In 1841 a group of Methodist settlers in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, met and began lobbying the Iowa territorial legislature to establish an institute of higher learning in their burgeoning community. On February 17, 1842, the legislature granted a charter for the Mount Pleasant Literary Institute, soon to be renamed as Mount Pleasant Collegiate Institute. Despite the charter, organization and fund raising were slow going at first. Twenty acres of land was donated for the campus by four Mount Pleasant residents in March 1843. That same month, organizing officials hired Reverend Artistides J. Heustis as the institution's first president. From February 1855, the school was known as Iowa Wesleyan University, honoring John Wesley, the founder of Methodism The institution's name was modified to Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912, reflecting its contemporary status as a four-year baccalaureate degree institution of higher learning. On August 10, 2015, Iowa Wesleyan officially adopted its new name: Iowa Wesleyan University, reflecting its broad educational opportunities and its roots as one of the oldest four-year co-educational church-related universities west of the Mississippi River. The university occupies a 60-acre central campus of historic red brick buildings and modern structures, including some listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Chapel, built in 1896, received a complete renovation and restoration in the early 21st century. Iowa Wesleyan is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to offer academic programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Music Education degrees. Undergraduate enrollment at the college is approximately 600 full-time students. Dr. Steven E. Titus has been president of the university since June 2013.
Academic programs
Students at Iowa Wesleyan can gain a variety of degrees in the fields of Business, Education, Fine Arts, Human Studies, Language and Literature, Nursing, and Science. In the late 1960s, Iowa Wesleyan started its Responsible Social Involvement program or RSI. Now called Service Learning, the program has two main goals:
Service to the greater community, and
Having students participate more actively in their own education.
Service Learning allows students direct experience outside the traditional realms of textbooks, classrooms, and professors. Additionally, all students at Iowa Wesleyan are required to complete an approved internship through the Office of Field Experience.
Student life
Iowa Wesleyan University offers many activities for students outside the classroom, including the Student Government Association, the Student Union Board, Intramurals, Hall Councils, Student Ambassadors, as well as a number of performing groups such as the Concert Choir.
Greek life
Greek life has a rich history at Iowa Wesleyan University. The one active chapter on campus is the Beta chapter of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, which has been on campus since 1902. It is the oldest chapter of Alpha Xi Delta in the country. The P.E.O. Sisterhood was founded at Iowa Wesleyan University on January 21, 1869. Greek organizations that have had chapters on campus include: National Panhellenic Conference Sororities:
