The right ‘vibe’.

For an alphabetical index of the New England College series of pieces, click here.

Founded in 1831, Wesleyan holds 3,100 students, almost all of whom are undergraduates. Named after the English creator of Methodism, it started life as exclusively male but is now co-educational, the genders equally represented. The 360 acre campus includes over 340 buildings.

We are learning the strangest thing during our month of New England college tours and it is that the undefinable element of ‘feel’ or ‘vibe’, if you prefer, is present in abundance. And while my subjective opinions are irrelevant to my son’s eventual decision they are an important element in his deliberations. With a four year commitment the feel must be right, and we both just adored that of Wesleyan.

As luck would have it our visit today was on graduation day and even the weather cooperated. (Hint: park in the residential area on the other side of Washington Street – Route 66! Nowhere else is possible on such a day without a pass).

Though the campus houses many buildings, it manages to remain compact and accessible.

The alumni list at Wesleyan is long and distinguished, with the college exceptionally well represented in Hollywood. Alumni include Bill Rodgers of marathon fame, Michael Bay, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bill Belichick, Robert Ludlum, Timothy Hutton and Merce Cunningham.

Three faculty members have been awarded Nobel Prizes – V. S. Naipaul, Woodrow Wilson and T. S. Eliot.

A gem in the rough.

For an alphabetical index of the New England College series of pieces, click here.

As with all the schools we are looking at here, Trinity College In Connecticut started life as a protestant school and eventually became secular. 2,350 undergraduates call it home. Strangely, the Chapel was not built until 1932, late for this life cycle.

While the campus is self contained it is sadly surrounded by the worst imaginable neighborhoods where the locals look like so many heroin addicts. This means the only way a student would want to leave this lovely campus would be in a bus or armored car. While the surrounding area is trying to gentrify the only reasonable solution is a wrecking ball or maybe a small nuclear device. This tends to take away from the surface appeal of a college in a great city.

Distinguished Trinity College alumni include George Will, Edward Albee and Nicholas Monsarrat.

A reader writes, July 15, 2017:

Thank you for your informative blog on Northeastern colleges. I want to make one important correction from your photo tour of Trinity College:

The small “castle” that you called “Seabury Chapel” in your pix is nothing of the sort. It’s a fraternity house called St. Anthony Hall. Also, note that the windows are currently being restored. It was built in 1878, the same year as the Long Walk. It was built as a fraternity house, so it has never been owned by the College. That land isn’t even owned by the College.

The original site of the chapel is on the Long Walk in the building still named “Seabury.” Today, it’s a large classroom.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Douglas Kim ‘87
Vice-President of the Class of 1987
Member, St. Anthony Hall

A gorgeous campus.

For an alphabetical index of the New England College series of pieces, click here.

Founded in 1852 Tufts in Boston is a research university and home to 5,200 undergraduate and 5,500 postgraduate students. Though in the city, it is self contained and absolutely beautifully maintained. We visited it on a rainy spring day and were lucky to encounter another Northfield Mount Hermon student from my son’s school!

Tufts has many distinguished alumni who include Pierre Omidyar of eBay fame, William Hurt, ambassador Bill Richardson, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Eugene Fama, Jimmy Doolittle and distinguished actors David Costabile and Dan Hedaya.

An academic jewel.

For an alphabetical index of the New England College series of pieces, click here.

Dating from 1769 Dartmouth educates 4,300 undergraduates as well as 2,100 post-graduates but eccentrically prefers to stick with the ‘College’ designation rather than calling itself the full fledged university it in fact is.

The school prides itself on sending a high percentage of undergraduates abroad during their four year stay and has a large selection of clubs and societies. After several unsavory hazing incidents in recent years, not helped by the fact that the Animal House movie was based on one of the fraternities, it is now working hard to restore the pristine image it once enjoyed. Movie or not, it remains one of America’s greatest schools.

The setting is on the Connecticut River just across the Vermont border in New Hampshire, adjacent to the small college town of Hanover with a selection of decent eateries. Presumably the Hanover name dates from the family of George III who was the ruler of America at the time of Dartmouth’s foundation, and the school’s charter is signed in his name.

My son and I opted for the guided tour as there is so much to see.

Dartmouth Hall seen across the large quad.

The Collis Center is the main student center.

The original Dartmouth Hall burned down in 1904. Reconstructed, it houses the Departments of French and Italian Languages and Literatures, German Studies, Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literature.

Sanborn House houses the English Department which includes this lovely library.

Hopkins Center for the Creative and Performing Arts shares its design with Lincoln Center, and the same architect!

Maintenance is constant. In fact, Dartmouth would do well to spend some more of its endowment on upgrades to many of its buildings which are really showing their age.

The Rollins Chapel is non-denominational.

Our small tour group was shown around by an effervescent sophomore named Emma, from Palo Alto, who is clearly much taken with the College and its academic and extra-curricular variety.

Student housing buildings are distinguished by the Dartmouth Green shutters.

Look carefully and you will agree that the Administration is behind the curve in maintenance work.

The Rauner Special Collections Library contains many priceless originals, all readily available for handling without gloves (!). Three of the four volumes of Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’ are on display, a gift of alumnus Daniel Webster.

Dartmouth has a long and distinguished alumni roster which includes Dr. Seuss, Nelson Rockefeller, Daniel Webster, Meryl Streep, Robert Frost, Timothy Geithner, Robert Reich, Jeffrey Immelt and Salmon Chase, in addition to scores of senators and congressmen. The no less distinguished Amos Tuck School of Business can lay claim to the highest percentage of graduate donors at 66%.

A lovely, compact campus.

For an alphabetical index of the New England College series of pieces, click here.

For pictures from our second visit to Union College in October 2019, click here.

Established in 1795, Union College in Schenectady, New York, is home to 2,250 undergraduates and is set in 120 acres, 8 of which are formal gardens. Exquisitely maintained, the campus is a delight to walk around and while there is a variety of architectural styles, the integration of old and new is handled with exceptional skill. Nothing is out of place.

The Memorial Chapel.

Beautifully understated, as is all of the campus. There is no grandstanding here.

The Nott Memorial is a National Landmark and the center of the campus. The lower level is a performing arts facility, the middle an art gallery and the upper a serene study place.

The Nott Memorial

The lower level, for the performing arts.

Winston contemplates a magnificent Audubon print from the College’s extensive collection. This is on the center level of the Nott Memorial building.

The Reamer Campus Center, dining hall and meeting place.

Another view of the Nott.

The F.W. Olin Center houses the College’s observatory.

Disparate architectural styles are beautifully integrated.

Chester A. Arthur, 21st US President and an alumnus, is memorialized here.

Student housing.

We came away delighted with the low key presentation and excellent taste of Union College, whose alumni include William Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State/War, Jimmy Carter, George Westinghouse and the aforementioned Chester A. Arthur.