Alumni

• David Wilcox - Folk Musician
• Billy Edd Wheeler - Singer/Songwriter
• Tony Earley - Writer

The mountain biking team was second place in the nation (Division II) in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

Warren Wilson College is No. 3 -- behind Oberlin College and Harvard University -- among Sierra Magazine's "10 Coolest Schools" nationwide in the fight against global warming.

The Fiske Guide to Colleges has selected Warren Wilson College as one of its 26 "Best Buys of 2008" among private colleges and universities nationwide. Warren Wilson is one of only two independent institutions in North Carolina to receive this recognition. According to the guide, the schools "qualify as Best Buys based on the quality of the academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance." With tuition and fees of about $25,000 for the 2007-08 academic year, Warren Wilson is rated as "inexpensive" compared with other private schools in the selective guide.

Miriam Weinstein continues to list WWC in her acclaimed guide, "Making A Difference."

WWC is included in "Barron's Best Buys in College Education."

In addition, Warren Wilson is mentioned in "Cool Colleges for the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, Late Blooming, and Just Plain Different" by Donald Asher, a guidebook for those students seeking unique college experiences.

The Parent Soup Financial Aid and College Guide selected Warren Wilson for inclusion in "Discounts and Deals at the Nation's 360 Best Colleges."

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Official website
• Work Colleges Consortium
• Natural Science Seminar Research