Drew University

Drew University
Motto

δωρεαν ελαβετε δωρεαν δοτε

('Freely have you received, freely give —Matthew 10:8')
Established 1867
Type Private University
Religious affiliation United Methodist Church[1][2]
Endowment $195 million[3]
President Robert Weisbuch
Academic staff 244
Admin. staff 345
Undergraduates 1656
Postgraduates 991
Location Madison, New Jersey, USA
Campus 186 acres (753,000 m²) wooded, Suburban
Athletics 19 teams in 11 sports
Colors Blue and Green[4]            
Website www.drew.edu

Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.

Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955. Nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of the serenity of its wooded 186 acres (753,000 m²) relative to the school's suburban surroundings, Drew University maintains a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of approximately 2,500 students, with the majority living on-campus.[5]

While Drew is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it makes no religious demands of its students. Many of the Theological School's students and faculty are United Methodist, and the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church is housed on campus.

Contents

History

In 1867, Daniel Drew (1797–1879), a financier and railroad tycoon, endowed his antebellum estate in Madison for the purpose of establishing the Drew Theological Seminary. John McClintock was the first president of the Seminary. To this day, the Theological Seminary continues to graduate candidates for service in the ministry; however, the institution grew to include a liberal arts curriculum.

Dr. James Strong first published his seminal work, Strong's Concordance, in 1890, during his tenure as Professor of exegetical theology at Drew Theological Seminary.

The College of Liberal Arts admitted its first class of 12 students in 1928, after the trustees of the Drew Theological Seminary voted to accept a gift of $1.5 million from brothers Arthur and Leonard Baldwin to build and endow such an institution, and to change the name of the institution to Drew University. In 1955, a Graduate School became the third of the university's degree-granting entities.

From its beginnings, the College of Liberal Arts has honored its founders' wish that it be ecumenical in its choice of faculty and students. The Baldwins also asked that the new institution be named Brothers College in recognition of their extraordinary relationship. The name was later changed to the College of Liberal Arts, but its major academic building still bears its original name.

In its early years, Drew provided educational opportunities for women, through enrollment in religious classes. However, for a brief time, Drew became an all-male institution, during the 1930s until 1942.

During the Second World War, the draft threatened to take too many of Drew's students and the college of liberal arts responded by enrolling both women and US Navy recruits, through a V-12 Navy College Training Program. Drew was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.[6] At this time, Drew became coeducational.

During the 1970s, the College also established, with generous assistance from the Mellon Foundation, a now widely-imitated freshman seminar program. It allows first-year students to participate, with faculty who also serve as their academic advisers, in intensive study of a topic of hopefully mutual interest. Interdisciplinary study became a focus of the curriculum as well, with the creation of majors in behavioral studies, neuroscience and Russian Studies, and minors in such fields as American studies, arts administration and museology, business management, dance, public health and writing.

In 1984, psychology professors Philip Jensen and Richard Detweiler led an effort to provide a personal computer and application software to all incoming freshman, a program referred to as the "Computer Initiative". Drew was the first liberal arts college to have such a requirement. The Computer Initiative differentiates Drew from other liberal arts colleges, and continues to this day. As a result, Drew has considerably fewer public computing labs than comparable schools its size, utilizing the centrally-managed student laptops for instructional and general-purpose computing use.

Thomas Kean, former Governor of New Jersey (1982–1990) and Co-Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, was Drew's president for 15 years and stepped down in June, 2005. Robert Weisbuch, former President of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, was named Drew's eleventh president in July 2005 and formally inaugurated on April 28, 2006.

During his tenure as president, Kean succeeded in adding new faculty in African, Asian, Russian, and Middle Eastern Studies, significantly increased opportunities for students to study abroad, increased applications from prospective students, nearly tripled the school's endowment, and committed more than $60 million to construction of new buildings and renovation of older buildings—principally student residence halls. In the event, several of these faculty were not retained, and the program in Asian Studies fell victim to a lack of cooperation among concerned faculty.

For the 2011-2012 year, Drew University's undergraduate costs are $52,500 (excluding books and personal expenditures), making Drew the most expensive school in the state of New Jersey.[7] Drew University offers both academic scholarships and need-based financial aid.

Drew University is home to the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and the archives of the United Methodist Church.

Academics

Undergraduate

Drew University offers programs leading to the traditional undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) through its College of Liberal Arts. Traditional core liberal arts courses are required of Drew students within a general education curriculum that allows them to shape an individual academic program. Drew's programs emphasize depth, independent research, and experiential and collaborative teaming. A declared minor is required in the general education program, and students choose from structured disciplinary and interdisciplinary offerings, or may design a minor course of study, subject to faculty approval.

The College of Liberal Arts provides major concentrations in 31 academic areas, including: Anthropology, Art, Art History, Behavioral Science, Biology, Biological Anthropology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Business, Chemistry, Chinese, Classics, Computer Science, Economics, Environmental Studies & Sustainability, English, French, German, History, Mathematics, Music, Neurosciences (includes psychobiology), Pan-African Studies, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Spanish, Theater Arts, Women's and Gender Studies.

Minor concentrations are available in American Studies, Archeology, Arts Administration and Museology, Asian Studies, Business, Society, and Culture, Dance, European Studies, Holocaust Studies, Humanities, Italian, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Public Health, Russian, Western Heritage, Women's and Gender Studies, and Writing.

Graduate

The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies offers the traditional Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. The Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree is awarded to Ph.D. students at the completion of their comprehensive exams, as a recognition of having A.B.D., or All But Dissertation status in completion of the Ph.D. Areas of study include: Book History (M.A. only), English Literature, Modern History & Literature, and Women's Studies (M.A. only, Ph.D. concentration). It also offers an innovative interdisciplinary arts and letters program offering Master of Letters (M.Litt.) and Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) degrees as well as a program in Medical Humanities, offering a Certificate of Medical Humanities (C.M.H.), as well as Masters (M.M.H.) and Doctoral degrees (D.M.H.). Drew University also offers a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in poetry and poetry in translation.

In 2006, the Graduate Division of Religion (GDR)—with programs in Biblical Studies, Historical Studies, Liturgical Studies (this area is currently not accepting students), Religion & Society, and Theological & Philosophical Studies—was created as an administrative move of the graduate programs in religion from the Caspersen School to the Theological School. The change was made to reflect current trends in the academic study of religion. The Ph.D degree is offered in these areas, and many students elect to pursue a concentration in Women's Studies. Drew is particularly strong in the areas of constructive and systematic theology, liturgical studies, theological ethics, feminist issues in religion, and post-colonial Biblical studies.

The transition of the GDR from the Caspersen School was the first of many changes initiated in the school recently. Since 2006, the school has opened a Master of Arts in Teaching and reformulated its Ph.D. programs to focus on a single, interdisciplinary History program, entitled History and Culture, which admitted M.A. candidates for the Fall of 2009 and Ph.D. candidates for the Fall of 2010. The school is, furthermore, in the process of considering the addition of other programs that will emphasize its interdisciplinary approach to the Humanities.

Drew Theological School offers degree programs designed to train candidates for the ministry. While affiliated with the United Methodist Church, its programs are open to individuals of all faiths. Degrees offered include the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Arts in Ministry (M.A.M.), Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.), and the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.). The faculty of the Theological School are largely the same as in the Graduate Division of Religion, and are additionally noted in the areas of evangelism and environmental issues in religion. The Theological School is often noted for its strong ties to Korean Methodism.

Other programs

Drew also offers a few other programs through the office of Continuing University Education. These programs include professional teacher continuing education; some community education programs; certificates in pharmacological laboratory analysis (in a partnership with Johnson & Johnson) and in historic preservation; and a post-baccalaureate, pre-medical preparation program.

Charles A. Dana Institute for Scientists Emeriti

This allows for emeritus scientists to maintain a space in the academic institution, continuing research at their leisure.

New York Semester on Contemporary Art
Drew Summer Science Institute
Semester on Wall Street: 20 students participate in an 8 credit program where they attend classes twice a week in New York City at St. John's University, located in the Financial District. Students have guest lecturers from the various banks, organizations, and financial agencies.
Semester on The United Nations: 20 students participate in an 8 credit program where they attend classes twice a week in New York City in the Church Center, directly across from UN Headquarters. Students have guest lecturers from the UN Secretariat and NGOs, and attend meetings of the UN General Assembly.
London Semester

Campus Safety & Policies

Drew University does not have a police department, but does have an unarmed public safety department. Drew's public safety officers are certified emergency medical technicians.[8]

Campus Life

Drew is home to a wide range of extracurricular activities ranging from a cappella singing groups to debate clubs and committees.

A cappella

Drew has four a cappella groups: 36 Madison Avenue (all male), All of the Above (co-ed), On a Different Note (all female), and Shadow Of His Wings (Christian co-ed). Concerts are held regularly throughout the year, with major concerts occurring at the beginning and end of each semester.

Theater

The Princeton Review ranks Drew as having the number one theatre program in the United States for any liberal arts college.[9] Drew has two theatres, the Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, home to the New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre Company, and the Thomas Kean Blackbox Theatre.

Theme Houses

Although Drew does not have Greek living, Drew offers an alternative living community called "Theme Houses." The six theme houses on campus are

WoCo: A Feminist House - a house for those interested in women's and gender issues
La Casa - a house for those interested in Latin America related subjects
Asia Tree House - a house for those interested in subjects relating to Asia
Spirituality House - a multi-faith house for those interested in topics related to spirituality, both specifically in religion and generally.
Umoja - a house for those interested in Pan-African studies and topics
Earth House - a house for those interested in sustainable living, and environmental subjects and topics.

The theme houses produce many of the major campus wide events that take place every year, and also hold many theme parties that occur throughout the semester, often traditionally at specific points in the school year.

Athletics

Drew's sports teams are known as the Rangers and compete in the NCAA's Division III. The Rangers field teams in 18 varsity sports (10 female, 8 male). Drew is a member of the Landmark Conference for men's and women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, and baseball, field hockey, softball. The Rangers compete as an independent in men's and women's fencing and women's equestrian. Drew offers many club teams including ultimate frisbee and Drew's women's and men's rugby teams. Drew has several intramural sports programs.

The Drew men's soccer team finished second in the nation in the 2003 NCAA tournament.

Media

Drew operates the radio station WMNJ, which serves an area that includes the neighboring towns of Madison, Morristown, Livingston and Chatham. It has two student-run publications: The Acorn, a student newspaper, and Insanity's Horse, a literary and arts journal.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty and staff

Points of interest

Location for on-screen shoots

Several motion pictures, TV productions, and music videos have used Drew University as a filming location.

Film

Television

Music

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Drew University". International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU). http://public.gbhem.org/iamscu/search_results.asp?act=search_gen&search_txt=DREW+UNIVERSITY&type=schools&submit=GO. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  2. ^ "About Drew". Drew University. http://www.drew.edu/Default-Content.aspx?id=544. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  3. ^ "Drew University - Green Report Card 2011". Greenreportcard.org. 2010-03-31. http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2011/schools/drew-university. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 
  4. ^ "Drew University Athletics - Fast Facts". Drewrangers.com. http://www.drewrangers.com/sports/2009/12/14/Fast%20Facts.aspx?tab=fastfacts. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 
  5. ^ "Quick Facts". Drew University. http://www.drew.edu/Default-Content.aspx?id=542. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  6. ^ "About the School". Madison, New Jersey: Drew University. 2011. http://www.drew.edu/theological/about. Retrieved September 27, 2011. 
  7. ^ "Drew University Tuition & Costs". http://www.drew.edu/financialassistance/tuition-and-fees. 
  8. ^ "Drew University Public Safety". http://www.drew.edu/Safety/about-the-department. 
  9. ^ "Drew University". Princetonreview.com. http://www.princetonreview.com/DrewUniversity.aspx. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 
  10. ^ James, George (May 10, 1998). "In Person; The New Jersey Chronicles". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E6DA1231F933A25756C0A96E958260. 
  11. ^ "Inventory of the J. B. Matthews Papers, 1862-1986: Biographical Note, Duke University Library, Durham, NC.

Further reading

External links