FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Oct. 26, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College again demonstrated its commitment to college affordability and value when the Wilson College Board of Trustees voted this past weekend to hold the line on tuition for traditional undergraduate students for an unprecedented seventh consecutive year.
On the recommendation of President Barbara K. Mistick, the board agreed to hold tuition at the 2016-17 rate of $23,745 for the next academic year.
“We are seeing a continuation of constrained income growth and families remain extremely price sensitive when it comes to choosing a college,” said Mistick. A recent paper called “An Examination of the ‘Crisis’ of College Costs” showed that average family incomes for those earning up to $82,032 have actually fallen over the past 10 years.
“By holding the tuition rate, we are responding to our families’ ability to pay, as well as helping keep our student debt levels down,” Mistick said, adding that she and the board of trustees are firmly committed to keeping a Wilson education affordable.
Along with the tuition freeze, the board held the housing fee steady while approving modest increases in fees for meal plans and technology of 3 and 5 percent, respectively, to cover direct increases in the college’s cost of providing the services. The overall result is that full-time, residential Wilson students will pay just $195 more – 0.54 percent – next year for tuition, room, board and fees, for a total of $35,815.
The college also held tuition at current levels for graduate students and students in the teacher intern program, while approving a 1 percent tuition increase for students enrolled in the adult degree program for fall 2017.
After three years with no tuition increases for traditional undergraduate students, the college reduced its tuition for those students by $5,000, or 17 percent, for the 2014-15 academic year as part of the Wilson Today plan, which also includes the creation of a student loan buyback program that became available to qualified first-year students who enrolled beginning in fall 2014. The tuition reduction was followed by a freeze for traditional undergraduates for 2015-16, 2016-17 and now, again for 2017-18.
Prospective students and their families are responding to Wilson’s “value plan” – tuition affordability and the loan buyback program – according to the college’s admissions office, a fact borne out by the increasing number of enrolled students. This fall, Wilson’s overall enrollment increased by nearly 19 percent over fall 2015, with a 7 percent increase in new students and the largest traditional undergraduate enrollment since 1973.
In addition, the Institute for College Access and Success study on the average debt level from student loans for the Class of 2015—which did not directly benefit from the 2014-15 tuition reduction—shows the debt level for Wilson graduates is $3,185 below the state average of $34,798.
Wilson’s commitment to affordability is being recognized in other ways: The college was ranked a leader among colleges offering quality academic programs at an affordable price, according to U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” rankings for 2017. U.S. News moved Wilson from fifth to fourth in the “best value” category for regional colleges in the North, listing the percent of Wilson students receiving need-based grants at 90 percent.
Wilson’s value ranking, along with recognition as a “Tuition Hero” for holding tuition without an increase over the past six years, affirms the school’s commitment to providing an affordable college education.
Wilson’s continued enrollment increase stands in contrast to national enrollment trends. Based on the most recent data available, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported a decline of 1.7 percent in higher education enrollment nationally for 2015, while showing a slight 0.3 percent decrease at four-year, nonprofit private colleges. Since 2013, Wilson has seen a 48.7 percent increase in traditional undergraduate enrollment, with a 65.8 percent increase overall.
In January 2013, the Board of Trustees approved the Wilson Today plan – a set of initiatives to ensure that the college remains a thriving institution well into the future. The five-part plan includes the 2014-15 tuition reduction and student loan buyback program, infrastructure improvements, coeducation, improved marketing and new academic programs. Undergraduate programs recently introduced at Wilson include nursing, animal studies, health sciences and special education.
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Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering bachelor’s degrees in 34 majors and master’s degrees in education, the humanities, accountancy, management, nursing, fine arts and healthcare management for sustainability. Wilson is committed to providing an affordable education that offers value to its students beyond graduation.
Located in Chambersburg, Pa., the college has a fall 2016 enrollment of 1,098, which includes students from 18 states and 16 countries. Visit www.wilson.edu for more information.
MEDIA CONTACT: Cathy Mentzer, Manager of Media Relations
Phone: 717-262-2604 Email: cathy.mentzer@wilson.edu
Chambersburg, Pa. — Doomsday scenarios are the stuff of movies and television shows, but how likely are they really? Guest lecturer Cynthia Ayers will discuss a real-life potential doomsday scenario — an attack on electrical grid — in “National Security and the Electrical Grid” at Wilson College on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The lecture, which will be held at 6 p.m. in the Brooks Science Center, is free and open to the public. Ayers is a national security threat analyst currently working as an independent consultant within the Strategic Concepts and Doctrine Division of the Center for Strategic Leadership at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. Also deputy to the executive director of the EMP (electromagnetic pulse) Task Force on National and Homeland Security, Ayers will talk about a variety of threats to our nation’s electric infrastructure, including an attack using a high-altitude nuclear blast that would cripple the North American Power Grid. She will also discuss ways to protect the grid. In his book, Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath, journalist Ted Koppel says it’s not a matter of IF terrorists (state-sponsored or otherwise) will attack our electrical grid, but WHEN. “The U.S. Congressional EMP Commission estimated that a nationwide blackout lasting one year could kill up to 9 of 10 Americans by starvation, disease and societal collapse,” Peter Vincent Pry, executive director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, wrote in a recent published article. The article goes on to say that “virtually any nuclear weapon — even a primitive, low-yield atomic bomb such as terrorists might build — would suffice to make a catastrophic EMP attack. The electric grid and other civilian critical infrastructures have never been hardened to survive EMP.” After retiring from the National Security Agency (NSA) with over 38 years of government service, Ayers was appointed vice president of EMPact America. Her intelligence community career included a position as an NSA Representative to the Director of Central Intelligence’s Counterterrorism Center, where she worked throughout the attacks on the USS Cole and 9/11 (2000-2002).
Her service culminated in an eight-year assignment to the Center for Strategic Leadership as the NSA’s visiting professor to the Army War College, where she taught electives on contemporary threats to national security from an intelligence perspective and advised students on research concerning strategic intelligence, counterterrorism, cyberwarfare, the Middle East and critical infrastructure protection.
She has written several published articles on national security issues (including the threat of an EMP resulting from an attack using a high-altitude nuclear blast); given presentations to a variety of federal, state and local organizations; participated as guest and co-host in radio broadcasts; and assisted with the production of workshops on topics of national security interest (e.g., Iran, terrorism and catastrophic critical infrastructure events). Ayers’ lecture is being hosted by Professor Ed Wells’ “Science, Technology and Society” class and is being sponsored by Wilson’s Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies and the Margaret A. Cargill Endowment for Environmental Studies. CONTACT: Ed Wells, Professor of Environmental Studies Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3413 Email: edward.wells@wilson.edu or Chris Mayer, Director of the Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3247 Email: christine.mayer@wilson.edu __________________________________ Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering bachelor’s degrees in 34 majors and master’s degrees in education, the humanities, accountancy, management, nursing, fine arts and healthcare management for sustainability. Wilson is committed to providing an affordable education that offers value to its students beyond graduation. Located in Chambersburg, Pa., the college has a fall 2016 enrollment of 1,098, which includes students from 18 states and 16 countries. Visit www.wilson.edu for more information.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Oct. 13, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Acclaimed duo-organists Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault will open the 2016-17 Wilson College Van Looy Organ Series with a performance at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 23, in Thomson Hall’s Alumnae Chapel.
The Chenaults, who have performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, specialize in works written for two performers. The couple has commissioned and premiered more than 40 organ duets, establishing themselves as America’s leading duo-organists.
Tickets for the Chenaults’ performance are on sale now for $7 for general admission; admission for Wilson students and employees, and children under age 16 is free. Tickets will be available at the door or can be purchased in advance by calling 717-262-2003 or visiting www.wilson.edu/events.
The Van Looy Organ Series is named in honor of Ellen Van Looy Reed, a 1953 graduate of Wilson College. Her mother, Priscilla Van Looy, donated funds to rebuild the console and relays of the Moller Organ in Alumnae Chapel and the Van Looy Endowment provides funding for the annual organ series at Wilson.
MEDIA CONTACT: Joel Pagliaro, Director of Conferences and Special Events, Sage Dining Services Phone: 717-262-2003 Email: conferences@wilson.edu
Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering bachelor’s degrees in 31 majors and master’s degrees in education, the humanities, accountancy, management, nursing, fine arts and healthcare management for sustainability. Wilson is committed to providing an affordable education that offers value to its students beyond graduation.
Located in Chambersburg, Pa., the college had a fall 2015 enrollment of 923, which included students from 23 states and 14 countries. Visit www.wilson.edu for more information.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Oct. 12, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College will host an information session about its master’s degree program in the humanities at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Norland Hall. The session will cover how to apply and provide an overview of the program, including new courses and five concentrations now available; financial aid; career opportunities; graduate assistantships and more.
Registration may be completed at www.wilson.edu/humanities. For more information, visit the website or contact Master of Humanities Program Director Michael Cornelius at michael.cornelius@wilson.edu or 717-262-2712.
MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Cornelius, Chair, Department of English and Communications Phone: 717-262-2712 Email: michael.cornelius@wilson.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Sept. 30, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — The Wilson College 2016-17 World Travel Dinner and Film Series kicks off Thursday, Oct. 13, with a “trip” to Tibet, featuring dinner at 6 p.m. in Laird Hall, followed by the film, “Tibet: A Light in the Darkness,” at 7 p.m. in Thomson Hall's Alumnae Chapel.
Dinner, prepared by of SAGE Dining Services, will include: shab tra (stir-fried beef), vegetarian gyaho (braised vegetables and noodles), chexo (Tibetan rice), spicy Tibetan cauliflower and green beans, and for dessert, thue (sweet rice).
Following dinner, armchair travelers will watch the film, narrated by Patricia Keith.
Dinner tickets are $20 per person and film tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for children ages 10 to 18. To reserve tickets, call 717-262-2003.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Sept. 27, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — The Wilson College Veterinary Medical Technology Club will host dog washes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 and 16, in the college veterinary building near the main entrance to campus. The dog washes are open to the public.
The cost is $10 for small dogs, $15 for medium dogs, $20 for large dogs and $25 for extra-large or double-coated dogs. The fee includes a bath, nail trim, ear cleaning and drying — all of which will be performed by VMT Club members. Owners must present a paper copy of their dog’s rabies vaccination.
For more information, contact Wilson VMT Club member Cassandra Watkins at cassandra.watkins@wilson.edu
MEDIA CONTACT: Cathy Mentzer, Manager of Media Relations Phone: 717-262-2604 Email: cathy.mentzer@wilson.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Sept. 26, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Art exhibits, performances, discussions and hands-on activities will all be part of this year’s Wilson College Arts Day, to be held Wednesday, Oct. 12. The day-long event, which will be held rain or shine, is free and open to the public.
Arts Day at Wilson is an educational, fun-filled day of free events that encourage everyone to appreciate and celebrate interdisciplinary arts, take note of the impact of the arts on our daily lives, and explore the critical and creative nature of the visual and performing arts.
For more information, contact Professor of Fine Arts Philip Lindsey at 717-264-4141, Ext. 3305, or philip.lindsey@wilson.edu.
MEDIA CONTACT: Philip Lindsey, Professor of Fine Arts Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3305 Email: philip.lindsey@wilson.edu
The 2016-17 “Common Hour” lecture series at Wilson College, which will be held at noon Tuesdays at campus locations, will focus on “Bridging the Gaps: Conversations about Inequality.” Speakers for the weekly discussions, which are free and open to the public, will “explore the realities of inequality, as well as creative and determined efforts to bridge the gaps,” said organizer David True, associate professor of religion.
Wilson’s Common Hour series is “designed to foster conversation across the campus and the community about pressing problems, big ideas and complex questions,” True said.
The first sessions include:
Information about future Common Hour discussions will be posted at www.wilson.edu/common-hour as it becomes available.
MEDIA CONTACT: David True, Associate Professor of Religion Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3396 Email: david.true@wilson.edu
Wilson’s Men’s Soccer Team Helps International Students Feel at Home By Frances Caroscio Even before soccer entered the landscape at Wilson as a men’s varsity sport, the game brought students together on campus.
Bassil Andijani ’18, an international student from Saudi Arabia, and Jessie Smith ’18, an international student from Jamaica, helped organize campus pick-up soccer games prior to the 2015-16 school year. They met up every week or so to play in the field house, with some members of the women’s soccer team joining in occasionally. To organize the indoor games, “We would just text everyone,” Smith said.
So when soccer became a men’s varsity sport last year, Andijani, Smith and several others from the campus pick-up games joined the team. In its inaugural year, seven of the 18 students on the men’s soccer team were international students. This year’s roster has grown to 23 players, nine of whom are international. With players from six different countries outside the U.S.—including England, Ghana, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Spain—the team embraces a wide range of cultural backgrounds.
“It’s not like it’s just the American culture. You get a lot of different cultures from other places” on the team, said Dan Perry ’20, a first-year student from London. Soccer provides a common bond for the players, and for the international students, the game is something familiar that they bring with them from their home country. “We all play football and it’s the one thing we have in common,” Perry said. “It’s such a big culture thing for us in England. It’s our lifestyle, pretty much.”
The blending of players from different cultures also creates a team with varied styles of play, according to the team’s head coach, Caleb Davis. “It’s really cool to take players from all over the world—and then also Maryland, New Jersey, New York—and put them together on the field,” he said. The team plays as a unit because members established strong bonds through the common thread of their love of soccer, according to Davis. “No one knew each other and they clicked,” he said.
Kevin Lysaght ’19 of Toms River, N.J., has been a part of Wilson men’s soccer team since its inception. The coaches have stressed the family dynamic since day one, he said. “It’s the easiest way to connect, off the field, on the field—no matter what happens, we’re all together.”
Last year, Davis had the team over to his house for Thanksgiving dinner and he cooked all of the traditional fare. The tradition may have been unfamiliar to some of the international students, but as Andijani explained, “It was a great experience and most importantly, we got a chance to gather as a family and eat.”
The team also fosters male friendships on a campus that remains more than 80 percent women. “If I need help with things for school, I can ask them,” Andijani said of his teammates, underscoring how the team offers a support network.
The soccer team plays a big role in the international students’ American experiences. Members often eat dinner, study, play video games and watch soccer games together. Davis will bring pizza to the student center when the players watch televised soccer games. When they watch big matches, many of them root for different teams. “They trash talk if their favorite teams are different. It’s almost like brothers picking on each other,” Davis said.
Although the soccer team is tightly knit, they bring their sense of family out into the larger Wilson community. “We hang out with the women’s soccer team—they come play indoors with us,” said Lysaght. “We hang out with the softball team…It helps us get together, but then again, everyone gets together here. The entire school is family-oriented.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Sept. 20, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College is seeking artwork created by area artists for juried exhibitions at Wilson’s Bogigian Gallery in Lortz Hall and the Cooley Gallery in the college’s Learning Commons for 2017-18. Submissions are due by midnight Nov. 30.
The exhibitions are open to visual artists aged 18 and older who live within 100 miles of Chambersburg. There are no entry fees. All works must be original and not previously exhibited in either the Bogigian or Cooley galleries.
Visual artists are encouraged to submit portfolios of eight to 12 images of recent work. Entries must be in digital (.jpg) format of up to one megabyte and files should be labeled with the artist’s name, entry number, title, date and file extensions (example: jones1_flowervase_2016.jpg). Entries should be submitted by CD and mailed to: Prof. Philip Lindsey, Division of Arts and Letters, Wilson College, 1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg, Pa. 17201.
Artists who submit film or video must be able to provide their own hardware and software, should their work be accepted for exhibition. They are asked to mail a CD/DVD using the address above or email an electronic link to view a sample film or video. Two- and three-dimensional works of art will be considered for the exhibition. All entries must be exhibition-ready.
Artists should also enclose a CV/resume with contact information, an artist statement and information on their works titles, dates, medium and size. They are asked to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for return of materials.
For more information, visit www.wilson.edu/bogigian-gallery and/or www.wilson.edu/cooley-gallery.
Questions can be directed to Philip Lindsey at philip.lindsey@wilson.edu or 717-264-4141, Ext. 3305.
