William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of more than 900 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. Another founder was Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the infamous Frank James and Jesse James. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Convention for over 150 years until its separation in 2003 and is now an independent institution. Although the college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, it was placed on probation in late 2017.
History
Founding
The college is named after Dr. William Jewell, who in 1849 donated $10,000 to start a school. Jewell, who was from Columbia, Missouri, had wanted the school built in Boonville, Missouri. However, Liberty resident Alexander William Doniphan argued that donated undeveloped land in Liberty would be more valuable than the proposed developed land in Boonville, and Liberty was eventually chosen. Judge J.T.V. Thompson donated the hilltop land on which the campus sits. In the American Civil War during the Battle of Liberty, the main building on campus, Jewell Hall, was used as a hospital, infirmary, and stables for the United States Army. Union troops were buried on the campus. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The Mt. Memorial Cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, is located on the campus grounds.
Gano Chapel
In 1926, the John Gano chapel was built, based on a donation from Gano's great-granddaughter Elizabeth Price, who lived in Kansas City. Price gave the money for the chapel with provisions that the chapel be named for Gano and that it hang a painting of Gano baptizing George Washington in the Potomac River during the American Revolutionary War. The college says the painting is one of the school's most popular tourist destinations and takes no stance on whether the baptism of Washington (who was Episcopalian) actually took place. The story is rejected by many historians who question whether Gano was even stationed with Washington and note there is nothing in his Gano's personal correspondence about the event.The baptism by "Elder (Reverend) John Gano" is documented in the Washington Family Bible, located at Mount Vernon. This has been discovered by Reverend Bloyd, Bel Air, MD, Baptist Church, who started the Bible entry has even identified where on the Potomac River, where the baptism took place. More Rev. John Gano historical relics are also housed at the First Baptist Church, in NY City, which was founded by Rev. John Gano, where the Baptist church service is still conducted the same way it was done when Rev. John Gano started the church in the 1700s.
Other Gano artifacts in the chapel include a painting depicting Gano leading the troops in a prayer of Thanksgiving in 1783 at the conclusion of the Revolutionary war and a sword that Washington was said to have given Gano (which in turn had been given to Washington by Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette).
Harriman-Jewell Series
The Harriman-Jewell Series, Kansas City’s premier performing arts presenter, was founded in 1965. Co-founder Richard Harriman was instrumental in helping to bring Luciano Pavarotti to campus, where the tenor made his international solo recital debut as part of the Series in 1973. Today, the Series continues to bring world-class music, dance and theatre events to Kansas City. The 2014â€"2015 season will mark the Series’ 50th anniversary.
Jewell students receive free tickets to Harriman-Jewell Series events, further shaping their liberal arts experience. Events are held in downtown Kansas City at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Folly Theater.
Pryor Learning Commons
In August 2013, William Jewell College opened Pryor Learning Commons, a 26,000 square-foot intellectual center where students gather, learn, and create 24 hours a day. The three-story hub of campus allows for students to work as mature, independent learners, immersing and engaging in their educational experience.
Equipped with innovation studios, recording and editing suites, a 3D printer, 80†touchscreens, configurable white board tables, AirMedia, live Twitter wall, coffee shop, and more, the fully donor-funded $15 million Pryor Learning Commons lends itself to the learning styles of today’s students.
Academics
The college offers more than 40 academic majors and 10 pre-professional programs.
William Jewell College also provides an Oxbridge Honors Program. Oxbridge majors take tutorials in their major, study abroad in Oxford or Cambridge, and take comprehensive exams during their senior year. The college has also sent many students and professors to the University of Evansville's satellite campus at Harlaxton Manor. The College offers a Journey Grant Program in which students can qualify for a minimum $2,000 grant to use their junior year of school to help create an educational experience like study abroad, leadership and service projects, internships, research, business projects, etc.
In the period from 2006 to 2013, the College claimed two Fulbright Scholars, two Goldwater Scholars, two Rhodes Scholar national finalists, three Truman Scholars, a National Institute of Health Fellow, a George J. Mitchell Scholarship, two Council of Independent Colleges American Graduate Fellowship finalists, a Point Foundation Scholar, a James Madison Fellow, a Gilman Scholar, one USA Today Scholar and seven Teach For America corps members.
The Department of Education started Jewell’s first graduate program in 2014. Exclusively for practicing teachers, the Master of Science of Education in Differentiated Instruction helps teachers increase the effectiveness of their practice as they utilize their own classrooms and students. The program is approved by the Higher Learning Commission and is on the List of Schools Approved for Degree or Certification Earning Programs by the Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas City.
Distinctions
William Jewell has enjoyed a number of accolades, most recently including:
- U.S. News & World Report ranked William Jewell No. 155 among the country’s top tier of national liberal arts colleges for best academic value in its 2015 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.â€
- Jewell was named by The Princeton Review as one of “The Best 379 Colleges†in its 2015 edition. Only about 15 percent of four-year colleges in the U.S. appear in the student survey-based rankings.
- Forbes Magazine listed Jewell among “America’s Best Colleges†in its 2014 report. Jewell was ranked in the number 375 slot overall out of 650 public and private undergraduate institutions nationwide.
- The College was named to Washington Monthly’s “Colleges that Contribute to the Public Good†ranking in 2014. Jewell claimed the No. 89 spot. In the category of community service participation, Jewell placed No. 21 nationally. Jewell additionally claimed the No. 38 spot for service-oriented staff, courses and financial aid.
Journey Grants
William Jewell’s unique Journey Grants program offers a minimum $2,000 award to every junior to complete a self-designed, life-enriching experience anywhere in the world. Customized to fit students’ unique passions, Journey Grants help fund research projects, study-away experiences, entrepreneurial opportunities, internships, service projects, civic engagement initiatives and more. Past Journey Grant projects include:
- Shadowing and interviewing healthcare and insurance professionals in the Netherlands and the U.S. to compare the countries’ healthcare systems
- Observing medical research on tissue and heart valves at Children’s Mercy animal research lab in Baltimore, Md.
- Studying in Milan, Italy, to become fully immersed in the heart of opera
- Volunteering with nurses at an Oklahoma summer camp to serve children of prisoners to help end the cycle of incarceration
- Participating in the Europe Exploration Semester at Sea program, traveling on a ship to seven countries in 26 days
- Meeting with executives in retail, finance, technology, food and sports industries in New York City to complement classroom entrepreneurial studies
- Attending the Iraqi Education Institute in Dohuk, Iraq, to help educate and empower children and adults in war-torn areas
- Traveling throughout South Africa studying peace-building strategies, conflict resolution and history
- Working alongside families in Honduras to incorporate healthy, sustainable changes within their village
Athletics
The William Jewell Cardinals are the official athletic teams of the college. The college is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Prior to its transition to the NCAA Division II, the college competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as a member of the Heart of America Conference.
Varsity sports
- Baseball
- Basketball â€" Men & Women
- Cross country â€" Men & Women
- Football
- Golf â€" Men & Women
- Soccer â€" Men and Women
- Softball
- Spirit Team â€" Co-ed
- Swimming â€" Co-ed
- Tennis â€" Men & Women
- Track and field â€" Men & Women
- Volleyball â€" Women
Greek life
Fraternities
- ΚÎ' Kappa Alpha Order Alpha Delta Chapter
- ΛΧÎ' Lambda Chi Alpha Epsilon-Nu Chapter
- ΦÎ"Î" Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) Zeta Phi Chapter
Sororities
- Î'Î"Î Alpha Delta Pi Gamma Nu Chapter
- Î'Î"Î" Alpha Gamma Delta Epsilon Epsilon Chapter
- Î"Ζ Delta Zeta Zeta Rho Chapter
- ΖΤÎ' Zeta Tau Alpha Delta Chi Chapter
Notable alumni
- Cyrus Avery (1870â€"1963), businessman and "Father of Route 66"
- Eugene Monroe Bartlett (1885â€"1941), Christian singer, songwriter and producer of gospel music.
- Daniel Belcher, Grammy-winning operatic baritone
- Edwin Charles Boulton (A.B., 1950), a Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Nancy Boyda, deputy assistant secretary of defense for manpower and personnel; former Democratic congresswoman from Kansas, 2007â€"2009
- Hilary A. Bush, (BA 1926) Missouri lieutenant governor
- Robin Carnahan, Missouri Secretary of State, 2005â€"2013
- Tom Carnahan, (BA 1991), founder of Wind Capital Group, builder of wind farms
- Tom Carnegie, (AB 1942), longtime voice of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 car race as track announcer from 1946 to 2006.
- Chris Cissell (A.B., 1994), Current head coach of women's soccer at University of Missouri Kansas City. Former head coach of men's soccer & women's soccer at William Jewell College. NSCAA/adidas NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year in 2006.
- Russ Cline, co-founder of Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (now called National Lacrosse League), owner of Philadelphia Wings
- Earl Thomas Coleman, Republican congressman from Missouri, 1977â€"1993
- Jim Davis, actor, portrayed Jock Ewing on "Dallas" TV series
- Connie Dover, Celtic and American music folk singer, songwriter
- Homer Drew, head basketball coach at Valparaiso University
- Zel Fischer, Missouri Supreme Court Judge
- Larry Holley, former basketball coach at Central Methodist University and Northwest Missouri State University and current head coach at William Jewell College.
- James J. Jenkins American psychologist
- Gatewood Lincoln, 19th and 22nd Governor of American Samoa (only attended, did not graduate)
- Rodney Martin, (A.B.,1993), former amateur middleweight Boxer, former Member, Az Commission of Indian Affairs, Associate Justice - Yavapai-Apache Nation- Court of Appeals & SRPMIC Judicial Commission
- Don Page, theoretical physicist
- David Ring, motivational speaker with cerebral palsy
- Roy Sanders, former professional baseball player
- Bill Snyder (A.B., 1962), head American football coach for Kansas State University, 1989â€"2005; 2009â€"present
- Josephine L. Staton, United States federal district judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California
- Terry Teachout, biographer, playwright, opera librettist, drama critic for the Wall Street Journal, and critic-at-large of Commentary
References
External links
- Official website
- William Jewell Athletics website