Getting To Know: Ohio Wesleyan University-Again
One of Ohio’s four Colleges That Change Lives, Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) could best be described as a comprehensive liberal arts college for a very good student. Located about a half-hour from Columbus, Ohio, the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago.
OWU, aka “Ohhh-wooo!” has just over 1,500 undergraduates. Notable alumni include fiction writer/attorney Richard North Patterson and Branch Rickey, the late Brooklyn Dodger executive who signed Jackie Robinson to a contract to become the first African-American player in Major League Baseball. The athletic complex is named for him. A campus plaque that recognizes his importance to professional baseball is shown below.
I have an Ohio Wesleyan Pinterest page that you can check out. Adam Smith, the university’s vice president for enrollment management and I also had a nice conversation, which I hope that you check out before you read on!
Ohio Wesleyan is a small school with power and punch.
Few small schools offer as many academic options as OWU. It is quite possible to double major or carry more than one minor by double dipping general education requirements. Today, about half of OWU students do this. OWU is not an ultra selective school. However, it’s reasonable to believe that a B+/A- student who might be looking at the University of Delaware or Miami University-Ohio would likely be admitted-with or without test scores-and awarded a very reasonable scholarship.
While Ohio Wesleyan markets itself as a liberal arts college, OWN offers 76 majors and 47 minors. This includes:
- Two Nursing pathways in partnership with Mount.Carmel College of Nursing
- Partnerships to graduate and professional degrees with Carnegie Mellon, Case Western and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
- Five Pre-Engineering Pathways. Partner schools depend on the pathway chosen.
- Ten opportunities to prepare to become a teacher, including Music and Theater Education
- Separate majors in Exercise Science, Nutrition and Sport & Exercise Management
- Four opportunities to study fine arts
- Opportunities to major in Astronomy or Astrophysics
- BA and BS options in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Microbiology, Physics and Zoology
- Options in Ancient Studies, Classical Studies and Medieval Studies.
- An Economics & Business Fellows program that offers several benefits beyond the classroom.
Academic distinctions go beyond majors at Ohio Wesleyan.
- OWU’s signature program is called the OWU Connection. It’s purpose is to help each student develop a plan that includes not only the academics, but also research, community service, study abroad or away and internship opportunities. Most colleges place the “real world” opportunities within their career development center. The OWU Connection involves the faculty, too.
- There are four opportunities for OWU students to learn to become entrepreneurs, no matter their major. Two are tied to scholarships for the junior and senior year.
- General education requirements are selected based around nine Core Competencies. Lab courses that are 1.25 units are the exception. OWU requires 34 units to each a degree, which means a four-course load each term. So, it’s important to work with an advisor to see how Core Competency courses overlap with possible majors and minors. .
- Students can participate in research projects and independent study with faculty through Theory-to-Practice Grants. The university provides students with financial assistance, if needed, to take these courses to cover travel and/or expenses.
- There are more opportunities to study abroad or away through the university’s own programs and the Great Lakes Collegiate Association.than one would expect to find at a small school.
One concern, however, is that a small school means a small faculty.
The choice of instructors within a major or Course Connections is more limited than it would be at a larger school. It is fair to ask if pre-professional or liberal arts majors that have limited sign-up and are not tied to general education requirements are more vulnerable to being discontinued at OWU than they might be at a larger school. But a small school also means small classes. More than two thirds of the courses offered at OWU have fewer than 20 students. None have more than 50. Adam also told me that OWU plans to open a Library of the Future to better support the academic programs and resources.
Ohio Wesleyan’s campus is a blend of architectural styles.
The interesting structures are older buildings: Gray Chapel, Slocum Hall, and University Hall. The efforts to preserve these buildings, especially the reading room in Slocum, been quite impressive. Since my last visit the university has also renovated:
- Smith East and West, the two freshman halls.
- Small Living Units, aka SLUs, that house social justice living-learning communities
- The Bishop Grill Cafe
- Athletic facilities. Sports are somewhat important at OWU, including football. The very first Ohio State football game was played on campus vs. OWU.
Ohio Wesleyan also opened new apartment-style housing three years ago. Nearly everyone lives on campus, though Greek life has become less important to the student experience. In 2001 Ohio Wesleyan had nearly 2,000 students. Greek life was more important than it is now. In 2001 44 percent of Ohio Wesleyan men were in fraternities; just over a third of the women were in sororities. Today, less than a fifth of the student body is engaged in Greek social life.
The campus of approximately 200 acres is “dumbbell” or “dog bone” shaped with residential buildings at one, recreation and administrative buildings at the other. Most academic buildings are at the center. One can walk from one end of campus to the other in about 15 minutes. This is probably the only campus that I have visited that is separated by the main street of its host community. I dropped some campus photos below.
Delaware, a city of approximately 36,000 people, is less than a half hour by car or bus from Columbus,.
The city has some of the retail (Whit’s Custard, coffee shops, bars) one might find in college towns, but the community’s downtown revitalization have been more focused in historic preservation. Antique and collectable stores dominate the choices for downtown shopping, a mix that often appeals more to visitors than students and residents. The Hamburger Inn, a fixture in Delaware since 1932, is supposedly the oldest continuously operating diner in Ohio. The city is also one of the national capitals of harness racing, much like Churchill Downs (KY) or Pimlico (MD) is important to horse racing. Below are photos of the downtown,Whit’s and the Hamburger Inn.
Ohio Wesleyan has one of the more generous merit aid packages among small colleges.
Merit scholarships start at $25,000 and go all the way to full-tuition awards. Those who visit OWU, and get accepted, receive an additional $1,000/year. This school is price competitive not only with other Midwestern liberal arts colleges. It is also a better value than the out-of-state charges at large schools such as Indiana or Michigan State. An Out-of-State Award is also available. It reduces costs by an additional $2,000/year and is stackable with other awards.
Conclusions
As one of The Colleges That Change Lives, OWU does not position itself as an “elite” school. .But it fulfills a unique niche for the very good student who might not be able to gain admission to the more selective private schools, but also does not want to feel lost at a state university. That’s probably why OWU is considered to be one of the Colleges That Change Lives. It can turn that student into an excellent student, one who is quite competitive vs. a peer produced by a “more selective” school, provided that s/he is willing to work.
Report Card: Ohio Wesleyan University:
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: B/B
- Freshman Retention: B
- Costs: B+
- Comforts: A
- Community: B+
- Curriculum: A
- Connections: A
Listen to my conversation with Adam Smith now!
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