Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the

Connecticut State University System The Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) is a system of six public colleges and universities that include four Connecticut State Universities, Connecticut State Community College (with 12 campuses), and Charter Oak State College, the ...

. WCSU consists of four schools: the

Ancell School of Business The Ancell school of business (ASB) is the business school at Western Connecticut State University. Nathan S. Ancell, a major benefactor of the university and president of Ethan Allen, was honored with his name in memorial. The Ancell School of ...

, the Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Professional Studies, and the School of Visual and Performing Arts. The university offers 38 Bachelor's and one associate degree programs, 15 Master's degree programs, and two doctoral programs. WCSU is accredited by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and othe ...

(NECHE). WCSU is home to the Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies, which is the result of a partnership between WCSU and the

Jane Goodall Institute The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global non-profit wildlife and environment conservation organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1977 by English primatologist Jane Goodall and Genevieve di San Faustino (1919-2011). Th ...

(a private non-profit organization that promotes research, education and wildlife conservation). The university's Westside campus houses the Ives Concert Park, one of the premier performance venues in the area. Western Connecticut State University is part of the

Little East Conference The Little East Conference (LEC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The member institutions are located in all six states of New England. History Chro ...

and

Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Full member institutions are all located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with affiliate mem ...

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

. WCSU has 14 varsity sports Students from New York and New Jersey residents pay in-state tuition; students from New England pay reduced rates because of WCSU's participation in the New England Board of Higher Education's Regional Student Program.

History

Founding and growth

WCSU was founded in 1903 as a teachers' college, training the primary and secondary school educators for Connecticut's

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio * Fairfield County, South Carolina {{Geodis, uscounty ...

and surrounding areas. The school's name has changed over the years as it has focused on additional areas of study. First named the "Danbury Normal School" (also known as the "Danbury State Normal School"), the school changed its name twice in the 1930s: it became the "Danbury Unit of the Teachers College of Connecticut" in 1933 and then the "Danbury State Teachers College" in 1937. The college was renamed "Danbury State College" in 1959, "Western Connecticut State College" in 1967, and, finally, "Western Connecticut State University" in 1983. In 2011, governance of the university was transferred to the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. In 1904, 41 students were enrolled in the first classes on campus, the number of enrollments climbing to 362 students by 1912.

WXCI and music publicization

In 1968, WCSU's radio station, WXCI (91.7 FM), then going by the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

WCST and broadcasting with AM transmission, was established. In 1973 WCST was switched from AM to FM transmission, obtained an

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

license, was renamed WXCI, and went on air under that call sign. In the early 1980s, WXCI became one of the first FM stations to focus on

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

. Throughout the 80s the station was instrumental in promoting the work of a number of contemporary bands and musicians. While the station is perhaps best known for popularizing the English band

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

in the United States, it also helped to familiarize the American audience with other projects and musicians from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, such as

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

and

Culture Club Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...

. It popularized among residents of the Northeastern U.S. the West Coast punk group Black Flag and the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

-based

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

, while also providing greater listenership to New York City's

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

, a founding member of

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

, attended WCSU for a quarter during the fall of 1976, though he left afterward.

Jane Goodall Institute and environmental projects

In 1995, the Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies (JGC) was founded on campus. The center is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

dedicated to environmental stewardship and conservation, and wildlife education and research, being the result of a partnership between Western and the

(JGI). Since the center's founding, its namesake, primatologist Dr.

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

, has visited Western on at least a dozen occasions to give lectures on the issue of ecology. The center has also hosted a number of seminars and public talks by other environmentalist speakers at the university: Notably, Smithsonian ethnobotanist

Mark Plotkin Mark J. Plotkin (born May 21, 1955) is an ethnobotanist and a plant explorer in the Neotropics, where he is an expert on rainforest ecosystems. Plotkin is an advocate for tropical rainforest conservation and host of the ''Plants of the Gods: Hal ...

and veteran ecologist

Thomas Lovejoy Thomas Eugene Lovejoy III (August 22, 1941December 25, 2021) was an American ecologist who was President of the Amazon Biodiversity Center, a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation and a university professor in the Environmental Science a ...

spoke at the university in 1998, and in 2013 ocean conservationist

Fabien Cousteau Fabien Cousteau (born 2 October 1967) is an aquanaut, ocean conservationist, and documentary filmmaker. As the first grandson of Jacques Cousteau, Fabien spent his early years aboard his grandfather's ships Calypso and Alcyone, and learned how ...

presented a public seminar on campus. In 2005, Western was established by JGI as a "National Center for University Roots and Shoots"; this event resulted in the institution of the eponymous student environmental club, a chapter of the international

Roots & Shoots Roots & Shoots was founded by Jane Goodall, DBE in 1991, to bring together youth from preschool to university age to work on environmental, conservation, and humanitarian issues. The organization has local chapters in over 140 countries with over ...

(also known as Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots), on campus. Roots & Shoots is a subsidiary organization of JGI, and its WCSU chapter is one of only several based in the United States. The club's office, located in the Midtown campus's White Hall, remained the first of its kind between 2005 and 2012; afterwards, the organization's international headquarters was established at JGI's head office in Washington, D.C. Roots & Shoots serves as, according to the university and the JGC, "a regional and national office of excellence in training university students, faculty and administrators to develop programs for K–12 and college students in local, regional and global conservation."

Significant visitors and lectures

The university was visited by former President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 2005 and by the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

in 2012.

Structure

Schools

*Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences *School of Visual and Performing Arts *School of Professional Studies *Division of Graduate Studies

Campus

School of Visual and Performing Arts WCSU has two campuses, midtown and westside, both located in Danbury. The campuses are three miles (5 km) apart and connected by a university shuttle service. The midtown campus is the original campus, located on White Street near downtown Danbury and the Main Street Historic District. It is home to the Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences, School of Professional Studies, and most of the university's administration. Dormitories on this campus include Fairfield Hall, Litchfield Hall, and Newbury Hall. The Midtown student center is located on this campus. In 2018, the fully renovated Higgins Hall reopened. Higgins Hall features the MSAS Dean's offices. The westside campus is located on land purchased in 1969 on the outskirts of Danbury. This lot is home to the

, the School of Visual and Performing Arts, the Westside Nature Preserve, an amphitheater and three residence halls. Westside also houses athletic facilities, including the William O'Neill Athletic and Convocation Center (completed in 1995), and the Westside Athletic Complex (completed in 2003), as well as an observatory with a 20-inch Ritchy-Chretien telescope and a 20-foot planetarium dome. On January 23, 2007, the Westside Campus Center was officially opened. This new facility serves as a student center, meeting and banquet facility for the Westside campus. In August 2014, the Westside campus saw the opening of the new Visual and Performing Arts Center, a comprehensive arts building with Theatre Arts, Music and Visual Arts wings. A major improvement program was started in the mid-1990s to beautify the campus. Several parking lots became green space, and improvements were made to the landscaping. In April 2013, startup of a newly installed

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

power unit for the Science Building on the university's Midtown campus began. The

PureCell System The PureCell System is a stationary phosphoric acid fuel cell designed, manufactured and marketed by Doosan Fuel Cell America (formerly ClearEdge Power/UTC Power) of South Windsor, Connecticut. Designed for distributed generation and micro com ...

, provided by

ClearEdge Power ClearEdge Power, Inc. was a fuel cell manufacturer focusing on the stationary fuel cell. It was headquartered in South Windsor, Connecticut, U.S. The company employed 225 people as of August 2011. It closed its operations in Connecticut in April ...

, supports the university to reap significant energy cost savings and enhanced electricity and heating efficiencies. The Midtown campus Science Building was the first state-funded building project to seek LEED Silver certification from the

U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a private 501(c)(3), membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of t ...

. The Visual and Performing Arts Center as well as Centennial Hall also obtained LEED certification. In 2014, WCSU installed four EV (electric vehicle) charging stations, two on each campus. These charging stations are available to both students and the public, free of charge. The university is a participant in EV Connecticut Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions program. The "WestConn at Waterbury" program is located on the campus of

Naugatuck Valley Community College Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) is a Public college, public community college in Waterbury, Connecticut. It is one of the 13 colleges in the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. NVCC grants a variety of associate degrees ...

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

. The program offers completion courses for a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in management or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), as well as a

Master of Health Administration The Master of Health Administration, Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA), or Master of Health Management (MHM), is a master's-level professional degree granted to students who complete a course of study in the knowledge and competencies need ...

(M.H.A.).

Buildings

Midtown Campus

*University Hall (Administrative Offices) *White Hall (Classrooms & Faculty Offices) *Warner Hall (Classrooms & Faculty Offices) *Ruth A. Haas Library *Berkshire Hall (Classrooms, Gymnasium, Wellness Center & Faculty Offices) *Science Building (Classrooms, Laboratories, PureCell

& Faculty Offices) *Old Main (Registrar, Fin. Aid, Cashier & Offices) *Higgins Hall (Classrooms, Dean, & Faculty Offices) *Fairfield Hall (Residence Hall) *Newbury Hall (Residence Hall) *Litchfield Hall (Residence Hall) *Student Center *Brayvion Hall (Welfare Center) *Alumni Hall (Child Care) *Kathwari Honors House

Westside Campus

*Classroom Building (Classrooms, Robert Young Library & Faculty Offices) *Campus Center (Student Center & Multi-use facility) *Visual and Performing Arts Center (Houses School of Visual and Performing Arts) *

O'Neill Center The William O'Neill Athletic and Convocation Center (O'Neill Center) is an multi-purpose athletic complex, at Western Connecticut State University, in Danbury, Connecticut. Named after William O'Neill, the O'Neill Center was completed in 1995 ...

(Feldman Arena, Sports Facilities) *Football Stadium (Westside Athletic Center) *Rugby Field *Football Practice Field *Softball Field *Baseball Stadium *Tennis Facilities *Pinney Hall (Residence Hall) *Centennial Hall (Residence Hall) *Grasso Hall (Residence Hall) *Observatory *Ives Concert Park

Student body

As of Fall 2020, WCSU has an enrollment of 3,849 full-time and 791 part-time undergraduate students and 68 full-time and 538 part-time graduate students. Most WCSU students come from the

Tri-State Area Tri-state area is an informal term in the United States which can refer to any of multiple areas that lie across three states. When referring to populated areas, the term implies a shared economy or culture among the area's residents, typically c ...

comprising

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Nearly all commuter students come from western Connecticut and Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester counties in New York. According to the university, students claiming Connecticut residency come from 99 of the state's 169 municipalities. Women comprise 51.2% of the entering class, and members of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups comprise 44.2% of the entering class. The student-to-faculty ratio as of Fall 2020 is 12 to 1 (Total Student FTE divided by Total Faculty FTE).

Student life

Western Connecticut State University currently has over 75 student clubs and organizations. Prior to 2008, the Western Marketing Association was known as the Marketing Club. From here, students and advisors Ron Drozdenko and Donna Coelho restructured the organization to be more professional and resume oriented. The Roger Sherman Debate Society participates in

policy debate Policy debate is an American form of debate competition in which teams of two usually advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government. It is also referred to as cross-examinat ...

tournaments sanctioned by the

Cross Examination Debate Association The Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) ( ) is the largest intercollegiate policy debate association in the United States. Throughout the school year, CEDA sanctions over 60 tournaments throughout the nation, including an annual National ...

. The team competes in the North East Conference as well as the national circuit. WCSU is the only university in Connecticut that offers a policy debate team.

Resources

Academic resources for students include the Academic Advisement Center, Academic Testing Center, Career Success Center, First Year Program, Student Technology Training Center, Libraries and various tutoring centers. Resources for faculty include the Office of Sponsored Research and Administrative Services, Instructional Technology Services, Academic Planning Calendar and the Faculty Development & Research Funds.

Communications

Radio station

The college's radio station, WXCI, broadcasts at 91.7 FM to Connecticut and New York at 3,000 watts. It also streams its broadcasts on the internet. WXCI's radio transmitter is located on the westside campus, while its studio is in the main campus (midtown) student center.

Student newspaper

''The Echo'' is the university's

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...

, founded in 1955, and subsidized by the students' activity fees. It has an editorial board which makes strategic and operational decisions on behalf of the newspaper. ''The Echo'' is published weekly in tabloid format, though in the past it has been published in

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

format. ''The Echo'' launched a new website, echo.wcsu.edu, in 2012.

Athletics

Western Connecticut State University teams (nicknamed the ''Wolves'') compete at the

level, with the football team also competing in the

(MASCAC), and is a member of the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from ...

(ECAC) and the

(LEC). The university offers intercollegiate competition in 18 sports: men's baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and swimming and diving; and women's basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball. Through the athletic training staff and university physician, WCSU provides health care to student athletes participating in intercollegiate sports. WCSU offers competition at the club level in six sports: cheerleading, dance team, ice hockey, men's rugby, ultimate frisbee and powerlifting. The university also offers a variety of intramural activities depending on the semester as well as group exercise classes, a fitness zone and access to the O’Neill Center pool.

Sports venues

;Varsity * Field Hockey: Westside Athletic Complex * Baseball: Athletic fields baseball stadium * Basketball: Feldman Arena at the O'Neill Center * Cross-Country: Ives Concert Park and Westside Nature Preserve * Football: Westside Athletic Complex (a.k.a. WAC), football stadium * Lacrosse: Westside Athletic Complex * Women's Lacrosse: Westside Athletic Complex * Soccer: Westside Athletic Complex * Softball: Athletic fields softball field * Swimming: O'Neill Center * Tennis: O'Neil Center outdoor tennis courts * Volleyball: Feldman Arena at the O'Neill Center *Golf ;Non-varsity * Hockey: Danbury Ice Arena * Rugby: Athletic practice fields

Mascot

The original Western Connecticut State mascot was an Indian. A mascot committee formed to find a less offensive name in 1974 recommended changing the name to Canners, "a name that our teams can carry with respect." From 1975 to 1978, the school adopted the nickname Canners to honor the region's fish canneries, and in conjunction with a sponsorship with the Candlewood Canning Company of Connecticut. But once the sponsorship was deemed illegal by the NCAA, the official mascot became Chuck the Colonial, a man in a blue

Tricorne The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat in a triangular shape, which became popular in Europe during the 18th century, falling out of style by the early 1800s. The word "tricorne" was not widely used until the mid-19th century. During the 18th ...

hat. Following the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

and pressure from alumni and students in June 2020, the university announced the formation of a committee to determine the fate of the mascot and the Colonials nickname and decided to no longer use these. On April 19, 2022, the university announced that they would be changing their mascot name to the Wolves.

Notable people

Alumni

* Eric Bassriel, American producer, hip-hop artist, and host for IndieFeed, better known by his stage name Dirt E. Dutch *

Gorman Bechard Gorman Bechard (born March 15, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter and novelist best known for his independent feature films '' Psychos in Love,'' '' Friends (with benefits),'' and '' You Are Alone''; his four rock documentaries '' ...

, American film director and screenwriter * Evan R. Bernstein, Community activist * Mark D. Boughton, mayor of

Danbury Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

, Connecticut *

David Cappiello David J. Cappiello (born August 15, 1968) is a businessman and former State Senator representing Connecticut’s 24th Senate District, which includes the communities of Danbury, New Fairfield, Sherman, and part of Bethel. In the Senate, he serve ...

, former Connecticut State Senator and businessman *

Jane K. Cleland Jane K. Cleland is a contemporary American author of mystery fiction. She is the author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries, a traditional mystery series set in New Hampshire and featuring antiques appraiser Josie Prescott, as well as books ...

, American mystery author *

Christine Cohen Christine Hunter Cohen (born January 25, 1976) is an American politician. She was a member of the Guilford, Connecticut school board from 2015 to 2019, when she resigned to serve on the Connecticut State Senate from the Connecticut's 12th State S ...

, Connecticut State Senator * James E. Dyer, Connecticut State Representative (d. 2011) *

Fidelma Healy Eames Fidelma Healy Eames (born 14 July 1962) is an Irish former politician. She was first elected to Seanad Éireann in 2007 by the Labour Panel. As a member of the Reform Alliance group, she sat as an Independent senator, having lost the Fine Gael ...

, Irish politician * Markus Gottschlich, Austrian jazz pianist * EJ Harrison, professional basketball player *

Paul LaPolice Paul LaPolice (born June 12, 1970) is an American former gridiron football, football coach who is a broadcaster for The Sports Network, TSN. He has served as the head coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Footb ...

, coach of the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

(attended, but did not graduate), musician,

Azerrad, Michael. ''Our Band Could Be Your Life''. New York: Little, Brown, 2001 * Dan L. Miller, Pennsylvania State Representative * Merv Mosely, American football player *

Fred Norris Eric Fred Norris (born Fred Leo Nukis, July 9, 1955) is an American radio personality and the longest-tenured staff member of ''The Howard Stern Show'', aside from Stern himself. He first met Howard Stern while working at WCCC-FM, a radio stat ...

, American radio personality and writer for ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

'' *

Corey Paris Corey Phillip Paris is an American politician serving as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 145th district. Elected in an April 29, 2021 special election, he assumed office on May 4, 2021. He was re-elected to a second ...

, Connecticut State Representative * Paul L. Pasqualoni, defensive line coach for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

* Lawrence Michael "Mike" Porzio, former Major League Baseball pitcher *

Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn Rell (née Reavis; June 16, 1946 – November 20, 2024), known as M. Jodi Rell, was an American politician who served as the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011. Rell also had served as the state's 105th lieutenant gove ...

(attended, but did not graduate),

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

(2004–11) *

Joe Moravsky Joe Moravsky (born March 23, 1989) is an American athlete, meteorologist, and Manager at Stamford Ninja Academy who has competed on ''American Ninja Warrior'' in seasons five through sixteen. He has twice been the Last Ninja Standing on ''America ...

, American athlete and meteorologist *

Chris Rhodes Chris Rhodes is a trombone player from New Haven, Connecticut best known for playing trombone in several notable ska bands including Spring Heeled Jack, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bim Skala Bim and the Toasters as well as Connecticut funk band, ...

, American trombone player and member of the

Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...

Dana Sawyer Dana Sawyer is professor emeritus of religious studies and world religions at the Maine College of Art & Design and an adjunct professor in Asian Religions at the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. He is the author of numerous published papers and bo ...

, American professor of religion and philosophy and writer on

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

and spirituality * Scott Wright, American professional wrestler and bodybuilder, better known by his stage names Mr. Scott Wright and Scotty Charisma

Faculty

* Patricia E. Cladis (d. 2017), Chinese-born Canadian American physicist and researcher, specialist in liquid crystal physics ** Assistant professor of physics (taught 1963–1964) *

Jimmy Greene James Sidney Greene, Jr. (born February 24, 1975) is an American jazz saxophonist, gospel musician, recording artist, record producer, and music professor. He started his music career in 1997, and has since released eight studio albums. His eigh ...

, jazz saxophonist, gospel musician, producer ** Assistant professor of music (teaching 2012–present) ** Coordinator of jazz studies *

John Hickock John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

performer ** Adjunct instructor of musical theatre *

Mary Ann Lamb Mary Anne Lamb (3 December 1764 – 20 May 1847) was an English writer. She is best known for the collaboration with her brother Charles on the collection ''Tales from Shakespeare'' (1807). Mary suffered from mental illness, and in 1796, aged 3 ...

performer ** Adjunct instructor of musical theatre * Elizabeth Parkinson,

performer ** Adjunct instructor of musical theatre *

Sal Salvador Sal Salvador (November 21, 1925 – September 22, 1999), whose name was originally Silvio Smiraglia, was an American bebop jazz guitarist and a prominent music educator. He was born in Monson, Massachusetts, United States, and began his profession ...

(d. 1999), bebop and jazz guitarist, music educator and instructor * Deborah Weisz, jazz composer, trombonist, and musician; performer alongside Frank Sinatra from 1987 to 1994 (teaching ? – ?) ** Adjunct instructor of music *

Scott Wise Scott Wise (born October 30, 1958) is an American theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his performances in the 1989 musical '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'', which earned him a Tony Award, and in the 2002 film ''Chicago''. Wise was nominated f ...

performer,

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winner ** Adjunct instructor of musical theatre

Meteorology program/Weather Center

WCSU has the only bachelor's degree program in meteorology in southern New England. It is part of the Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Meteorology. The program prepares students for graduate studies in meteorology and earth sciences and provides the necessary coursework for employment with the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

. It also contains an option in broadcast meteorology. The Science Building on the Midtown campus houses the Meteorological Studies and Weather Center (MSWC), which provides forecasting services for industrial and media clients, and conducts forensic climatological and meteorological studies. The MSWC also contains a TV studio, forecast center, and research area, supporting the meteorology program.

Astronomical facilities

WCSU houses two

observatories 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 ...

, one public and one for undergraduate and graduate students and faculty. The Midtown observatory is located on the top of the Science Building. It is used for both students and on public viewing nights. The telescope has a refractor and an Schmidt-Cassegrain

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

. There is also a

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

for teaching and public star shows. The West Side campus houses a large-format thermoelectrically cooled

CCD CCD may refer to: Science and technology * Charge-coupled device, an electronic light sensor used in various devices including digital cameras * .ccd, the filename extension for CloneCD's CD image file * Carbonate compensation depth, a property ...

camera and is specifically used for

astrophysical Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

studies.

Library archive collections

The Archives and Special Collections Library at WCSU is the archival repository for the historical records of the university and is a significant repository for collections relating to the history of the Danbury and greater western Connecticut area. The mission of the Archives is to collect and make accessible the WCSU administrative records, faculty papers, university publications,

theses A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

, visual materials, and other media created by the university. It also includes non-WCSU affiliated personal papers,

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

and organizational records, visual materials,

map A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

s and other media that document the history of this region. The WCSU Archives also administers CT's Archives Online which searches archival materials around the state. WCSU's archival holdings amount to approximately 1800 linear feet.

Notes

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Portal bar, Connecticut, Education Public universities and colleges in Connecticut Universities and colleges established in 1903 Buildings and structures in Danbury, Connecticut Education in Danbury, Connecticut Astronomical observatories in Connecticut Universities and colleges in Fairfield County, Connecticut Tourist attractions in Danbury, Connecticut 1903 establishments in Connecticut