Wheaton College - Nike Yearbook (Norton, MA)

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graduate from the Wheaton Seminary consisted of four pupils. At the close of the year 1839, Judge Laban Morey Wheaton awarded the first diplomas to be granted from this institution. The commencement of Wheaton owes a great deal to the charismatic and innovative Mary Lyon. Together with the Wheaton family, Miss Lyon laid the foundations of the unique and modern college we call Wheaton. In 1834, Mary Lyon unveiled her plans for a seminary which would have a permanent endowment. With the financial and emotional support MAYDAY PAGEANT OF 1920; CREAM OF WHEATON 1920 - 21 i VARSITY TENNIS 1933 of Laban Wheaton, Miss Lyon was able to open the seminary on April 22, 1834. The school was developed to promote female education which in the words of Judge Wheaton, “is now the importance to the rising generation.” Mary Lyon advocated to a strict and rigorous academic pro- gram in the belief these studies pro- moted morality, piety, and discipline. From the beginning, she strove to provide an education which was di- verse in Content and unique in terms of women’s education. A variety of subjects such as chemistry, philoso- CIRCA LATE 30'S, EARLY 40'S EEO KT LT TIT a ene Fem mem 82 or ee oa “MARINE MAGIC” PERFORMED BY THE TRITONS - 1942 phy, botany and human physiology provided students with a wide range of intellectual studies. Mary Lyon contributed much to the pursuit of education. Perhaps her greatest gift to the Wheaton commu- nity was the belief that given a proper educational foundation, women had no limits on what they could achieve in their given circumstances. The Wheaton women of today have as- similated and conceptualized Miss Lyon’s belief. In appreciation for her achiev ements, the college communi- ty, in the early part of the twentieth century, renamed the beautiful Semi- nary Hall. In present day, the gracious yellow structure bears the name Mary Lyon Hall and stands as a monument to past, present, and future women scholars. women’s 21

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ws aban Morey served as both a financial and emotional supporter of the school. He, along with Judge Wheaton, served on the first Board of Trustees. His death was a great loss to the school. However, even in death, he remained committed to Wheaton College in the form of a large finan- cial endowment. The Wheaton Fam- ily produced a seminary and eventually a college, which has, to the present day, committed itself to the pursuit of higher education for wom- en. The competitive academic spirit formulated by the Wheatons in those early years is perpetuated today by CLASS OF 1888 WITH ELLEN ST. current Wheaton students and gradu- ates. The women who currently at- tend the college owe a great indebtness to the Wheatons for their foresight and commitment to the ANTON education of women. The Wheaton Seminary was a pioneer in the higher education of women. It was modest in pretensions, small in size, and hid- den in a remote town. The girls BICENTENNIAL TRIBUTE TO NORTON, SEPTEMBER 28, 1911 whom it attracted were young and impressionable. They came to the school looking for preparation for future studies or simply to develop themselves intellectually,socially, a d emotionally. The founders tried to build a Christian school with an em phasis on higher spiritual values. Th wished to create a school that pro moted piety, religion, morality, and the intellectual atmosphere to edu cate women in all branches of science and literature that were suitable fa them to attend. The Wheaton Se nary opened on April 22, 1835 wi forty-nine students. Tuition was $10 a term and Room and Board was at $1.67 per week. Student housing was dispersed among the townspeo=) ple and eventually, Judge Wheaton allowed his home to be used as @ boarding house too. The first class t@

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SS — «2 heaton College has tradi- tionally allowed its professors the freedom to conduct classes in such a way as to integrate the individual's personal intellect and style into their course structure. This unique feature of the college was especially perpetu - ated by Carolyn Cutler Metcalf. Mrs. Me tcalf was appointed as principal of the college in 1850. She believed that in order to maximize a teacher’s tal- ents, she must be allowed the free- dom to correlate her own course JUNIOR PROM BANQUET .- 1959 syllabi and to teach in her own style. During her twenty -six year term, Mrs. Metcalf and the Wheaton Communi- ty saw the college expand in terms of its student body and teaching staff. During Mrs. Metcalf's administra - tion, the college curriculum ex- pounded on its commitment to higher learning by intensifying its ef- forts in such academic areas such as mathematics, history and botanical science. Another innovation taken during Mrs. Metcalf's term was the installa - tion of the college's first male profes - sors. After a long fruitful principality, Mrs. Metcalf retired in 1876. A belief saith y Ceased VISITING BACHELORS - 1959 ta. « REMNANTS OF A WEEKEND - 1956 eae A wi KEEP THE BEAT TO “BROWNIE’S” RHYTHM 1952 that Wheaton women should have a varied educational experience includ- ing math and science was the legacy she left for the modern Wheaton stu- dent. Her omnipresence in both the sp iritual and physical sense (Metcal Dormitory ) is, and always will be an integral part of the Wheaton com- munity. The first group of graduating women served as the primary achiev- ers who formulated Wheaton’s cur- rent academic program. The first regular course of study for Wheaton students consisted of arithmetic, modern and ancient geography, gov- ernment, rhetoric, and botany. This diverse set of courses allowed eac student to cultivate her individual in- tellect. The original prospectus called for a school year consisting of fout terms each comprising eleven weeks, During the term, students were ex- pected to study profusely so as to maximize their learning experience. As was the custom of the times, very often, students would attend the Seminary for one or two terms. They departed when they and their parents