George Wythe University
Encyclopedia
George Wythe University (GWU) is a non-profit classical liberal arts school in Cedar City, Utah
Cedar City, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...

 which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the liberal arts, education and political philosophy. GWU's curriculum is centered on the Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...

 of the Western World published in 1952 by Britannica and uses discussion-based classes facilitated by mentors. The school focuses primarily on preparing students for leadership and is dedicated specifically to laying an educational foundation for building future statesmen. The school is named in honor of George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...

, mentor to Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

. GWU is unaccredited
Higher education accreditation
Higher education accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of post-secondary educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...

 but is an applicant for accreditation with the American Academy for Liberal Education.

Beginnings

GWU was founded as George Wythe College (GWC) by Donald N. Sills
Donald N. Sills
Dr. Donald N. Sills was a Baptist minister and one of the founders of George Wythe College, and previous chairman of the George Wythe Foundation Board of Trustees...

 and Oliver DeMille
Oliver DeMille
Oliver Van DeMille is an American author and educator. He is known for his writings on education as it relates to freedom, including A Thomas Jefferson Education, and as a founder and previous president of George Wythe University.-History:...

, who sought to establish a school for the purpose of training statesmen in the way Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 and other signers of the U.S. Constitution were trained by George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...

, the first law professor in the American colonies. DeMille's inspiration for such an establishment resulted from his own desire for this kind of education after reading the account of Jefferson’s tutelage under Wythe in W. Cleon Skousen’s book, The Making of America, and DeMille’s subsequent relationship with Skousen as his own mentor.

Skousen began by assigning books and writings to DeMille and following up with discussion. An associate of Skousen’s, Donald N. Sills
Donald N. Sills
Dr. Donald N. Sills was a Baptist minister and one of the founders of George Wythe College, and previous chairman of the George Wythe Foundation Board of Trustees...

, suggested DeMille could earn a college degree for his work through mentorship and work submission, through Coral Ridge Baptist University
Coral Ridge Baptist University
Coral Ridge Baptist University was a Bible college and seminary in Florida. It merged with Freedom University and Seminary in 2001.-History:...

 (CRBU) a Bible college and seminary that merged with Freedom University. According to DeMille, his studies often consumed over 80 hours per week and set the example for the curriculum he would later implement at George Wythe College.

Founding

DeMille, Sills, and William H. Doughty
William H. Doughty
William H. Doughty wanted to start a conservative lifestyle community, the Meadeau View Institute, in Southern Utah from 1986 to the early 1990s. He was also founder of the Institute for Constitutional Education and a founder of George Wythe College. He was a close friend of Cleon Skousen...

 organized George Wythe College (GWC) in 1992 as a subsidiary of the Institute for Constitutional Education
Institute for Constitutional Education
The Institute for Constitutional Education was a conservative constitutionalist organization operating in Southern Utah from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. It was formerly part of the National Center for Constitutional Studies and was later renamed "Families for America". The institute produced...

 with Sills as president. The school opened that fall as a Utah branch of CRBU. With 31 students and little funding, the initial weeks of class were held in remodeled garage space at the Meadeau View Lodge in Duck Creek, Utah while awaiting completion of the adjacent conference center. DeMille, Doughty, and (later GWU president) Shanon Brooks served as the three original faculty. A few months after moving to the conference center, heavy snowfall ruptured a gas line underneath the structure, leading to an explosion and fire that left the building unusable. No students were injured, and a new GWC location was found in an office building in nearby Cedar City, Utah. With the initial donors now salvaging their building, the only remaining funding source was tuition itself. This led to a budgetary crisis, leaving DeMille as the sole full-time administrator and faculty member in the school's second year while finishing his studies with CRBU. The hire of part-time instructors from other local colleges helped the fledgling school survive this crisis.

Over the next several years the school awarded bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees across a range of subjects, including Finance, Youth and Family Counseling, History, Near Eastern Studies, Education, and Psychology. In 1997 a steering committee formalized the school’s comprehensive academic program, integrating the methodology, motto and mission into a cohesive liberal arts model which it called the Five Pillars of Statesmanship. In 1999, George Wythe Foundation was created to commence fundraising efforts, and by 2000 the college expanded its faculty and administration to include 13 employees plus support staff.

Independence and growth

In January 2002, the college became independent from CRBU through a transfer of ownership to George Wythe Foundation. At this time the school realigned its policies and narrowed its degree programs to the four specific degrees that most closely matched its mission, namely: B.A in Statesmanship; M.A. degrees in Political Economy and Education; and a Ph.D in Constitutional Law. This notably reduced the religious emphasis that existed previously.

In the wake of the economic slump that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, enrollment declined and the school was unable to pay its employees. For several months, many faculty and staff volunteered without pay. To financially recover, the college expanded its programs through extension and seminar courses across the Western U.S., established the GWC Press, created an audio/visual department to generate revenue from recorded lectures (given by DeMille and other faculty members), and pursued a series of corporate speaking contracts.

In 2004 the college held 58 seminars, accepted 12 speaking engagements, and delivered 18 off-campus extension courses. Total enrollment for the Fall 2004 semester was 137 students (campus plus extension courses) and 129 distance students—for a combined student body of 266. Numerous part-time faculty were hired on a semester or annual basis, most of them professors at Southern Utah University, and a few from Brigham Young University, Dixie College and University of Las Vegas.

That same year, GWU held its first fundraising gala and announced plans to acquire a larger facility, resulting in approximately $300,000 in pledges and donations. In January 2005 the school moved to its current location in the Providence Center in Cedar City, Utah.

Expansion

In 2006 a master plan was presented for reorganizing under a university model with multiple colleges on several campuses. In August 2008 the school announced the designation of "university" status granted by the State of Utah, and the Board decision to formally adopt the change, as it broke ground on its second campus in Monticello, Utah. At this same groundbreaking ceremony it was also announced that the school's leadership would assume new titles under the university model, with head administrator Shanon Brooks being named university president and chief academic Oliver DeMille receiving the title of chancellor. Temporary remote headquarters were set up in a local historical monument known as the Hyland Hotel and classes were held with 19 students. Intentions for a third campus were announced for Alberta, Canada. In February 2009 the school announced plans to offer live online classes. This announcement coincided with the appointment of Andrew Groft as the university’s new president, cancellation of the chancellor model, and a notice that the timeline for the Monticello campus would be modified in response to the global economic crisis. From 2007 through 2010 the board saw an influx of new trustees and by 2009 they began initiating stronger policies. In June 2010, the Board of Trustees appointed Shane Schulthies as University President. By August 2010 all members of the original governing board had resigned and been replaced by new trustees.

Curriculum

As a classical liberal arts school, curriculum is based on the Great Books of the Western Tradition but with an additional emphasis on developing the attributes necessary for statesmanship. The purpose "is two-fold: 1) to provide a comprehensive, quality liberal arts education, and 2) to train students to be skilled, principled, and effective leaders who will perpetuate the cause of liberty in the twenty-first century." Class sizes are relatively small with as little as a 7:1 student/faculty ratio. Subjects are studied primarily through original sources and include philosophy, history, mathematics, science, literature, political science, political economy and art. Coursework requirements center on extensive reading of and problem solving from the classics in each discipline, writing, simulations, oral and written examinations and practica.

Methodology

GWU uses a liberal arts methodology they refer to as "The Five Pillars of Leadership Education," which, according to the school, follows a pattern of learning that has produced leaders throughout history. This methodology consists of:
  • Classics: GWU uses this term to mean "original works of depth and substance--writing, painting, sculpture, philosophy, music, theory, law, etc.--that engage the student in the great questions of life" and is sometimes used interchangeably with the term Great Books
    Great Books
    Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...

    .
  • Mentors: Faculty with topical expertise who lead discussion, offer lectures, and meet with students regularly to offer guidance. Courses are taught seminar
    Seminar
    Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...

     style with students discussing texts around a table and the mentor using the Socratic method
    Socratic method
    The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...

     of asking questions to invite the students to think deeply and reflect about the subject.
  • Simulations: Introduced into American education by law professor George Wythe as the moot court
    Moot court
    A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...

    . Simulations give students an opportunity to practice what they have learned in a fictional setting and "consist of mock congresses, moot courts, model UN and various other fictional and real scenarios where students take on roles and work individually and in teams to identify and solve problems."
  • Field Experience: A type of internship used to help students implement their learning in real situations. Students are required to perform three field-experiences in order to graduate. Practica must be approved by the Graduation Committee and followed up by a comprehensive written report detailing what was learned. "Field Experience practica may include substantive jobs, internships, volunteer work, etc."
  • God: As a non-denominational institution, students are encouraged to respect the various religious backgrounds of all students and faculty. Mentors refer to religious texts from various cultures and the Judeo-Christian Bible
    Bible
    The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

     is a notable classic in the curriculum. The main purpose of this pillar is to establish a respect for moral and natural law, and as a counterweight to hubris in leaders.

Programs

GWU currently offers four degrees: B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Statesmanship, M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in Political Economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...

, M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in Education
Master of Education
The Master of Education is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in a large number of countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum and instruction, counseling, and administration. It is often conferred for educators advancing in...

, and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in Constitutional Law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....

.

Course Credit

Undergraduate degrees require 138 credits. Credits earned in both on-campus and off-campus programs count toward graduation. Online studies use the Elluminate interactive software platform to replicate the on-campus classroom experience. This is supplmemented with individual telephone mentoring. Students are required to perform three field-experiences worth a total of 6 credits." Life-experience credit is not accepted.

Accreditation

As of May 2011 GWU is not accredited, although administration has provided progress updates during the accreditation process. In September of 2006 it completed an application with the American Academy for Liberal Education
American Academy for Liberal Education
The American Academy for Liberal Education is a United States educational accreditation organization.- Accreditation :AALE provides two types of accreditation for higher education institutions that offer general education programs in the liberal arts...

 (AALE) for its undergraduate program. AALE made a 4-day site visit to GWU in October 2008, and a second site visit in February 2010. GWU is listed on the AALE website as one of its applicants for accreditation. AALE specializes in the accreditation of institutes of higher learning with a liberal arts focus.

Despite the school's lack of accreditation, the GWU website lists 13 graduate programs that have accepted its alumni, the largest portion consisting of law schools.
  • Acton Business School
  • Ashland University Graduate School
  • Ave Maria School of Law
  • George Washington University Law School
  • Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Michigan State University College of Law
  • Oregon State University College of Business
  • Pepperdine University School of Law
  • St. John's College, Graduate Institute in Liberal Education
  • University of Buckingham School of Humanities
  • UNLV College of Business
  • Valparaiso University School of Law
  • Washington & Lee University School of Law


A number of former students have cited their preparation at GWU as providing competitive academic advantages over their peers in their postgraduate studies.
Scholarships have been awarded from graduate schools as well.

Faculty

George Wythe University has among its faculty 23 administrators, professors, Mentors, Associate Mentors (graduate students), and adjuncts.

The Statesman

The official newsletter of George Wythe University, ["The Statesman"], is an online forum where faculty and guest contributors write on topics of scholarly interest, current events and general news about university operations and policies. In addition, student research and writings are often featured. "The Statesman" also reports on the post-graduate accomplishments of alumni.

Cedar City

GWU's Cedar City campus consists of a single 6500 square feet (603.9 m²) building that contains all classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, including a special collections library for students. Additional mentors and administrative staff work from remote locations. The school currently has a library use agreement with Southern Utah University. GWU also provides internet-enabled workstations on campus, as well as wireless internet access. The school does not provide on-campus housing.

Monticello

Long-term plans for GW's Monticello campus include 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) with an adjacent 200 acre (0.809372 km²) reserve. Some of the land for the campus was donated to the foundation while some was purchased, totaling 520 total acres. In February 2009, DeMille announced that, in keeping with the original growth design, plans for the Monticello campus would begin with a small campus model in the near future that "will grow beyond this recession."

Student life

GWU's on-campus student body consists of 130-150 students with the male/female ratio approximately even. Roughly 1/3 of students are private school graduates, 1/3 from public school and 1/3 homeschooled. The school sponsors several formal dinners, galas, receptions, lectures, balls and special events each year. Student life also incorporates the attractions and surroundings of Cedar City, Utah, including the Utah Summer Games, the Utah Shakespearean Festival and mountain trek experiences.

Statesmanship Invitational

Students participate in a week long competitive team simulation called the Statesmanship Invitational. During this event, students are divided into teams and presented a high-stakes crisis scenario. Roles are assigned and students engage in strategic planning and diplomatic negotiations over the course of several days until an outcome is reached. A day-long debriefing with mentors anchors lessons learned from the simulation.

Housing

Students typically rent from private home owners or multi-unit housing developments which offer student housing for both Southern Utah University and GWU students.

Financial aid

GWU assists its students in locating scholarships, private funding and grants for education costs. Federal financial aid is not available to students due to the school's accreditation status.

Statesmanship Preparation Abroad

Every other year, students and faculty travel through Europe for a month, stopping in historic venues for lectures and discussion of classic literature. Optional academic credit is available for submission of related coursework.

Leadership Education Uganda

LEU conducts teacher training classes in leadership methodologies using students, graduates and associates of George Wythe University. Student research informed the approach of the project. LEU began with one mentor teaching eight teachers in two schools. In less than one year the program grew to include 10 mentors teaching 160 teachers in 8 schools.

Youth conferences

GWU hosts one- to three-day Youth for Freedom conferences in the Summer, for youth between the ages of 12 and 18. Youth participate in book discussions, simulations and lectures on topics ranging from study skills to good government and classic literature.

Notable alumni

  • Jim Hillyer
    Jim Hillyer (politician)
    Jim Hillyer is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the federal Conservative Party of Canada in the 2011 election, representing the electoral district of Lethbridge.-Education:...

    , elected Member of the Canadian House of Commons
    Canadian House of Commons
    The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

     (MP) for Lethbridge
    Lethbridge (electoral district)
    Lethbridge is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1917...

     in the 2011 general election
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