| William Jewell College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Deo Fisus Labora |
| Motto in English | Trust in God, Work |
| Established | 1849 |
| Type | Private, liberal arts college |
| President | Dr. David Sallee |
| Undergraduates | 1,100 |
| Postgraduates | None |
| Location | Liberty, Missouri, U.S. |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Mascot | Cardinal |
| Website | www.jewell.edu |
William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the infamous Frank and Jesse James. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Convention for over 150 years until its separation in 2003 and is now an independent institution. Well respected in its field, Jewell was chosen by Time Magazine as its 2001 Liberal Arts College of the Year.[1]
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The college is named after Dr. William Jewell, who in 1849 donated $10,000 to start a Baptist school. It was the first four-year men's college west of the Mississippi River. Jewell, who was from Columbia, Missouri, had wanted the school built in Boonville, Missouri. However, Liberty resident Alexander William Doniphan argued that donated undeveloped land in Liberty would be more valuable than the proposed developed land in Boonville, and Liberty was eventually chosen. Judge J.T.V. Thompson donated the hilltop land on which the campus sits. In the American Civil War during the Battle of Liberty, the main building on campus, Jewell Hall, was used as a hospital, infirmary, and stables for the United States Army. Union troops were buried on the campus. After the war, two sons of co-founder Robert S. James, Jesse James and Frank James, staged the first daylight bank robbery at the Clay County Savings Association four blocks west of the campus the James-Younger gang inadvertently killed George Wymore, a student who was across the street from the bank.
In 1926, the John Gano chapel was built, based on a donation from Gano's great-granddaughter,[2] Elizabeth Price, who lived in Kansas City. Price gave the money for the chapel with provisions that the chapel be named for Gano, that the school take over maintenance of the Gano family cemetery between Liberty and Excelsior Springs, and that it hang a painting of Gano baptizing George Washington in the Potomac River during the American Revolutionary War. The college says the painting is one of the school's most popular tourist destinations and takes no stance on whether the baptism of Washington (who was Episcopalian) actually took place. The story is rejected by many historians who question whether Gano was even stationed with Washington and note there is nothing in his Gano's personal correspondence about the event.[3][4]
Other Gano artifacts in the chapel include a painting depicting Gano leading the troops in a prayer of Thanksgiving in 1783 at the conclusion of the Revolutionary war and a sword that Washington was said to have given Gano (which in turn had been given to Washington by Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette).
According to the school's website, Luciano Pavarotti made his international recital debut at the campus in 1973. Perspiring before the debut, he asked for a handkerchief and only a white dinner napkin could be found. The napkin became a signature part of Pavarotti's act.[5] During that time, William Jewell College also played host to the Kansas City Chiefs as their pre-season NFL Training Camp. However, their training camp was moved to River Falls, Wisconsin in 1990.[6]
On May 4, 2003, at the height of a debate over whether the Missouri Baptist Convention should continue to fund the school due to a dispute concerning evolution[7] and homosexuality,[8] an F2 tornado that was part of the May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence hit the campus damaging several buildings, ripping roofs off dormitories, and separating the landmark clock tower from the chapel. Although damage was estimated at between $15 and $20 million, nobody at the school was killed or injured. Despite this disaster, the Baptist Convention followed through on its threat and pulled the financing. Nonetheless, classes resumed the next fall with the school relying on other private sources.
Its library included at one time the 5,103 volume library of the Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. The college bought the library from Spurgeon's estate for $500 in 1906.[9] The Collection was sold in 2006 to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.[10]
In the fall of 2008, President David Sallee announced that the school's endowment lost 35% of its value due to the stock market collapse. As a result, President Sallee implemented several cuts to the College's programs and resources aimed at reducing costs by $2 million over the next two years.
Introductory Level: The introductory level, beginning with the humanities-based course The Responsible Self and courses in communication and mathematics, bridges the crossing from high school to college learning. Second Level: The second level offers an exciting choice of interdisciplinary courses grouped around four topic areas: Culture and Traditions; Science, Technology and the Human Experience; Power and Justice; and Sacred and Secular. In these courses, students learn how building bridges between the academic disciplines is a necessary part of learning in our fast-changing world. Capstone Level: Finally, the capstone course will build bridges between the program's previous levels and the student's study of an academic major by applying questions of responsible, ethical citizenship to critical problems facing our society.
With the combination of three active learning experiences (such as an internship, study abroad, or a research project), one from each of three areas: Reflective Citizenship, Disciplinary Scholarship, and Active Engagement, the core-curriculum and be earned as a second major in combination with any other degree program the college offers.
·William Jewell College is also known for its distinctive Oxbridge Honors Program. Oxbridge majors take tutorials in their major, study abroad in Oxford or Cambridge, and take comprehensive exams during their senior year. The college has also sent many students and professors to the University of Evansville's satellite campus at Harlaxton Manor.
William Jewell College's official mascot is the Cardinal. The university is currently in the process of transitioning to the NCAA Division II from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and will become a full member of the NCAA Division II in the 2012-2013 school year.[11] Its athletic teams compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) after previously competing in the NAIA's Heart of America Conference.[12] William Jewell football teams lead the NAIA in total wins.
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