William Jewell College

History

Founding

The college is named after 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 James Turner Vance 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. One of the school's founders was Baptist minister Robert S. James, father of Jesse James.

On , the nearby Liberty Female Institute, also known as the Liberty Ladies' College, was destroyed in a fire, which brought female students to Jewell. The unanticipated merger developed slowly, but by 1920 the women of the ladies' college were admitted to William Jewell on the same terms as men.

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 an Episcopalian) actually took place.

Pryor Learning Commons

In August 2013, William Jewell College opened Pryor Learning Commons, a 26,000-square-foot intellectual center.

Academics

The college offers nearly 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, and take comprehensive exams during their senior year. 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 2019, William Jewell started the Honors Institute in Critical Thinking, a scholarship honors program that delves into analytical thinking with a self-designed practicum centered around a world issue.

Since 2013, the college claimed three Fulbright Scholars, two Goldwater Scholars, one Rhodes Global Scholar international finalist, two Truman Scholar finalists, one Rotary International Scholarship and ten Teach For America corps members.

The college offers three graduate programs, all approved by the Higher Learning Commission: The Master of Arts in Teaching, the Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction, and the Artist Diploma in Voice (certificate program).

Athletics

Main article: William Jewell Cardinals

The William Jewell athletic teams are called the Cardinals. The college is a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) since the 2011–12 academic year. Prior to joining the NCAA, the Cardinals previously competed in the Heart of America Conference (HAAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1971–72 to 2010–11; and in the Missouri College Athletic Union (MCAU) from 1924–25 to 1970–71.

William Jewell competes in 25 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, quadball, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball and wrestling; and co-ed sports include athletic band, powerlifting and spirit team.

Greek life

There are several fraternities and sororities on campus, with its first, or pioneer chapter being formed in 1871. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.

Fraternities

Active academic and social fraternity chapters at William Jewel College

• **ΦΓΔ - ** Phi Gamma Delta, 1886 (NIC)
• **ΚΑ - ** Kappa Alpha Order, 1887 (FFC)
• **ΛΧΑ - ** Lambda Chi Alpha, 1942 (NIC)

Chapters whose names changed, or which are inactive

:* ΖΦ - Zeta Phi, 1871–1886, became ΦΓΔ :* ΣΝ - Sigma Nu, 1894–2001 (NIC) :* ΚΣ - Kappa Sigma, 1897–1936

Sororities

Active academic and social sorority chapters at William Jewel College

• ΑΓΔ - Alpha Gamma Delta, 1946 (NPC)
• ΔΖ - Delta Zeta, 1961 (NPC)
• ΖΤΑ - Zeta Tau Alpha, 1964 (NPC)

Chapters whose names changed, or which are inactive

:* ΙΠ - Iota Pi (local), 1919–1931, became ΒΣΟ :* ΒΣΟ - Beta Sigma Omicron, 1931–1964, became ΖΤΑ :* ΑΔΠ - Alpha Delta Pi, 1949–2018 (NPC)

Notable alumni

• Cyrus Avery (1870–1963), businessman and "Father of Route 66"
• Eugene Monroe Bartlett (1885–1941), 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, 2007–2009
• Hilary A. Bush (BA 1926), Missouri lieutenant governor
• Greg Canuteson, former state representative and Mayor of Liberty
• Robin Carnahan, Missouri Secretary of State, 2005–2013
• Tom Carnegie (AB 1942), track announcer from 1946 to 2006
• Donald Marolf (1984), theoretical physicist and professor at University of California, Santa Barbara; known for being one of the originators of the black hole firewall paradox.
• Chris Cissell (A.B., 1994), women's soccer coach
• 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, 1977–1993
• 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
• Nino Giarratano (born 1962), college baseball coach
• James B. Graham, former Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts and former Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction
• William Hardin Harrison, US Army general
• Larry Holley, former basketball coach
• James J. Jenkins American psychologist
• Brian Knight Major League Baseball Umpire since 2011
• Dan Lanning, Head football coach, University of Oregon
• Gatewood Lincoln, 19th and 22nd Governor of American Samoa (only attended, did not graduate)
• Don Page (BA 1971), theoretical physicist at the University of Alberta.
• 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, 1989–2005; 2009–2018
• Josephine L. Staton, United States federal district judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California
• Orvar Swenson (1933), pediatric surgeon
• Terry Teachout, biographer, playwright, opera librettist, drama critic for the Wall Street Journal, and critic-at-large of Commentary
• JD Gravina (B.S. 2000), Head Women's Basketball Coach at Western Illinois University

References

References

1. "William Jewell College". NCES.
2. Higher Learning Commission. (June 27, 2019). "Public Disclosure:William Jewell College status changed from Accredited–Probation to Accredited".
3. Missouri Historical Society Collections. (1912). United States: Missouri Historical Society, page 288, Vol. 4
4. {{NRISref
5. (May 4, 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Listings". National Park Service.
6. (September 26, 1932). "Rupert Hughes' rebuttal of the Gano baptism legend in Time magazine".
7. "Franklin Steiner's refutation of the Gano baptism legend".
8. "PLC: Welcome". jewell.edu.
9. (September 6, 2019). "Majors & Minors". jewell.edu.
10. http://jewell.edu/oxbridge/ Oxbridge Honors Program
11. (February 7, 2018). "Journey Grants: Welcome". jewell.edu.
12. (July 24, 2019). "Honors Institute".
13. (August 30, 2018). "Outcomes".
14. (December 2, 2019). "Department of Education: M.S.Ed.". jewell.edu.
15. (July 13, 2012). "New members for 2012–13 could include Association's first Canadian school". [[NCAA]].
16. (October 8, 2009). "Great Lakes Valley Conference Admits New Member". [[Great Lakes Valley Conference.
17. (July 11, 2011). "William Jewell Advances to Year Three of NCAA Division II Membership Transition Process". William Jewell College.
18. This chapter had its origin in Iota Pi (local), which had formed in 1919. The local group would eventually accept a charter from [[Beta Sigma Omicron]] to become that sorority's ''Alpha Psi chapter'' in 1931, then participating in the national merger with {{lang. grc. ΖΤΑ in {{dts. 1964 when it became {{lang. grc. ΖΤΑ's ''Delta Chi chapter''. However, a nearby women's college, the Liberty Ladies College, was home to the ''Omicron chapter'' of [[Beta Sigma Omicron]] from 1908 to 1913 until its building burned in a fire. Soon after, the school's operations and student body were merged into William Jewell College with an agreement on co-education and a formal school merger soon following. Out of this, {{lang. grc. ΒΣΟ's ''Omicron chapter'' may be considered a second predecessor group to William Jewell's current {{lang. grc. ΖΤΑ chapter, even though the 6-year gap to the start of the predecessor local or the 17-yr gap to the creation of {{lang. grc. ΒΣΟ's ''Alpha Psi chapter'' probably didn't allow any alumnae continuity.
19. (October 5, 2006). "William Jewell's Cissell Wins National Coach of the Year". Nscaa.com.
20. [[Russ Cline]]
21. [[Jim Davis (actor)]]
22. "Connie Dover biography".
23. "James B. Graham". Office of the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts.
24. Head Women's Basketball Coach at [[Western Illinois University]]