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Willamette University is a private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the western United States.

The university has over 200 full-time professors and approximately 2,500 students in four separate schools:

  • College of Liberal Arts
  • College of Law
  • School of Education
  • Atkinson Graduate School of Management

Campus

The 69 acre (250,000 m²) campus is directly south of the Oregon State Capitol, affording convenient access of the students to internships in the institutions of Oregon government. Much of downtown Salem, including the Capitol, is on land once owned by the university.

A stream runs through the heart of the campus. Starting across 12th Street and flowing through the length of the campus, it passes by the Hatfield Library, Hudson Hall, the University Center, Smith Auditorium and Goudy Commons. It is named Mill Run, although it is commonly referred to as "the Mill Stream." It is an artificial body of water that forms a "W" shape when viewed from the University Center. Also from this vantage point one can view "the impossible triangle," a metal structure erected at the suggestion of a physics professor, M. B Stewart. It is campus tradition for undergraduate students to be thrown into the Mill Stream on their birthday. TIUA students (exchange students from the Tokyo International University of America), however, are thrown into the Chicken Fountain (formally known as the Hatfield Fountain). Ducklings are often seen waddling around campus and feeding in the Mill Stream during the spring term. Biology and environmental science classes utilize the Mill Stream as an authentic research venue. As part of the freshman matriculation ceremony, new students place a lit candle into the Mill Stream and watch it float downstream.

History

The university was founded as the Oregon Institute in the days of the Oregon Territory by the missionary Jason Lee, who had arrived in the territory in 1834 and had founded the Indian Manual Labor Institute for the education of the local Native Americans. Lee requested additional support for his mission, and received 53 additional volunteers in 1839, who arrived on the ship Lausanne.

After a series of meetings in Lee's home, the by-laws were adopted and board of trustees elected and the institute was officially established on February 1, 1842. The original purpose of the institute was the education of the missionaries' children.

The original building of the institute was a three-story frame structure first occupied in 1844. At the time, it was one of the largest structures in the Pacific Northwest. It housed the first session of the state legislature to meet in Salem after the capital was moved there in 1851. The building burned down in 1877.

The name of institution was changed to "Wallamet University" in 1852. The following year, the Oregon Territorial Legislature granted a charter to the university. The first graduate was Emily W. York, in 1859. The current spelling of the university was adopted in 1870.

In 1866, the university established the first school of medicine in the Pacific Northwest. The school of medicine has since become part of the University of Oregon. In 1883, the university established the first law school in the Pacific Northwest.

Lausanne Hall, originally home of the university's Musical Institute, and now one of the university's undergraduate dormitories, commemorates the ship that brought the reinforcements to Lee in 1839. York Hall commemorates the university's first graduate.

In December 1941, the university's football team traveled to Hawaii to play the University of Hawaii. Many students accompanied the team by passenger ship to Oahu. The game was played was on December 6. The following day, many of the Willamette students witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor from their hotels on Waikiki Beach. Their return trip was delayed by many weeks, and some of the students had to return to the mainland by troop transport ships. Many of the team members stayed with football players from Punahou School. The incident has since become part of the folklore of the university.

Willamette was one of the last universities in the nation to hold an annual singing and marching competition between the undergraduate classes. The competition, known on campus as "Glee," was held each March. Each class was expected to create a new song and marching routine, and to practice it over the course of a single week. The performance of the routines was an event held in high esteem by many alumni, and membership on the judging committee was considered a high honor. For the students, coming in last in the competition was considered a mark of great humiliation. Outrageous whimsical bets among students were encouraged, with the loser having to fulfill the bet on the following Monday, which was known as "Blue Monday." In the late 1990s, the competition came to be regarded as anachronistic and was abolished.

Facts about the University

  • Willamette was rated 61st among American liberal arts colleges by US News and World Report for 2006.

  • The University's mascot is the Bearcat.

  • The University motto is Non nobis solum nati sumus, which is Latin for "Not unto ourselves alone are we born."

  • The University's newspaper, the Willamette Collegian, began publishing in 1875.

  • Waller Hall was built using bricks made of clay from the campus quad.

  • Herbert Hoover once attended Willamette University.

Debate

Willamette has one of the oldest debating traditions in the United States and has been at the forefront of numerous innovative debate formats. Robert Trapp, the Director of Forensics, helped to found the National Parliamentary Debate Association. Trapp was also instrumental in helping spread debate internationally to places such as Macedonia, Estonia, and Latvia.

Rhetoric

The rhetoric department is located on the fourth floor of Eaton Hall. The focus of the major is on classical theory and its application to modern media. Core classes include: Classical Rhetoric, Rhetorical Criticism, Public Speaking, Narrative Theory, Media Theory, Argumentation and Society, and other courses on criticism and theory.

Greek Life

As of 2006, there are currently four fraternities and three sororities at Willamette. The sororities are Delta Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, and Alpha Chi Omega, although they are better known as (respectively) D-G, Pi Phi, and Alpha Chi on campus. Each one has its own house, which are all located along sorority row. The fraternities at Willamette are comprised of Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, and Beta Theta Pi, also known as, respectively, Phi Delt, SAE, Sigma Chi, and Beta. Another fraternity, Kappa Sigma, lost its charter in 2005 due to alcohol violations. The remaining fraternities are housed in the aging Baxter complex, but the IFC on campus hopes to get newer, more modern housing for each built within the next few years.

Noteworthy alumni

External links

Salem, Oregon | Universities and colleges in Oregon | Liberal arts colleges

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Willamette University".

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