A total of 1,499 students are enrolled in Wilson College for the fall semester, the most in the college’s 149-year history. Total enrollment is up more than 23 percent over last year and the number of new students entering the traditional undergraduate college increased by nearly 16 percent over fall 2017, producing the largest incoming class since 1966.
Wilson has its largest enrollment in the traditional undergraduate program since 1968. This year, 662 students are enrolled in the undergraduate college, a 19.7 percent increase from last fall. Nearly 60 percent of these students live on campus. Men now represent 19 percent of this population and nearly 21 percent of the total enrollment.
This year’s enrollment marks the sixth consecutive year of growth under the Wilson Today plan, a series of measures approved in 2013 to revitalize the college and set it on a path to economic health and sustainability. The plan included a tuition reduction and student loan buyback program, new career-oriented academic programs, campus improvements, coeducation in all programs and improved marketing and retention efforts.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the largest number of students to Wilson in our history,” said Wilson President Barbara K. Mistick. “The work and commitment of everyone associated with the college—faculty, staff, the board of trustees and alumnae—has paid off and we are dedicated to continuing the positive trend in enrollment.”
Wilson’s second-largest student population is in graduate programs, with 455 students enrolled this year in 10 master’s degree programs—a 16.6 percent increase over fall 2017. A total of 382 students are enrolled in the college’s adult degree program and other programs such a dual enrollment, up nearly 40 percent since last year.
Wilson students come from as far away as California and Florida. They represent 24 states (including Pennsylvania), as well as 17 foreign countries.
“The energy and excitement of having more students on campus is palpable,” Mistick said. “They bring a new vitality, not only to our campus but also to the entire community.”
Wilson’s continued enrollment increase contrasts with national enrollment trends. Based on the most recent data available, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported a decline of 1 percent in higher education enrollment nationally for 2017, while showing a 0.4 percent decrease at four-year, nonprofit private colleges.
Since 2013, Wilson has seen a 115 percent increase in traditional undergraduate enrollment, with a 126 percent increase overall.
Wilson College, which held or reduced tuition for a total of eight years through the 2018-19 academic year, was recently recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 “Best Colleges” guide, which ranks the college ninth in the “best value” category for regional colleges in the North. The value designation is an indication that the college provides a high-quality education at a reasonable price.
Wilson College is committed to providing students with an affordable education that offers real value and successful outcomes. The college held tuition steady for three consecutive years before reducing it by $5,000, or 17 percent, to $23,745 for the 2014-15 academic year, followed by four more years without an increase for traditional undergraduates. Wilson has announced plans for a 3 percent tuition increase in 2019-20.
Wilson College has been awarded nearly $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Campus Program to strengthen the college’s ability to respond to crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus.
The grant will enable Wilson to create Phoenix Against Violence, a comprehensive, coordinated program to prevent sexual and dating violence in the Wilson community and to enhance victim safety and support. The college plans to hire a full-time coordinator and implement an in-depth training program for students, faculty and staff, as well as work closely with community partners such as Women in Need and the Chambersburg Police Department to coordinate responses.
Wilson is one of three Pennsylvania institutions of higher education to be awarded the competitive, three-year grant in 2018. The college applied for the funding, in part, because of Wilson’s growth over the past six years, according to Vice President for Student Development Mary Beth Williams.
“It’s actually a proactive grant,” said Williams, who is also the dean of students. “At Wilson, we have a growing population, which positions us nicely for re-evaluating our procedural training and education.”
Wilson had a total enrollment last year of 1,216 students–the largest in the college’s 148-year history and a 75 percent increase from 2012. Fall 2018 enrollment numbers, which are being finalized, are expected to increase again.
“We know that sexual misconduct and domestic violence are the most underreported crimes, and we know that it happens on every college campus. One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college,” Williams said. “This grant will allow us to dedicate a full-time staff member to training and implementing policy and procedure on our campus that will help our students stay safe and to help one another with regard to domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking.”
Williams calls the grant “a game changer” for institutions of higher education like Wilson. “It will impact every area of the college,” she said. “It will change the college culture to be more educated about domestic violence and sexual abuse. Through this education, I hope students will feel more empowered to help and support one another.”
Wilson’s Phoenix Against Violence (PAV) program encompasses the following objectives:
• Create a coordinated community response (CCR) team that brings together Wilson’s on-campus student safety and support resources, and community-based partners in order to ensure students’ access to well-coordinated, effective responses to sexual violence and dating violence. • Provide mandatory sexual violence/dating violence prevention education for all incoming students by implementing a new web-based online prevention education tool, enhancing the existing prevention education session provided in person during new-student orientation, and implementing a universal education program using “Green Dot for College,” a bystander intervention model that engages all students, staff, administrators and faculty as allies to create a safe campus culture that is intolerant of violence. • Establish an annual collaborative program to train all Wilson Department of Safety officers to respond effectively to sexual violence/dating violence using victim-centered, trauma-informed best practices. • Establish an annual collaborative program to train all Wilson Joint Honor Council members–which includes students, faculty and staff–to respond effectively to sexual violence/dating violence using victim-centered, trauma-informed best practices.
Wilson’s grant is part of $18 million awarded to 57 higher education institutions this year by the justice department to address sexual violence on campuses. In addition to strengthening the response of higher education institutions to sexual and domestic violence and stalking, the grant program aims to “enhance collaboration among campuses, local law enforcement and victim advocacy organizations,” according to the DOJ website.
“This will allow us to do some really great bystander intervention programming with Chambersburg Police Department and Women in Need,” said Williams, who is on WIN’s board of directors.
While PAV will focus on Wilson’s traditional student population living on campus, it will extend to all students, including women, men and LGBTQ students. “Over half of our campus don’t live on campus and many of them already live with domestic partners,” Williams said.
Wilson officials plan to begin implementing the PAV program in October.
Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage crisis is amping up interest in teaching careers. In response to the growing demand for teacher certification programs, Wilson College has expanded its former Teacher Intern Program (TIP), now offering an online-only certification program and a program for foreign language teachers, as well as the traditional program.
Now under the umbrella of the Teacher Certification Pathways (TCP) program, the certifications are aimed at those who already hold bachelor’s degrees in virtually any major but lack the requirements to become certified to teach in the Commonwealth. All three offerings are eliciting a lot of interest, according to TCP Director Beth Byers. “The (teacher) shortage is upon us,” said Byers. “Students are coming now because they’re seeing the articles, they’re seeing the statistics.”
A recent flurry of news reports about Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to pump $2 million into grants to develop education residency programs at eight universities cited statistics such as a 71 percent drop in the number of new teaching certificates issued in the state between 2009 and 2016-17, down from 14,247 to just 4,412. In addition, the number of students majoring in education at Pennsylvania colleges and universities has plummeted 55 percent since 1996, state officials said.
Interest in teaching careers began to wane in the Great Recession of 2007-09 – and continued for several years after the recession ended – when Pennsylvania and other states were forced to slash education money from their budgets and cut back on public school hiring and teacher pay. “It is really cyclical and it is really market-driven,” Byers said of enrollment in Wilson’s teacher certification program.
Despite a minor name change, Wilson’s Teacher Intern Pathway (TIP) remains the same as the former teacher intern certification program, which is geared to people who live within an 80-mile radius of Chambersburg, according to Byers. Courses are offered in the evenings.
She said the Foreign Language Intern Pathway (FLIP), which was launched in 2017, is for those who are already teaching a foreign language and have passed required tests, but are not yet certified to teach in Pennsylvania.
And the Teacher Online Pathway (TOP) is designed for those who live outside an 80-mile radius of the college. For now, the online option is limited to all secondary (7-12) certifications, as well as the Spanish and business certifications. “We’re testing the waters,” said Byers.
She said Wilson’s online program has a number of big advantages that other higher education institutions don’t offer, including the lower cost and a compressed schedule in which courses are completed in eight weeks instead of 15. Other significant selling points include the ability for Wilson students to request the location of their student teaching assignment, as well as the ability to transfer credits for five of their courses to the college’s Master of Education program – putting them halfway toward their M.Ed.
How far away a student lives is not an issue, since the TOP classes are all offered online. However, teaching candidates must perform their student teaching in Pennsylvania, Byers said.
TOP, which was just rolled out this summer, has already enrolled about 20 students – a few of whom switched from the TIP program because they were commuting a great distance – but as word spreads, Byers expects it to keep growing. “We have inquiries from far away – places like Pottsville, West Chester and Philipsburg,” she said.
For information about Wilson’s TCP programs, visit www.wilson.edu/teacher-certification-pathways.
Pennsylvania Executive Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Michael Smith visited Wilson College Friday, Sept. 7, and toured Fulton Farm as part of the agriculture department's ongoing Planting the Seed initiative. Smith met with President Barbara K. Mistick before touring the farm with Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies Director Chris Mayer.
“The Fulton Farm is an excellent resource, not just for Wilson College, but for the surrounding community,” said Smith. “Its commitment to stewardship, sustainability, education and outreach provides students and their neighbors the chance to pursue and explore all of the opportunities available in agriculture.”
Dedicated to environmental stewardship, the seven-acre organic farm's goals include using a minimal amount of non-renewable resources; minimizing pollution of the soil, water, and air on the farm and “downstream”; promoting biodiversity; ensuring farm worker safety and health; and providing healthy, locally produced food for the campus and community. The farm is part of a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, providing produce to more than 125 community members. The farm is part of the Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies, which teaches students how to promote sustainability in food production, energy, transportation and land stewardship. “We are so pleased to have Deputy Secretary Smith visit Wilson College and Fulton Farm,” Mayer said. “Our farm has been a model for community-supported agriculture at since 1996 and as Wilson’s hands-on home for environmental education, we continue to educate students of all ages for humane stewardship of our communities and our world.” Pennsylvania agriculture is a $135 billion industry with a lot of opportunity, but is also one that is facing several challenges, including an aging workforce, according to the agriculture department. It said attrition and advancing technologies will result in a workforce deficit of nearly 75,000 over the next decade. The Planting the Seed Tour aims to engage and educate the next generation about the many education and career opportunities available in Pennsylvania agriculture.
A farm-to-table, barbecue-style dinner celebrating Wilson’s College’s Fulton Farm, and local farming in general, will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, in Wilson’s Laird Hall. Tickets for the 4th annual “People, Place, Plates” dinner, which will raise money for the Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies, are $48 per person or $85 per couple.
The dinner will feature organically grown food from the farm and other local partners. After dinner, guests can dance to live music from the Don’t Look Down Band. Those attending will learn about Fulton Farm, its role at Wilson College and its contributions to the community, according to Chris Mayer, FCSS director. She said the dinner will also feature products from local family farms and food artisans, as well as a screening of a student-made short film about Fulton Farm through the seasons.
Proceeds from the event will support program development at the farm, including intern education, Mayer said.
Tickets for the fundraiser must be purchased by Sept. 20 and can be bought online at www.wilson.edu/ppp18. Supporters can buy tickets or sponsorships, or donate door prizes – all by visiting the link.
“People, Place, Plates” sponsors include cultivating partner Noelker and Hull Associates and Sunnyhill Properties, Snavely’s Garden Corner and The Inn at Ragged Edge.
For more information, contact Chris Mayer at 717-264-4420 or christine.mayer@wilson.edu.
H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, husband of Wilson alumna Marguerite Brooks Lenfest ’55, passed away August 5 at the age of 88.
Following a successful career that brought them great financial wealth, he and Marguerite began a new career – sharing their fortune in support of charities and organizations. Since selling their cable television company, Lenfest Communications, to Comcast Corp. in 2000, the Lenfests have devoted their time and energy to various philanthropic efforts. Individually and through the Lenfest Foundation, the couple has contributed millions to scores of causes, including their alma maters - Marguerite’s being Wilson College and Gerry’s including Mercersburg Academy, Washington and Lee University and Columbia University.
Personally and through the Lenfest Foundation, the couple has made gifts of more than $1.3 billion to over 1,100 organizations, supporting causes ranging from the arts to environmental programs to independent journalism. But their highest priority has always been to build self-sufficiency through education, according to the foundation website.
During Wilson’s “Leading with Confidence” capital campaign, the Huntingdon Valley, Pa., couple pledged a total of $20 million toward the college’s endowment, and over the years, the Lenfests have supported Wilson’s annual fund and unrestricted endowment, student scholarships, faculty development, Single Parent Scholars Program and facilities renovations — including a 2013 gift of $3.6 million to the Reimagining the John Stewart Memorial Library (JSML) renovation project that created Lenfest Learning Commons, a student gathering and study space.
“We had a wonderful campus visit with Gerry and Marguerite during the campaign to reimagine the JSML,” Wilson President Barbara K. Mistick said. “We sat and chatted up on the second floor of the library which gave a great view over our academic quad and toward the Harry R. Brooks Science Complex, named in honor of Marguerite's father. It was special. Their vision for and generosity to Wilson over many decades has been truly extraordinary and their legacy will always be apparent.”
The couple’s philanthropy has also included funding the Lenfest College Scholars program for central Pennsylvania high school students. In 2017, the Lenfests were recipients of the Carnegie Meal of Philanthropy in recognition of their outstanding and innovative leadership in philanthropy.
Services will be private, and a public celebration of his life is being planned for the fall at the Academy of Music.
Two free art exhibitions will open Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Wilson College−one in Lortz Hall’s Bogigian Gallery featuring the work of members of The Foundry, and one in the John Stewart Memorial Library’s Cooley Gallery featuring artwork by Chambersburg artist Anne Finucane.
Receptions to mark the openings will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. that day in both venues.
The Foundry at Wilson exhibition is a selection of member artwork from the grassroots, artist-led cooperative located at 100 S. Main St. A variety of artwork will be exhibited, such as paintings, drawings and sculpture. The exhibition will run until Oct. 12.
In 2016, Wilson and its Division of Arts and Letters formed a partnership with The Foundry that provides opportunities for exhibition exchanges, as well as possible studio/workshop opportunities.
Anne Finucane: Printmaker takes inspiration from Pennsylvania’s forests, orchards and fields. Whether rendering them abstractly or realistically through etchings, pastels or colored pencils, her goal is to convey the excitement she feels about the natural world to others. The exhibition will continue through Nov. 30.
Finucane, who has worked with Chambersburg’s Council for the Arts and the Franklin County Art Alliance, has served as guest curator and juror for art shows throughout the area, and as a panelist for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Her artwork has been featured in solo shows throughout the Cumberland Valley, in juried national competitions and in membership exhibitions with FCAA and Penn’s Woods Printmakers.
For additional information or an appointment, contact Professor of Fine Arts Philip Lindsey at 717-264-2783 or philip.lindsey@wilson.edu.
At its 148th commencement ceremony held Sunday, May 13, Wilson College conferred degrees on 192 undergraduate and graduate students. Twenty-five students graduated from Wilson’s Master of Science in Nursing program: Charity Marie Barber-Heaton , Angela Marie Blair, Joyce M. Burkholder , Sean R. Corcoran , Monica L Diehl, Kelly A. Engel, Holly M. Friese, Maryann K Gaulding, Christina L. Hershey, Matthew E. Hopkins, Danielle R. Leedy, Wanda K. Leedy, Deana L. McClure, Katherine J. Merideth, Nicole A. Mills, Susan K. Monismith, Candy L. Moschetti, Teresa J. Napier, Nicole L. Naugle, Rhonda M. Rice, Sandra K. Strait, Catherine I. Szuchnicki, Heather R. Thompson, Hilary D. Weller and Erin Young. Five students graduated from Wilson’s Master of Fine Arts program: Lisa Ruth Harman and Kathleen Meyer Leiner, Anabella Guillermina Lenzu, Douglas Kenneth Mott and Lillian A. Oglesby. Four students graduated from Wilson’s Master of Educational Technology program: Pamela D. Grimminger, Debra K. Harte, Christina M. Peterson and Naomi Lynn Rupert. Sixty-seven students graduated from Wilson’s Master of Education program: Keara Allshouse, Megan Anderson, Leigh Arnold, Shannon Arnold, Ashton Barry, Theresa J. Bechtel, Stephanie J. Blaker, Marcus M Brothers, Heather Brown, Lisa M. Coder, Monica L. Cox, Laura B. Deyarmin, Dane M. Domonkos, Jessica Durofchalk, Amanda J. Escolarte, Grace Farabaugh, Tiffany Frazier, Terra Funston, Michael A. Furry, Christina Giacchino, Meghan M. Girroir, Colleen A. Glenn, Kristen Green , Dawn Murphy Hardman, Cierra L. Hough, Jeffrey R. Howe, Brittany N. Ilgenfritz, Ashley Janson, Kayla Kapinus, Colleen S. Kassman, Matthew J. Kilgore, Kate E. Kim, Jennifer Kroboth, Elizabeth A. Lancaster, Catherine Bayley Leonard, Erin May, Jennifer L. McConnell, Sean P. McConnell, Jessica E. Morgan, Luke A. Nerone, Heather N Nyquist, Allison O'Handly, Megan Over, Kortni Peropat, Molly A. Pomeroy-Hoover, Jodi Proctor, Kelly L. Robinson, Jennifer L. Rowe, Leighette Sechrist, Kathryn Settle, Debbie J. Shatzley, Dana F. Sheaffer, Rebecca P. Shertzer, Michaela J. Sicuranza, Kaitlin Slessinger, Ryan Small, Zachary Smith, Trina Snoke, Kayla A. Stickell, Kathleen A. Taylor, Stacie L. Trent, Lisa Velazquez, Autumn M. White, Elizabeth Whitehead, Courtney Wiser, Jennifer L. Wyant and Jayme Zimmerman. One student graduated from Wilson’s Master of Accountancy program: Darian Kaylee Hufcut. Six students graduated from Wilson’s Master of Arts in Humanities program: Frances Maria Caroscio, Adam C. Ellerbrock, Travis Frank Horton, Marybeth Richards, Ghada S.Y. Tafesh and Sarah L. Taylor-Foltz. The following students graduated from Wilson College with bachelor’s degrees: Mohammed Ali Alameer, Ahmed Saad Alshahrani, Taylor R. Amsley, Shayla Ladawn Appleby, Kristina Anne Bartholomew (distinction), Melissa Sue Beck (magna cum laude), Marquise Michael Beckett (magna cum laude), Martez A Beckett, Jacob Robert Benford, Ann Therese Bianca, Kirsten D. Bilger, Danielle R Boock, Ashley Brown, Kelsey Lynne Brunner (cum laude), Ashley R. Carbaugh (cum laude), Tiffany Ann Cobb, Justine Lee Commero, Lindsy Jo DeBross, Laura L. Deigert, Cody Reid Dunlap (cum laude), Dasia Janee Edwards, Kaitlyn Michelle Eller, Destiny Amber Feggins, Kristyn T. Fogg (magna cum laude), Daniel Robert Glazier (cum laude), Haley Angeline Glofka (summa cum laude), Amanda Marie Haase, Raechelle Marie Hilbish, Kelsey Marie Hockensmith, Ashley Nichole Horn, Timothy L. Horn, Jennifer Rebecca Hornberger, Rebecca Lynn House (cum laude), Darian Kaylee Hufcut (cum laude), Haley D. Hutchinson, Katherine Ann Jacobs, Raymond L. Kerr, Ian M. Kuykendall, Katie J. Lacko, Anita A. Laman (cum laude), Tara J. Leeking, Kirstin Marion Lehman, Miranda S. Long (honors in the major), Charlene Nichole Marthers, Erin Marie Martin, Katrina J Martin (magna cum laude), Shannon Genette McKenzie (cum laude), Kyle Lee McNew, Beverly A. Meyers, Katelin Marie Mowen, Hong Thuy Nguyen (cum laude), Olivia A. Noone, Aurora M. Ortiz, Heather Paxson, Stephanie Marie Peebles (summa cum laude), Shelby N. Peiffer, Adele Rose Reinoehl, Deborah Ann Rifflard (magna cum laude), Michele Lynn Rogers, Karen Cynthia Saltzgiver (distinction), Abigail Oyler Selman, Roger Michael Shaffer (cum laude), Sarah Elizabeth Six, Andrea L Smith, Heidi Smith, Jenny D. Smith, Shelby E. Spencer, Erin Theresa Stephan (magna cum laude), Darren Grant Stephens (cum laude), Ryan P. Stine (magna cum laude), Autumn Carol Swartzlander, Stephen G. Thompson, Alaya P. Torpy, Esther Ruth Twombly (magna cum laude), Cierra Valentine, Sierra Jade Watson, Amanda E. Waxman (distinction), Audrae Morae Westurn, Kristy L. Zeis, Luori Zhuoma, Danielle R. Zona and Kaitlin V. Zwicker. Two students graduated with associate degrees: Holly A. Mooney and Sierra Lynn Williams.
In collaboration with Coyle Free Library, students in the Wilson College Master of Fine Arts program will present an interactive art exhibition from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at the library, 102 N. Main St. in Chambersburg. CONNECT: A Walk-Through Exhibit is free and open to the public.
Visitors are encouraged to “connect” via the temporary exhibitions placed throughout the newly renovated Coyle Library. Artists’ projects include a performance in homage to Margaret Cochran Corbin, who fought in the American Revolutionary War; an interactive yarn installation; a robotic dancing statue and show tunes sung by musical theater performers.
For more information, contact MFA guest faculty member Ed Woodham at ed.woodham@wilson.edu or 347-350-4242.
The Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF) has awarded Wilson College a $16,000 grant to provide $4,000 scholarships for four students with animal-related majors, including veterinary medical technology (VMT), animal studies, equestrian studies, equine-facilitated therapeutics and equine journalism.
This is the fourth year TERF has given Wilson money for scholarships, which are awarded to students based on need, achievement and equine-related aspirations.
TERF awards scholarships consistent with its mission of supporting and promoting equine education and research by sponsoring scholarships in veterinary medicine and supporting organizations that are educating the public in the proper care of horses.
TERF, which is based in Middletown, Delaware, began in the 1990s as the Thoroughbred Charities of America—the premier thoroughbred charity in the United States. In 2007, several TCA directors, including Dr. James Orsini, a Wilson College Trustee, established an endowment to support the charitable needs of worthy education and research organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region. In 2012 the name of the endowment was changed to Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation.
The TERF scholarship program at Wilson is directed by professors Freya Burnett and Ann O’Shallie, directors of the VMT and equestrian studies programs, respectively.
