Westminster College was founded as a college for young men by the Rev. William W. Robertson and local
Presbyterians
in 1851 as
Fulton College
and assumed the present name in 1853. Throughout the next century, Westminster College continued to be an
all-male
institution until the first
coeducational
class in 1979.
[5]
In 1909, the original Westminster Hall was destroyed by fire, leaving only the six
Corinthian
columns which helped support it. Since then, the Columns have been restored and serve as a symbolic rite of passage for new and graduating students. During the convocation ceremony at the beginning of students' first year, students walk through the columns towards the campus, and then back through towards Westminster Avenue after their graduation ceremony at the end of their senior year.
[6]
Westminster College was the site of former
United Kingdom
Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
's famous
"Sinews of Peace"
speech in 1946. Less than one year after the end of
World War II
, Churchill lectured about the state of world political affairs, notably regarding the growing tension in
Europe
during the prelude to the
Cold War
.
[5]
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
From
Stettin
in the
Baltic
to
Trieste
in the
Adriatic
an "
iron curtain
" has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the
Soviet sphere
, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to
Soviet
influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from
Moscow
.
In 1969, Westminster College dedicated one of its most recognizable landmarks ? the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury. Originally built in the City of London in the 12th century, it was destroyed during the
Great Fire of London
in 1666. It was rebuilt by Christopher Wren in 1677, and then was gutted by the Blitz in 1940. It stayed in London until 1966, when it was transported stone by stone to Fulton and reassembled on the Westminster College campus. The undercroft of the Church is now home to America's National Churchill Museum.
Also in 1969, Westminster College became independent of the Presbyterian Church,
[7]
but it continues to maintain a loose affiliation today with the
Presbyterian Church (USA)
.
The endowment grew from $27 million in 2000
[8]
to its current
[
when?
]
$57.1 million. Westminster began offering online classes in 2011.
[9]
The Churchill Institute for Global Engagement was created in 2013 to further global education with new academic programs and global initiatives. This period also saw the establishment of new corporate and academic partnerships, including dual-degree program agreements with
Washington University in St. Louis
,
[10]
Logan University
College of Chiropractic,
[11]
Missouri University of Science and Technology
,
[12]
Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College
,
[13]
and
Culver?Stockton College
.
[14]
From its founding in 1851 through 1854 and again from 1861 to 1864, the college was overseen by the chairmanship of the faculty, which rotated among faculty members, instead of a president.
[15]
The following have served as presidents of Westminster College:
- Rev.
Samuel S. Laws
, 1855?1861
- Rev. John Montgomery, 1864?1865
- Rev. Michael Montgomery Fisher, 1865?1868 (
acting
)
- Dr.
Nathan L. Rice, 1868?1874
- Rev. Michael Montgomery Fisher, 1875?1877
- Rev. Charles Campbell Hersman, 1878?1887
- Rev. William Hoge Marquess, 1888?1892
- Edward Clifford Gordon, 1894?1897 (interim)
- John Jay Rice, 1898?1899 (interim)
- Dr. John Henry McCracken, 1899?1903
- John Jay Rice, 1903?1904 (interim)
- Rev. David Ramsey Kerr, 1904?1911
- Rev. Charles Brasee Boving, 1912?1914
- John Jay Rice, 1914?1915 (interim)
- Rev. Elmer Ellsworth Reed, 1915?1926
- Dr. Marion Edmund Melvin, 1927?1933
- Dr. Franc Lewis McCluer, 1934?1946
- Rev. William Webster Hall, 1947?1954
- Robert L. D. Davidson, 1955?1973
- Dale Purcell, 1973?1976
- William L. Stucker, 1976?1977 (interim)
- John Harvey Saunders, 1977?1992
- John E. "Jack" Marshall, 1992?1993 (interim)
- James F. Traer, 1993?1999
- Neal Creighton, 1999?2000 (interim)
- Fletcher M. Lamkin, 2000?2007
- George B. "Barney" Forsythe, 2007?2015
- Benjamin Ola. Akande, 2015?2017
- Carolyn Perry, 2017 (acting)
- Fletcher M. Lamkin, 2017?2020
- Donald P. Lofe, 2020?present
[15]
Academic Divisions and Departments include Humanities, Natural and Mathematical Sciences, and Social Sciences. The college offers 29
majors
, 39
minors
, 3 specialty programs, and 4 dual-degree programs.
[16]
Westminster's
Cadaver
Program, which began as a small independent study in the fall of 2005, is offered for
pre-med
, biology, and psychology students who can explore the anatomy of the human body through scientific
dissection
.
Westminster College is a member of the Higher Learning Commission (
HLC
) and is regionally accredited by HLC. Westminster College's?business program?is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (
ACBSP
); Westminster College's?education program?is accredited by the Missouri Department of Secondary Education (
DESE
).
Westminster offers special programs in
Health Professions
and
Legal Professions
. An Honors Program is offered for high-achieving students.
Pre-Professional programs and academic partnerships
edit
Pre-professional programs/academic partnerships at Westminster are Dual-Degree Engineering with
Washington University in St. Louis
or
Missouri University of Science and Technology
,
[12]
Dual-Degree Nursing with the
Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College
,
[13]
Dual-Degree Chiropractic with
Logan University
College of Chiropractic,
[11]
and most recently a 3+2 accelerated Master of Athletic Training program with
Culver?Stockton College
.
[14]
Westminster has also partnered with Ameren UE in Missouri and Illinois to offer continuing education and degree completion programs for the Ameren's employees.
Mentoring program and seminar
edit
All incoming students are provided with two seminar
mentors
and a seminar professor who will advise students throughout their years at Westminster College. To make the transition from high school to college easier, mentors help orient students to their new life at Westminster and provide guidance in the areas of academics, social and residential life.
Since Winston Churchill delivered his
"Iron Curtain" speech
on campus, Westminster consistently attracts world leaders through its variety of campus lectures. Included among the speakers are senators, former presidents, current or retired generals, admirals, and intelligence officers. Past and recent speakers include former Presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan; former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbechev;
Jeh Johnson
, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security; U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders; and former U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright
.
[17]
[18]
|
Westminster College Historic District
|
|
|
|
Show map of the United States
|
Location
| Off Westminster Ave.,
Fulton, Missouri
|
---|
Area
| 18 acres (7.3?ha)
|
---|
Architect
| Multiple
|
---|
Architectural?style
| Colonial Revival, Classical Revival
|
---|
NRHP?reference?
No.
| 82004633
[19]
|
---|
Added to NRHP
| April 12, 1982
|
---|
The
Westminster College Historic District
was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1982.
[19]
It encompasses nine contributing buildings and six contributing objects. They include the Hall of Science (1900?1901), Steam Heating Plant (1919?1920), The Columns ("Old" Westminster Hall) (1853?1854), Westminster Hall (1909?1911), the Gymnasium (1928), Swope Chapel Memorial (1967), Washington West House (1907), Re-Union Hall (1903), and Reeves Library (1950?1951).
[20]
Historic Westminster Gymnasium
edit
The
Gym
was built in 1928 and completely renovated in 1972. This
national historic landmark
is where Winston Churchill presented his
"Iron Curtain" speech
in March 1946. Vice President Dick Cheney also visited the college during the 2004 campaign and spoke in the Gym. When new bleachers were installed, the old bleachers were recycled into new lockers for the men's and women's locker rooms. The floor has been renamed for
Henry "Hank" Iba
, Class of 1927, who was an all-state basketball, football, and baseball player at Westminster before going on to coach
Oklahoma State University
to two national basketball titles and the
U.S. Olympics basketball team
to two gold
medals
. The Gym houses a basketball/volleyball court, athletic offices, and an exercise room. It also housed an indoor swimming pool until 2016.
This hall was built in 1911 and renovated in 1973?74. It is the main administrative building on campus and houses the Business Office, the
Registrar
, and
Dean
of Faculty offices, along with two classrooms. The lower-level houses Westminster's Wellness Center (
Health
and
Counseling Services
) and the Tomnitz Family
Learning Opportunities
Center.
These columns are the only remains of the first Westminster Hall built in 1854 and destroyed by fire in 1909. These Columns are the center of a campus tradition, the Columns Ceremony.
It was originally built in 1901 and is the oldest building on campus. It was completely renovated and remodeled in early 1970 as a gift of an
alumnus
.
Reeves Library and the Student Success Center
edit
Reeves Library was built in 1951 and expanded & renovated in 1981 and again in 1996. In 2020, the library grew to incorporate a new Student Success Center. The building houses a collection of more than 100,000 volumes readily available in-house for students and faculty. It is a member of the
statewide consortium of 50 academic libraries
. The Hazel Wing was dedicated in October 1996 and serves as the
technological
center on the campus, housing four
computer labs
,
video editing
equipment, a
multimedia
classroom, a
language lab
, small group meeting, and study rooms as well as offices for the Department of Information Technology. With the addition of the Student Success Center, various student services were brought under one roof, including the Greg Richard Office of Advising and Career Development, a gift from an alumnus and former
trustee
; the Office of Global Educational Services; and the WCares Program.
Hunter Activity Center
edit
Otherwise known as the "HAC", this building is a common area for both faculty and students. Downstairs is the Johnson College Inn (known to students as "JCI") grill/snack bar which is surrounded by
ping-pong tables
,
pool tables
, campus mailboxes, and the TV lounge. Upstairs houses meeting rooms and the HAC Gym. Westminster's HAC Gym includes a
racquetball
court, indoor
track
,
weight equipment
, and workout room and is the site for most
intramural sports
.
Coulter Science Center
edit
This building was renovated in 2004 with an $18 million gift from the
Wallace H. Coulter
Foundation. Otherwise known as "CSC," this is where science classes and
labs
such as chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, environmental science, computer science, and math are held. This building is complete with computer labs on every floor. Westminster faculty were asked to provide their input before architects were hired to draw up the plans. The focus is totally on students and how to create a better learning atmosphere and to offer rooms for student research on a large scale.
This large building was built in 1966 and seats 1,400 people for concerts, lectures, music productions, and other college events such as
commencement
and Freshmen
Convocation
. A wide variety of notable individuals have spoken at Champ Auditorium since the building's completion, including rock musician and global humanitarian Bob Geldof, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
[17]
Breakthrough
is a sculpture consisting of eight sections of the
Berlin Wall
. It commemorates the collapse of the
Iron Curtain
and the end of the
Cold War
. The sculpture is the work of artist
Edwina Sandys
, granddaughter of
Winston Churchill
.
[21]
It was dedicated to Westminster College in 1990 by former President Ronald Reagan. It is the longest contiguous section of the Berlin Wall in
North America
.
Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury
edit
This predecessor of this church building was originally constructed London during the 12th century, but burned down in the
Great Fire of London
in 1666. This church was erected as its replacement by Christopher Wren in the 17th century. During
World War II
, the Wren church was gutted by
German bombs
and in the mid-1960s, it was dismantled and shipped stone by stone to Fulton and reconstructed on Westminster's campus. Today, the church serves as the college's chapel. While it is occasionally claimed that St. Mary's is the oldest church in North America, the statement is not accurate. The transported Wren building is not the original 12th Century building of the St. Mary Aldermanbury parish of London. It is instead the replacement that was built under Wren's direction between 1672 and 1677, containing a single set of stairs
[22]
from the medieval period, being an almost entirely new construction made largely of Portland stone that Wren had quarried in Dorset. This would make it considerably newer than such ancient North American buildings as the church of San Francisco in
Tlaxcala
, Mexico, whose construction began in 1521.
America's National Churchill Museum
edit
Located below the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury,
this state-of-the-art museum
is devoted to Sir Winston Churchill. In 2005, the building underwent a $4 million renovation and reopened in March 2006, marking the 60th anniversary of Churchill's speech at Westminster. This museum features interactive exhibits about Churchill, World War II, Sir Christopher Wren, and the Church of St. Mary, the Virgin, Aldermanbury. The Museum also showcases traveling and temporary exhibits, archival resources for scholarly research, and a gift shop with unique "Churchillian" merchandise.
[23]
Westminster College manages and maintains nine
residence halls
as well as a limited number of residential homes for student occupancy. In addition, the six national fraternities for men operate their own independent living units. New students are generally assigned to Gage, Marquess, Rice, Scott, and Sloss Halls, which compose the Churchill Quadrangle. Westminster's upper-class students live either in one of the four upper-class residence halls (Emerson, Wetterau, Weigle, Sweazey), Westminster Apartments, an on-campus residential house, Westminster Townhouses, or a national fraternity house. Members of Westminster's national sororities live in designated floors of three residence halls.
2020 student demographics
[24]
|
Approx. 605-degree-seeking students
|
56% male
|
44% female
|
77% of student body composed of White, non-Hispanic students
|
10% of student body composed of Black or African American students
|
5% of student body composed of two or more races
|
2% of student body composed of Hispanic/Latino students
|
2% of student body composed of Asian students
|
2% of student body composed of non-Alien students
|
Clubs and Organizations
edit
Westminster students can pick from over 50
clubs
and organizations to become involved in on campus.
[16]
Honorary societies
include:
Alpha Chi
,
Alpha Mu Gamma
,
Beta Beta Beta
, FMA National Honor Society,
Gamma Theta Upsilon
,
Kappa Delta Pi
,
Omicron Delta Kappa
,
Phi Alpha Delta
,
Phi Alpha Theta
,
Pi Mu Epsilon
,
Psi Chi
,
Phi Sigma Alpha
,
Phi Sigma Tau
,
Sigma Tau Delta
, and
Theta Alpha Kappa
.
[25]
Westminster College has a well-established history of
Greek Life
, dating to 1868. Approximately 47% of students are members of Greek organizations. Participation in this heritage has afforded students opportunities in leadership and involvement, both on-campus and within the greater Fulton community. Greek life consists of six
national fraternities
and three
national sororities
. Fraternities and sororities receive national recognition for the successful organizations that have been formed and maintained over the last 150 years.
[26]
The Westminster athletic teams are called the Blue Jays. The college is a member of the
Division III
level of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA), primarily competing in the
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(SLIAC) since the 1990?91 academic year. The Blue Jays previously competed in the
Missouri College Athletic Union
(MCAU) of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
(NAIA) from 1924?25 to 1931?32. The school mascot is Winston the Blue Jay.
Westminster competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, volleyball and wrestling. Former sports included co-ed cheerleading.
[27]
Men's volleyball will be added in 2024?25.
- Joe Aull
- Ewald W. Busse
- W. Bruce Cameron
Class of '78, author A Dog's Purpose
- Courtney W. Campbell
- Wallace H. Coulter
- William Henry Danforth
, Chancellor of
Washington University in St. Louis
and philanthropist
- Forrest DeBernardi
- Bill Emerson
- G. David Gearhart
- Michael Gibbons
, former President Pro Tem of Missouri State Senate
- Julian Wood Glass Jr.
, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- George F. Gunn Jr.
- Paul K. Holmes III
- Henry Iba
, American basketball coach and college athletics administrator
- Michael Kim
- Ian Mackey
, class of 2009, member of the
Missouri General Assembly
- Bake McBride
from Fulton, NL Rookie of the Year 1974
- Edward Howard Payne
, namesake of
Howard Payne University
- Edward D. Robertson Jr.
- Tony F. Schneider
- Scott Shipp
was the second superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute and a Confederate officer
- Alfred C. Sikes
, former U.S. administrator of the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
, who served as chairman of the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC)
- Scott Pingel
- Forrest Smith
- Thomas Starzl
- Howard Sutherland
- John Van Sant
, Pennsylvania State Representative and State Senator
- Harry Vaughan
,
U.S. Army Reserve
general who served as
Aide
to the
President of the United States
from 1945 to 1953
- Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
- ^
As of June 30, 2015.
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.
Regional Universities Miswest
. U.S. News & World Report
. Retrieved
October 14,
2016
.
- ^
"Faculty & Staff Directory"
. Westminster
. Retrieved
October 14,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Trends in Headcount Enrollment, 2013-2019"
.
Missouri Department of Higher Education
. Retrieved
July 20,
2020
.
- ^
Westminster College Graphic Identity Standards Manual
(PDF)
. Retrieved
January 6,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Parrish, William E. Westminster College: An Informal History, 1851?1999. Fulton, Mo: Westminster College, 2000. Print. OCLC Number 45495552
- ^
"Campus Facilities/Campus Buildings"
.
- ^
Westminster College Campus Catalog, 2002 ? 2003
.
- ^
"Endowment"
. Archived from
the original
on February 19, 2014.
- ^
"First Online Classes"
.
- ^
"Washington University Partnership"
(Press release).
- ^
a
b
"Westminster College - Dual-Degree Chiropractic"
.
westminster-mo.edu
. Retrieved
January 4,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Westminster College - Dual-Degree Engineering"
.
westminster-mo.edu
. Retrieved
January 4,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Westminster College - Dual-Degree Nursing"
.
westminster-mo.edu
. Retrieved
January 4,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Backer, Sarah Rummel (April 20, 2021).
"Westminster Announces Accelerated Master's Degree Program with Culver-Stockton College | News at Westminster College"
.
news.wcmo.edu
. Retrieved
June 30,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Westminster College - College Presidents"
.
westminster-mo.edu
. Retrieved
January 4,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Facts About Westminster"
. Westminster. 2015
. Retrieved
October 14,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"America's National Churchill Museum | The John Findley Green Foundation Lecture"
.
nationalchurchillmuseum.org
. Retrieved
June 30,
2021
.
- ^
"Other Notable Speakers"
.
wcmo.edu
. Retrieved
June 30,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"National Register Information System"
.
National Register of Historic Places
.
National Park Service
. July 9, 2010.
- ^
Warren Hollrah, Ann Stimble, Eve Saunders, and Karen Grace (August 1980).
"National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Westminster College Historic District"
(PDF)
. Missouri Department of Natural Resources
. Retrieved
October 1,
2016
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
edwinasandys.com
- ^
"America's National Churchill Museum | History of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Christopher Wren Church"
.
nationalchurchillmuseum.org
. Retrieved
June 30,
2021
.
- ^
"Winston Churchill Museum in Fulton, MO"
. National Churchill Museum. November 13, 2015
. Retrieved
January 7,
2016
.
- ^
Backer, Sarah (June 30, 2021).
"Westminster College - Facts about Westminster"
.
westminster-mo.edu
. Retrieved
January 8,
2018
.
- ^
"Clubs & Organizations - Westminster College - Fulton, Missouri"
. Archived from
the original
on May 9, 2012
. Retrieved
July 20,
2012
.
- ^
"Home"
. Archived from
the original
on June 30, 2012
. Retrieved
July 20,
2012
.
- ^
"St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference"
. Sliac.org
. Retrieved
August 23,
2017
.
- Hockaday, Judge John A. "A History of Westminster College."
Missouri Historical Review
2 (October 1907): 41?46.
online