Вашингтон және Джефферсон колледжінің тарихы

Private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, US

Washington Academy was chartered by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on September 24, 1787. The first members of the board of trustees included Reverends Dod and Smith. At a subsequent unknown date, McMillan transferred his students from the log cabin to Canonsburg Academy. In 1806, Matthew Brown petitioned the Pennsylvania General Assembly to grant Washington Academy a charter, allowing it to be re christened as Washington College. At various times over the next 60 years, the various parties within the two colleges pursued unification with each other, but the question of where the unified college would be located thwarted those efforts. In the ensuing years, both colleges began to undertake risky financial moves, especially over selling scholarships. Desperate for funds, Washington College accepted an offer from the Synod of Wheeling to take control of the college, a move that was supposed to stabilize the finances for a period of time. However, Washington College then undertook another series of risky financial moves that crippled its finances.

Following the Civil War, both colleges were short on students and on funds, causing them to join as Washington & Jefferson College in 1865. The charter provided for the college to operate at both Canonsburg and Washington, a position that caused significant difficulty for the administration trying to rescue the college amid ill feelings over the unification. Edwards immediately encountered significant challenges, including the difficulties of administering a college across two campuses, as well as old prejudices and hard feelings among those still loyal to either Jefferson College or Washington College. Leadership of the college during this time fell to Samuel J. Wilson, a local pastor, and James I. Brownson, who had earlier been interim president of Washington College. By 1871, the United States Supreme Court upheld the consolidation, allowing the newly configured college to proceed. His successor, James D. Moffat, led the college through a period of growth where the college constructed the Old Gym, Hays Hall, Thompson Memorial Library, and Thistle Physics Building, as well as purchasing the land known as the "old fair ground," now used for Cameron Stadium. Towards the end of his term, Moffat personally paid for the 1912 renovations of McMillan Hall. In 1914, Frederick W. Hinitt was elected president. His tenure was dominated by the United States' entry into World War I, with an enrollment drop of 50%. William E. Slemmons, a college trustee and adjunct professor, succeeded Hinitt and served as interim president from May 1918 to June 1919. After the war ended in 1919, Samuel Charles Black took over and helped to stabilize the enrollment. His successor, Simon Strousse Baker, was well liked by the college's trustees and by "many a townsman", but the student body felt that Baker was "autocratic" and held an "unfriendly attitude toward the student body as individuals." Baker defended himself, saying that the perceived ill will towards students was unintentional and a misunderstanding. In an effort to strengthen the college's science department, Hutchison extended and expanded the southern portion of the campus, adding the Lazear Chemistry Hall and purchasing McIlvane Hall. When World War II broke out, the campus was opened to the Army Administration School, where hundreds of soldiers received their "training in classifications." Hutchison resigned in 1945 to take the presidency of his alma mater, Lafayette College. In 1950, Boyd Crumrine Patterson assumed the presidency and oversaw curriculum revisions and the construction of a number of buildings, including the Henry Memorial Center, 10 Greek housing units in the center of campus, the U. Grant Miller Library, the Student Center, the Commons, and two new dormitories. His fundraising abilities grew the college's endowment expanded from $2.3 million to nearly $11 million. Patterson retired in 1970, the same year that the trustees authorized the admission of women as undergraduate students. The college also adopted a new academic calendar to include intersession and expanded its academic programs to include the Entrepreneurial Studies Program, the Freshman Forum, and several cooperative international education programs. In 2004, Tori Haring Smith became the first woman to serve as president of Washington & Jefferson, undertaking an effort to improve the science curriculum and to construct the Swanson Science Center. After 13 years of service, Haring Smith retired from her position on June 30, 2017. John C. Knapp was named Haring Smith's successor on April 21, 2017, and became the college's 13th president on August 1, 2017. On February 27, 2024 the college announced the selection of Elizabeth MacLeod Walls as the 14th president. MacLeod Walls will begin her tenure on June 30, 2024.

As a liberal arts college, Washington & Jefferson College focuses exclusively on undergraduate education. The college's teaching environment reflects the liberal arts tradition of small group instruction by maintaining an average class size of 17 and a student/faculty ratio of 12:1. 85% of faculty have terminal degrees and no classes are taught by teaching assistants. The college has a focus on preparing students for graduate school and professional programs. Across all disciplines, 85% to 90% of students who apply to such programs receive offers of admission. Among students who apply to medical school or related health graduate programs, 90% of students gain admission. Approximately 11% of all current W&J alumni are physicians and engineers, making the college third in the nation per capita for producing doctors and scientific researchers. Among students who apply to law school, approximately 90% of students gain admission. The college recently added The English Language Institute which is a pre academic program designed to equip multi lingual learners with the English and academic skills to be prepared for undergraduate study.

Admission to Washington & Jefferson College is classified as "more selective" by both the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and U. S. News & World Report. The Princeton Review gave Washington & Jefferson an "Admissions Selectivity Rating" of 92. The college extends offers of admission to 38.2% of all applicants. In the 2019 U. S. News & World Report college rankings, Washington & Jefferson is ranked #103 of all liberal arts colleges in the nation, placing it within "Tier 1." The Washington Monthly ranked the college #132 among all American liberal arts colleges in terms of social mobility, research, and community service. The rankings listed the college as #30 in the nation in terms of Federal Work Study Program money spent of community service. She also questioned the "peer assessment" portion of the rankings and suggested that college presidents are rarely aware of educational improvements in their peer institutions; she noted that Washington & Jefferson College's ranking has remained the same for a number of years, even while the college made significant improvements in terms of its acceptance rates and overall selectivity, the addition of academic programs, and the construction of additional buildings. She has signed the "Presidents Letter," a nationwide movement asking fellow college presidents to decline participation in the U. S. News & World Report reputation survey, a subjective evaluation where college administrators score their competition.

The curriculum is centered on the traditional liberal arts education and pre professional classes. All first semester freshmen must complete the "First Year Seminar" class, which introduces new students to a variety of lectures, concerts, plays, and trips to museums or galleries based on a different course theme selected each year. In addition to completing an academic major, students must satisfy the college wide general education requirements, which include classes in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, foreign languages, cultural diversity, and academic skills classes including writing, oral communication, quantitative reasoning. Additionally, all students must complete a physical education requirement, amounting to one full semester class, making W&J one of the few liberal arts colleges without a physical education major to have such a requirement. The college maintains a number of combined degree programs, allowing students to attend graduate or professional school in lieu of senior year. Past Intersession courses have included "Emerging Diseases: Global and Local" in the biology department, "Corporate Failures, Frauds, and Scandals" in the business department, and "Vampires and Other Bloodsuckers" in the English department, "Holocaust Survivor Narratives" in the German department, and "Alternative Radio" in the communications department. At various times, the faculty organizes an "Integrated Semester," where professors organize regular departmental courses, specialized projects, and public events dealing with a common interdisciplinary theme. Students can also pursue international education through 30 pre approved programs in over 20 countries. Members of the National Guard of the United States may take online classes to earn an associate's degree in Information Technology Leadership or a certificate in Information Management and Security. Students may undertake externships to gain experiential learning experience in their chosen field. The Franklin Internship Awards, established in 2006 by Ellis Hyman, provide upperclassmen with financial assistance to take an unpaid internship. The college's Magellan Project is a series of programs that provide support and financing for research and independent study projects. Past Magellan Projects have allowed students to study the Invasion of Normandy, Mexican transportation systems, and to volunteer at medical missions in the Dominican Republic. In 2010, the Magellan Project received the Heiskell Award from the Institute of International Education in recognition of the college's progressive approach to study abroad. In the 2010–2011 school year, 58% of W&J students studied abroad.

The campus of Washington & Jefferson College is located in the city of Washington and the East Washington Borough, small town communities about 30 mile (48 km) south of Pittsburgh. The campus is home to more than 40 academic, administrative, recreational, and residential buildings. Portions of the campus extend into the East Washington Historic District. In 1947, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed a historical marker noting the historic importance of the college. The oldest surviving building is McMillan Hall, which dates to 1793 and is the oldest college building west of the Allegheny Mountains. The main academic building is Old Main, which is topped with two prominent towers. The Old Gym houses a modern exercise facility. McIlvaine Hall, which was originally home to a female seminary, was demolished in 2008 and replaced by the Swanson Science Center. Davis Memorial Hall was once a dormitory and private house. The Thistle Physics Building, the Lazear Chemistry Hall, and the Dieter Porter Life Sciences Building all cater to the scientific curriculum. The first dormitory on campus was Hays Hall. Wade House, Carriage House, and Whitworth House are Victorian homes housing older students. The recently constructed Chestnut Street Housing complex provides housing for the college's Greek organizations. The Presidents' Row is a cluster of ten buildings in the center of campus, several of which are dedicated to theme housing. Two sister dormitories, New Residence Hall and Bica Ross Hall, feature suite style living arrangements. Mellon Hall houses female freshman, and Upperclass Hall houses male freshmen. Other dormitories include Alexander Hall, Beau Hall, Marshall Hall, North Hall, and Penn House. The college administration utilizes several buildings, including the Admissions House, the Alumni House, and the President's House, which are all modified Victorian homes. The Hub, The Commons, and the Rossin Campus Center provide recreational and dining facilities for students. The athletic and intramural teams utilize Cameron Stadium for football and track. The Henry Memorial Center is used for basketball, wrestling, swimming, and volleyball. Other athletic facilities include Brooks Park, Ross Memorial Park and Alexandre Stadium, and the Janet L. Swanson Tennis Courts.