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Westminster College, Pennsylvania
 
 
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Westminster College is a liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States

Liberal arts colleges in the United States are undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclop?dia Britannica Concise offers the following definition of the liberal arts as a, "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contras...
 located in New Wilmington
New Wilmington, Pennsylvania

New Wilmington is a Borough in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States, first platted in 1824 and established as a borough on April 9, 1873....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. Founded in 1852, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)

The Presbyterian Church or PC is a Mainline Protestant Christian religious denomination in the United States. It is part of the Reformed family of Protestantism, descending from the branch of the Protestant Reformation over which John Calvin had a strong, early influence....
.

minster is located in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, a relatively small town north of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania with a population of 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is 2,462,571....
 and south of Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is an industrial city on the shore of Lake Erie in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Named for the lake and the Erie tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth largest city , with a population of 104,000....
 and Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
 on a campus.

Westminster formed as a result of a meeting on Jan. 21, 1852, between the Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
 and Shenango
Shenango

Shenango can refer to:* Shenango Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania* Shenango Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania* Shenango River...
 Presbyteries who desired to create a college that endorsed the values of Christianity while at the same time focusing on the emotional, educational, and social development of its students.

Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked 15th among liberal arts colleges, according to the Washington Monthly 2007 Annual College Guide.






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Westminster College is a liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States

Liberal arts colleges in the United States are undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclop?dia Britannica Concise offers the following definition of the liberal arts as a, "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contras...
 located in New Wilmington
New Wilmington, Pennsylvania

New Wilmington is a Borough in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States, first platted in 1824 and established as a borough on April 9, 1873....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. Founded in 1852, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)

The Presbyterian Church or PC is a Mainline Protestant Christian religious denomination in the United States. It is part of the Reformed family of Protestantism, descending from the branch of the Protestant Reformation over which John Calvin had a strong, early influence....
.

Overview

Westminster is located in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, a relatively small town north of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania with a population of 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is 2,462,571....
 and south of Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is an industrial city on the shore of Lake Erie in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Named for the lake and the Erie tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth largest city , with a population of 104,000....
 and Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
 on a campus.

Westminster formed as a result of a meeting on Jan. 21, 1852, between the Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
 and Shenango
Shenango

Shenango can refer to:* Shenango Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania* Shenango Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania* Shenango River...
 Presbyteries who desired to create a college that endorsed the values of Christianity while at the same time focusing on the emotional, educational, and social development of its students.

Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked 15th among liberal arts colleges, according to the Washington Monthly 2007 Annual College Guide. Westminster is a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America’s Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of “The Best 366 Colleges” and “Best in the Northeast” by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a “Character Building College.” It has been rated by U.S. News and World Report as one of America's Best Colleges, is on the Princeton Review's 351 Best Colleges list, and has been called a "character building college" by the Templeton Guide; it is important to note that Westminster College, is not following the boycott
Criticism of college and university rankings (North America)

Criticism of college and university rankings refers to movements which developed among faculty and administrators in American Institutions of Higher Education as well as in Canada....
 of the college and university rankings that many other institutions are doing, including the group of liberal arts colleges known as the Annapolis Group
Annapolis Group

The Annapolis Group describes itself as "a nonprofit alliance of the nation?s leading independent liberal arts colleges." It represents over 100 liberal arts colleges in the United States These colleges work together to promote a greater understanding of the goals of a liberal arts education through their websites, as well as through indepen...
, even though it is a liberal arts college itself.

Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus.

Quick Facts
Westminster is a coeducational, liberal arts college related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through the Synod of the Trinity.

Location: Westminster is located in New Wilmington, Pa., a quaint residential community. north of Pittsburgh, south of Erie, and southeast of Cleveland.

Campus: Over 300 tree lined acres - 22 buildings, several athletic fields, 10 tennis courts, outdoor laboratory and Brittain Lake.

Students: 1,450 undergraduates, 200 graduate students 42% men, 58% women.

Faculty: 92% of the faculty hold terminal degrees.

Student/Faculty Ratio: 13:1

Accreditation: Westminster is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

East Central Colleges: Westminster is a charter member of the East Central Colleges Consortium, which maintains an office in Washington, D.C.

Libraries: McGill Library and J.S. Mack Science Library contain more than 224,000 volumes and provide facilities for individual study.

Religious Life: Optional weekly worship services, Sunday Vespers and Catholic Liturgy. Habitat for Humanity is the largest student organization on campus.

Curriculum and Calendar: 2 semester calendar (fall and spring), opportunities to travel during winter break, month of May internships.

Degrees: 40 majors, 6 pre professional programs
  • 3 undergraduate degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Music
  • Master of Education: degrees in English, History, and Certification as a Reading Specialist, Secondary School Guidance Counselor, Elementary Principal, School Superintendent, and Supervision (Ohio only).


Housing Facilities: 10 residential housing options
  • 7 - female halls including the newly renovated Thompson House
  • 2 - male halls
  • 1 - transitional living townhouse complex (The newly constructed Berlin Village)
  • Housing is guaranteed for all 4 years.
  • Each of the national fraternities also has a house with residence facilities.


Student Activities: 85 clubs and organizations, 5 national fraternities & 5 national sororities

Westminster College is a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News 2008 Guide to America's Best Colleges. Westminster is tied for seventh among Liberal Arts Colleges, and in the top ten in the country in graduation rate performance. Westminster College's 78% graduation rate was 15% higher than predicted. Of the 339 students who entered the College in the Fall 2000 semester, 68% graduated within four years, 77% graduated within 5 years of matriculation.

Athletics

The Westminster Titans compete in NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and University in the United States ....
 Division III
Division III

Division III is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States....
 athletics. Before moving to the NCAA, Westminster competed in the NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs....
 for many years. For a brief period, Westminster was a member of the NCAA Division II GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). The Titans currently are a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference
Presidents' Athletic Conference

The Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....
.

Publications

Westminster has two alumni publications and three student publications. The alumni publications are Westminster College Magazine, which is a quarterly magazine detailing on-campus and alumni activities and Westminster Weekly, a weekly e-mail
E-mail

Electronic mail, often abbreviated as e-mail, email, E-Mail, or eMail, is any method of creating, transmitting, or storing primarily text-based human communications with digital communications systems....
 to alumni, parents, students and other subscribers, containing announcements and press releases.. The student publications include The Holcad
The Holcad

The Holcad is the official student newspaper of Westminster College, Pennsylvania in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. It is published every Friday during the academic year except the Fridays immediately before or after breaks and during finals....
, a weekly student-run newspaper
Student newspaper

A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
, Argo, the student-run yearbook
Yearbook

A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all United States, Australia and Canada secondary education, most colleges and many elementary school and middle schools publish yearbooks....
, and Scrawl, a student-run yearly literary magazine
Literary magazine

A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters....
.

Student Organizations


Student Government Association

The Student Government Association (SGA) exists primarily for governing and providing entertainment for the student body. As a prerequisite for executive council, committee chairs, and senators, students must have a GPA of 2.0. Overall, SGA serves as a connection between the students and the faculty and administration. The SGA President for the 2008-2009 academic year is Ashley Carnahan.

Greek Life

The five social fraternities each have their own off campus house which junior and senior class brothers can live in. Each of the five sororities have their own respective hall in a sorority dorm building on campus that sisters can live in if they chose.
Fraternities
  • Phi Kappa Tau
    Phi Kappa Tau

    Phi Kappa Tau is a United States national Fraternities and sororities....
  • Alpha Sigma Phi
    Alpha Sigma Phi

    Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social Fraternities and sororities with 68 active chapters, colonies, and interest groups. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 11th oldest fraternity in the United States....
  • Theta Chi
    Theta Chi

    Theta Chi Fraternity is an international Fraternities and sororities. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, United States, and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities ....
  • Sigma Nu
    Sigma Nu

    SN is an undergraduate college fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, Virginia....
  • Sigma Phi Epsilon
    Sigma Phi Epsilon

    SF? , commonly nicknamed SigEp, is a secret letter, social college Fraternities and sororities for male college students in the United States....


Sororities
  • Phi Mu
    Phi Mu

    Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternities and sororities established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia....
  • Kappa Delta
    Kappa Delta

    Kappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the Longwood University , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the universities ....
  • Sigma Kappa
    Sigma Kappa

    Sigma Kappa is a fraternities and sororities founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn....
  • Alpha Gamma Delta
    Alpha Gamma Delta

    Alpha Gamma Delta is an international women's fraternities and sororities founded in 1904 at Syracuse University. The Fraternity promotes academic excellence, philanthropic giving, ongoing leadership and personal development, and a spirit of loving sisterhood....
  • Zeta Tau Alpha
    Zeta Tau Alpha

    Zeta Tau Alpha is a women's Fraternities and sororities, founded October 15, 1898 at what used to be State Female Normal School but is now known as Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia....


Community Service
  • Alpha Phi Omega
    Alpha Phi Omega

    Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members....
  • Lambda Sigma
    Lambda Sigma

    Lambda Sigma is an United States college sophomore honor society. Originally named the Society of Cwens, the society was established at the University of Pittsburgh in Fall 1922 as a women's honors society, and became a national organization with the 1925 foundation of chapters at Miami University and the University of Missouri?Columbi...


Notable alumni

  • Amber Brkich
    Amber Mariano

    Amber Joy Mariano is an United States television personality and winner of Survivor: All-Stars, after appearing as a contestant on its predecessor, Survivor: The Australian Outback....
     - winner of Survivor: All-Stars
    Survivor: All-Stars

    Survivor: All-Stars was the eighth season of the United States reality show Survivor . It was taped in 2003 and debuted in the United States on CBS on February 1, 2004 after Super Bowl XXXVIII....
    , married to Rob Mariano
    Rob Mariano

    Rob Mariano is an United States television personality, best known for appearing in several reality shows, including The Amazing Race and Survivor: All Stars, alongside wife Amber Brkich....
  • Thomas C. Cochran - congressman, R-PA, 70th-74th Congresses (1927-1935)
  • William N. Johnston
    William N. Johnston

    William N. Johnston became the 16th president of Wesley College in June 2008. Previous to this post Johnston served as the 27th president of Iowa Wesleyan College for six years....
     - current president of Iowa Wesleyan College
    Iowa Wesleyan College

    Iowa Wesleyan College is a private four-year liberal arts college of the United Methodist Church located Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Full-time undergraduate enrollment at Iowa Wesleyan is approximately 850....
     since 2002
  • Tim Kaiser - producer of Seinfeld
    Seinfeld

    Seinfeld is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Television in the United States Situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in Broadcast syndication....
     and Will & Grace
    Will & Grace

    Will & Grace is a popular Emmy Award-winning United States television situation comedy that was originally broadcast on NBC from 1998 to 2006....
  • James Kennedy
    James Kennedy (congressman)

    James Kennedy was a United States House of Representatives from Ohio.Born in Lowellville, Ohio, Kennedy prepared for college at Poland, Ohio Union Seminary, in Ohio, and was graduated from Westminster College, Pennsylvania, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, in 1876....
     - congressman, R-OH, 58th-61st Congresses (1903-1911)
  • Andrew McKelvey
    Andrew McKelvey

    Andrew McKelvey was an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive of Monster Worldwide. He was also a philantropist through McKelvey Foundation....
     - chairman and CEO of Monster.com
    Monster.com

    Monster.com is an employment website owned by Monster Worldwide. Monster is one of the 20 most visited websites out of 100 million worldwide, according to comScore Media Metrics ....
     (December 1996-October 2006)
  • Deborah Platt Majoras
    Deborah Platt Majoras

    Deborah Platt Majoras is the former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, appointed May 11, 2004, by President George W. Bush and sworn in on August 16, 2004....
     - chairman of the Federal Trade Commission
    Federal Trade Commission

    The Federal Trade Commission is an Independent agencies of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act....
     (August 2004-2008)
  • Samuel Henry Miller
    Samuel Henry Miller

    Samuel Henry Miller was a Republican Party member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Samuel H. Miller was born at Coolspring Township, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania ....
     - congressman, R-PA, 47th, 48th, and 64th Congresses (1881-1885, 1915-1917)
  • Benjamin M. Palmer
    Benjamin M. Palmer

    Benjamin Morgan Palmer , an orator and Presbyterian theologian, was the first Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America....
     - first national moderator of the Presbyterian Church, longtime pastor of First Presbyterian Church in New Orleans
    New Orleans, Louisiana

    New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans metropolitan area metropolitan area, the largest metro area in the state....
  • R.C. Sproul - theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries
  • Thomas W. Druce
    Thomas W. Druce

    Thomas W. Druce is a former Republican Party member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He represented the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 144....
     - former Pennsylvania State Representative
    Pennsylvania House of Representatives

    The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania....
    , class of 1983.


External links