Wheaton College is a private, conservative evangelical Protestant liberal arts college located in Wheaton, Illinois. It was founded in 1860.

Wheaton has an enrollment of approximately 2,400 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Students typically come from all 50 U.S. states and many other countries. Its motto "For Christ and His Kingdom" is proudly displayed on two large signs, one on its front lawn, another in the middle of campus outside the new Todd Beamer Memorial Student Center.

Upon entrance into the college's society, undergraduate students are required to sign a "Community Covenant," which affirms basic Christian doctrine and affirms refrainment from alcohol and tobacco use, as well as extra-marital sexual activity. Graduate students may partake of alcohol and tobacco, but not on campus or in

History

Wheaton College has had only seven presidents in its nearly one-and-a-half century history. They are, in order: Jonathan Blanchard (1860-1882), Charles Albert Blanchard (1882-1925), Rev. Oliver James Buswell (1925-1940), V. Raymond Edman (1940-1965), Hudson T. Armerding (1965-1982), J. Richard Chase (1982-1993), and Duane Litfin (1993-present).

Academics

Students may choose from about 40 majors in the undergraduate college in many liberal arts disciplines. The most popular in recent years have been business, communications, English, and psychology. Wheaton also includes a nationally-regarded Conservatory of Music where students may study Music Performance, Education, Composition, or History/Literature. There is also a Music with Elective Studies program.

Students come from all over the world to attend the Wheaton College Graduate School and may study for an M.A., M.A.T., Ph.D. in Biblical and Theological Studies, or Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology.

Wheaton maintains a strong academic record with an average of 37 National Merit Finalists. It is often referred to as "the Harvard of Christian Schools"

Campus facilities

Wheaton's most recognizable and oldest building is Blanchard Hall, named after the school's first president, Jonathan Blanchard, who hoped to create

The college's regular chapel services are held in Edman Memorial Chapel, which seats 2400. This facility is also used for many events of Wheaton's performing arts programs.

The campus includes the , named after the college's most well-known graduate. The BGC houses several evangelism institutes, a museum, a library, as well as the Wheaton College Graduate School.

Wheaton College hosts the Marion E. Wade Center, an extensive research library and museum of the books and papers of seven British writers, not all of them commonly associated with the conservative evangelical Protestantism of institutions like Wheaton: C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, Dorothy L. Sayers, George MacDonald, and Charles Williams.

In the fall of 2004 the Todd M. Beamer Student Center was completed. Beamer was a Wheaton alumnus, part of a small group of passengers that most likely thwarted disaster by storming the suicide hijackers and bringing down United Flight 93 in rural Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

Alumni

Besides Billy Graham, notable alumni include Wes Craven, Jim Elliot, Michael Gerson, Dennis Hastert, Walter Kaiser, Margaret Landon, Josh McDowell, Mark Noll, Violet Bergquist Redding, Nate Saint, John Piper and victim of the 9/11 attacks Todd Beamer.

Trivia

• Students who become engaged or celebrate an anniversary may ring the bell in Blanchard Tower to celebrate momentous occasions.
• Wheaton College was the first college in Illinois to graduate an African-American student
• Wheaton College made national headlines on February 20, 2003 when it lifted its then 143 year-old ban on student dancing. In addition to allowing undergraduate students the privilege of dancing, Wheaton granted "adult faculty members and grad students .. the freedom to choose whether they want to smoke or drink alcohol, at least while off-campus."
• The Marion E. Wade Center in Wheaton College have memorabilia of the Inklings, including C.S. Lewis' wardrobe and writing desk, Charles Williams's bookcases, J.R.R. Tolkien's desk, and Pauline Baynes's original map of Narnia.
• Wheaton again appeared in the news when Joshua Hochschild, assistant professor of philosophy, was dismissed in 2004 for converting to Roman Catholicism.

External links and references