Wesley College (Delaware): Difference between revisions

The institution was founded in 1873<ref name= tenured>{{cite news| url= https://apnews.com/article/religion-education-4c44d1ce00c3e2d8048aad43d9f32ba3| publisher= Associated Press| title= Tenured faculty challenge Wesley College acquisition by DSU| first= Randall| last= Chase| date= May 26, 2021| access-date= August 12, 2021}}</ref> as '''Wilmington Conference Academy''', a [[University-preparatory school|prep school]].<ref name= WHistory>{{cite web| url= https://www.admissions.wesley.edu/campus/| publisher= Wesley College| date= | title= History| access-date= August 12, 2021| archive-date= August 12, 2021| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210812160335/https://www.admissions.wesley.edu/campus/| url-status= dead}}</ref> During this period [[Annie Jump Cannon]], a prominent astronomer who pioneered stellar classification, graduated valedictorian from Wilmington Conference Academy in 1880.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colonialschooldistrict.org/blog/we-celebrate-annie-jump-cannon/|work=Blog|publisher=Colonial School District|title= WE Celebrate: Annie Jump Cannon|date=March 18, 2021}}</ref><ref name="cannon-hist-marker"/> It became a two-year college in 1918 and renamed the '''Wesley Collegiate Institute'''.<ref name= WHistory /> It was renamed again in 1941 as Wesley Junior College, and again in 1958 as Wesley College.<ref name= WHistory /> The institution conferred its first four-year degrees in 1978.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://archives.delaware.gov/markers/kc/KC-71.shtml|title= Kent County Markers| publisher=State of Delaware |website= Delaware Public Archives | access-date=June 16, 2016}}</ref>

 

 

On June 30, 2021, [[Delaware State University]] (DSU) began the formal process of purchasing Wesley College.<ref name= misled>{{cite news |url= https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2021/03/29/millions-tax-dollars-went-private-wesley-college-many-say-they-were-misled/7010078002/| title= Millions in Tax Dollars Went to Private Wesley College; Fallout From Sale Leaves a Lot of Questions | website= The News Journal| date= 29 March 2021| publisher= | access-date= 26 July 2021| url-access= subscription }}</ref> This made DSU "the first historically Black college or university to acquire another college."<ref name= "set merge" /> The acquisition was finalized one year later, on July 1, 2021.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.desu.edu/wesley/| publisher= Delaware State University| title= DSU & Wesley| access-date= July 27, 2021}}</ref> Approximately 60 percent of the Wesley community were offered employment by Delaware State University. DSU took on Wesley College's debts and did not directly pay to purchase the university. All Wesley students with non-adverse records were permitted to become DSU students.<ref name= Redden>{{cite news| url= https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/07/02/delaware-state-university-finalizes-acquisition-neighboring-wesley-college |title= A Cross-Town Acquisition| first= Elizabeth |last= Redden | date= July 2, 2021| access-date= July 27, 2021|work=[[Inside Higher Ed]]}}</ref> After the acquisition, the campus was known as DSU Downtown, while the Wesley name remained attached to the Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences housed at the campus.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/news/dsu-closes-wesley-acquisition/|title= DSU Officially Closes Wesley Acquisition |last=Tabeling|first=Kate|date=July 1, 2021|work=Delaware Business Times|access-date=November 20, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://eu.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2021/07/16/delaware-state-university-acquisition-wesley-college-complete-tony-allen-dsu-downtown-dover/7819472002/|last=Neiburg|first=Jeff|date=July 16, 2021|access-date=November 24, 2021|title=After acquiring Wesley College, what's next for Delaware State?|work=The News Journal}}</ref>