Widener University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

, United States. Established in 1821, the university was known as the Pennsylvania Military College until 1972. Widener enrolls approximately 3,500 undergraduate students across six colleges and schools. The university also operates two distinct law schools in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, and

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. Widener is named in honor of

Eleanor Elkins Widener Eleanor Elkins Widener (September 21, 1861 - July 13, 1937) née Eleanore Elkins, also known as Eleanor Elkins Widener Rice was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and adventuress. She was the daughter of wealthy businessman Will ...

. The university offers

associate’s An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

, bachelor’s,

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

, and

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degrees in a variety of fields across liberal arts, business, and engineering, to nursing and a variety of health and human service professional programs.

History

19th century

Widener University was founded in 1821 as the Bullock School for Boys preparatory school in

, by John Bullock. Bullock operated the school until 1846 when it was sold to Samuel Alsop and renamed the Alsop School for Boys. In 1853, the school was sold to Theodore Hyatt and renamed the Hyatt's Select School for Boys, and again in 1859 to the Delaware Military Academy. In 1862, the school moved to

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

. By act of assembly on April 8, 1862, the

Pennsylvania legislature The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

incorporated the school as a university under the name of Chester County Military Academy. In 1865, the school moved to Chester, Pennsylvania, and occupied the building which would become the Old Main building of the

Crozer Theological Seminary The Crozer Theological Seminary was a Baptist seminary located in Upland, Pennsylvania, and founded in 1868. It was named after the wealthy industrialist, John Price Crozer. Martin Luther King Jr. was a student at Crozer Theological Seminary f ...

. By 1868, the school outgrew the Crozer Old Main building and relocated to its current location.

20th century

From 1892 to 1966, the school was known as Pennsylvania Military College (PMC) and was under the direction of General Charles Hyatt. PMC was once one of the nation's senior military colleges. In 1869, Pennsylvania Military College was the first school to have a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

detail stationed at the school and to receive federal arms for training. In 1904, the school was recognized on the first list of distinguished institutions published by the

U.S. War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

. In 1923, "American March King"

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...

wrote and dedicated "The Dauntless Battalion" march to PMC's President (Colonel Charles E. Hyatt), the faculty and the cadets of PMC. Sousa had been presented with an honorary doctor of music degree by the college in 1920, and he was impressed by the cadet cavalry horsemen. In 1966, the school changed its name again to PMC Colleges, which incorporated Pennsylvania Military College as well as Penn Morton College, which had a non-military, co-educational curriculum. The school expanded the Chester campus from 25 acres to 90 acres. Graduate programs were introduced in 1966, ''Note:'' This includes and female students were first enrolled in 1967. In 1972, the institution was renamed Widener College to honor the memory of

, the maternal grandmother of Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr., a generous supporter of the organization over four decades and a member of the prominent

Widener family The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the Unite ...

of Philadelphia. The Corps of Cadets disbanded, although an

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

program was retained. The Widener University School of Law was acquired in 1975, which was split in 2015 to become two separate law schools: one on the Delaware campus and another in Harrisburg –

Widener University Commonwealth Law School Widener University Commonwealth Law School (Widener Law Commonwealth) is a law school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and part of Widener University, a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited l ...

. In recognition of its comprehensive offerings, Widener College became Widener University in 1979. Today, Widener is a four-campus university offering more than 80 programs of study.

Architecture

The Manor House was designed and built by

Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge (January 16, 1844 – May 21, 1935) was an American shipbuilder and naval architect from Richmond, Virginia. He served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War and was one of the Virginia Military Institut ...

in 1888 at 14th and Potter Street. It was a wedding gift to his wife, Louise Deshong, and was originally named "The Louise". It was modeled after the late 19th-century English country manor style and is unique for its hand-made brick construction. The house was given to the city of Chester as a home for young women. In 1976, Widener University purchased the home for use as a student residence. It later became home to the

Phi Sigma Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma (), colloquially known as Phi Sig, was the first collegiate nonsectarian sorority to allow membership of women of all faiths and backgrounds. The sorority was founded on November 26, 1913, and lists 60,000 initiated members, 115 ...

sorority. The home is currently used by Widener University as a student dormitory. The

Old Main and Chemistry Building The Old Main and Chemistry Building are two connected, historic, American buildings that were erected in 1867 and 1883 and are presently located on the campus of Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. Both buildings were listed on the Natio ...

were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978.

Campuses

Widener consists of three campuses located in

, and

. Founded in 1866 after the school moved to Chester, the Chester campus serves all full-time undergraduate day students, part-time adult and continuing studies students, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) students, and graduate students. Widener School of Law opened in 1976. In July 2015, Widener School of Law, which used to be one school sitting on the Delaware and Harrisburg campuses, split to become

Widener University Delaware Law School Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Univ ...

in Wilmington and

in Harrisburg.

Academics

Widener's academic offerings include over 50 undergraduate majors, 40 minors, and more than 30 graduate programs of study. Widener has an undergraduate student to faculty ratio of 12:1 with 90% of the full-time faculty having doctorates or the highest degree in their field. In addition, 60% of all classes contain less than 20 students.

Libraries and museums

The Wolfgram Memorial Library contains 242,000 volumes, 175,000 microfilms, 12,000 audio-visual materials and 1,960 serial subscriptions. In 1979, Widener University leased and restored the

Deshong Art Museum The Deshong Art Museum, also known as the Deshong Memorial Art Gallery, was a public art museum, art gallery located in Deshong Park at Eleventh Street and Edgemont Avenue in Chester, Pennsylvania. The building displayed the art collection of w ...

located on Edgemont Avenue in Chester. The Deshong Art Museum was built in 1914 after the death of the art collector and wealthy industrialist

Alfred O. Deshong Alfred Odenheimer Deshong (September 30, 1837 – April 19, 1913) was an American businessman, philanthropist and art collector from Chester, Pennsylvania. Deshong came from a wealthy family including his grandfather Peter Deshong and father John ...

left his trust and land to the city of Chester. Deshong donated over 300 pieces of art to the museum including carved Japanese ivory figures, Chinese carved hard stone vessels and 19th century American and European paintings. Over the years, the museum fell into disrepair and in July 1984 the trustees that managed the art museum dissolved the trust. The Asian and impressionistic art collection were given to Widener University and are displayed in their permanent collection. The PMC Museum highlights the legacy of the Pennsylvania Military Academy of Cadets with exhibits of sabres, uniforms, scrapbooks, newspapers, and yearbooks.

Rankings and classifications

The ''2025 Best Colleges'' list from '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Widener as tied for 266th among 434 national universities, with a score of 43 out of 100. It also ranked Widener's undergraduate engineering program tied for 150th among programs whose highest engineering degree is a bachelor's or master's. The 2025 ''U.S. News & World Report's Best Graduate Schools'' ranks several of Widener's graduate programs: clinical psychology → #185 (tie), health care law → #80 (tie), Environmental Law → #53 (tie) physical therapy → #122, and social work → #201.

Student life

Enrollment

Widener enrolls approximately 6,300 total students including 3,600 undergraduate, 1,700 graduate students, and 1,000 law school students. Among full-time undergraduate students, the male/female ratio is about 0.8:1 (44% male, 56% female). 48% of undergraduates choose to live on the Main Campus while the remaining students live off-campus or commute. Approximately 54% of all full-time undergraduates are from Pennsylvania with 45% coming from the rest of the country (predominantly Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia), and 1% of students originating from outside the U.S. The acceptance rate for undergraduate applicants in fall 2013 was 65.5%.

Student clubs and events

The university has over 100 student clubs. Graduate students are currently not allowed to participate in club sports activities. TV Club is Widener's student-run television program. WDNR is the student-run campus radio station.

Fraternity and sorority life

Widener has several

fraternities A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...

and

sororities In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

. Approximately 12% of all undergraduates are members.

Community

Widener is one of only 22 colleges that is a member of

Project Pericles Project Pericles Inc. is a non-profit organization composed of liberal arts colleges and universities geared towards the ideas that social responsibility and participatory citizenship are essential parts of an undergraduate curriculum, in the clas ...

, an organization promoting social responsibility and addressing civic

apathy Apathy, also referred to as indifference, is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic i ...

among students. It is classified as a ''Community Engagement Institution''. Widener has several initiatives aimed at benefiting the surrounding community. These include: *Pennsylvania Small Business Development CenterThe school opened the center in 2006 to provide consulting and educational programs to local small businesses and entrepreneurs. It is one of only 18 in the state and one of 3 in the Philadelphia region (with

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and University of Pennsylvania). *Philadelphia Speakers SeriesSince 2004, Widener has sponsored this series which has had such notable speakers as

Steve Wozniak Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Inc., Apple Computer with ...

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

and

Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally Print syndication, syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as we ...

. *University Technology ParkA joint project started in 1999 between the university and Crozer-Keystone Health System to foster small business opportunities focusing on health care, science and technology. It currently consists of two buildings (with three more planned) on and is located directly in between the Main Campus and Crozer-Keystone Medical Center. * Widener University ObservatoryThe

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

has free public telescope viewings throughout the school year hosted by the physics and astronomy department.

Charter school

In 2006, the university established a new

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

near the Chester campus to serve local residents from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

to grade 5. Named the Widener Partnership Charter School, the school utilizes the university's programs in education, social work, nursing, and clinical psychology. This collaboration involves the participation of Widener faculty and students to not only provide educational support but also provide additional assistance outside of school through counseling and health services. Classes in the charter school started in September 2006, enrolling 50 students in both kindergarten and grade 1. The school continued to add a new grade each year until grade 8 had been reached, surpassing the initial expectations of the project.

Chester revitalization project

A $50 million revitalization project was started in 2007. The project, named University Crossings, included the addition of a hotel, bookstore, coffee shop, restaurant, and apartments. The project is expected to have an overall economic impact of $1 million to Chester, as well as creating 100 new jobs. In 2017, Widener University purchased the

Taylor Memorial Arboretum The Taylor Memorial Arboretum is a thirty-acre arboretum and garden that is located at 10 Ridley Drive, Wallingford, Pennsylvania, Wallingford, Pennsylvania, United States, along Ridley Creek. Open daily, it has been administrated by Widener Uni ...

Nether Providence Township Nether Providence Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Many residents refer to the township by the name of its largest community, Wallingford, because the Wallingford postal code is used for most of the towns ...

about 1 mile north of the Chester campus. The university purchased the site from

BNY Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

bank and plans to use the nature reserve for research and hands-on learning opportunities for citizen science projects.

Athletics

120px, Widener athletics monogram Widener has 22 varsity teams (11 for men and 11 for women) participating in

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

within the MAC Commonwealth of the

Middle Atlantic Conferences The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) is an umbrella organization of three List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conferences that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division III, Division III. The 1 ...

(MAC). Formerly known as the Pioneers, their nickname changed to the Pride in the Fall of 2006 after a student poll. Widener sports teams include: *Men's and Women's varsity:

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, cross country,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

indoor track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, outdoor track and field, volleyball and golf *Men's varsity: baseball and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

*Women's varsity: field hockey and softball *Co-ed varsity: esports *Club sports: men's ice hockey, men's and women's rugby, and cheerleading

Achievements

The

team won the

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

championship in 2012 and made an "Elite 8" appearance in the Division III Playoffs, the ECAC Southwest Bowl in 2011, and the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl in 2005. Its greatest success has been winning the NCAA Division III National Championship in 1977 and 1981 under long-time coach

Bill Manlove William B. Manlove Jr. (born February 5, 1933) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Widener University from 1969 to 1991, at Delaware Valley College from 1992 to 1995, and at La Salle University from 1997 ...

and reaching the semi-finals in 1979, 1980, and 2000. Widener also reached the quarterfinals of the tournament in 2012 before losing to eventual NCAA D-III National Champion, Mount Union, by a lopsided 72–17 score. In 2014, the team again won the MAC championship and eventually lost in the NCAA Division III tournament in the "Elite Eight" to Linfield by a score of 45–7. Additionally, Widener football has won 17 MAC championships, the most of any team in the conference.

Billy "White Shoes" Johnson William Arthur Johnson (born January 27, 1952), better known as Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 throug ...

played for Widener in the early 70s. He went on to be an all-pro

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

player and was selected to the

NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team The National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team was chosen by a selection committee of media and league personnel in 1994 to honor the greatest players of the first 75 years of the National Football League (NFL). Five players on the l ...

as well as the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

. The men's basketball team has won 15 MAC titles and appeared in the NCAA Division III Tournament 17 times, advancing to the "Sweet 16" in 1987 and 2006, the "Final 4" in 1985, and the championship game in 1978. The men's lacrosse team has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 8 times since 2000 and has won 12 MAC titles since 1996. The men's swimming team has won 12 MAC titles since 1994.

Facilities

The Schwartz Athletic Center is home to basketball, swimming, indoor track, and volleyball. Opening in 1994, Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium seats over 4,000 people and has a turf playing field surrounded by an 8-lane track. The stadium houses the football, soccer, men's lacrosse, and outdoor track & field teams. In addition, Edith R. Dixon Field, opening in 2005, houses the women's field hockey and lacrosse teams. It sports an artificial turf, lighting, and a scoreboard. In Fall 2019, the Esports Arena in the basement of University Center opened for the inaugural season of the esports program. The arena includes 26 top-of-the-line

gaming PC A gaming computer, also known as a gaming PC, is a specialized personal computer designed for playing PC games at high standards. They typically differ from mainstream personal computers by using high-performance graphics cards, a high core-co ...

s and serves as both a practice and competition space for the athletes. The

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

held their summer training camp on Widener's campus between 1973 and 1979. The 2006 movie ''

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 theatrical film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy/martial arts TV movie starring Billy Za ...

'' depicts the campus during the Eagles' 1976 summer training camp.

Notable alumni

As of 2011, there were 59,018 total living alumni.

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Portal bar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Education 1821 establishments in Pennsylvania Chester, Pennsylvania Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union Educational institutions established in 1821 Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Widener family