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Iowa Wesleyan Gets New Name and Look

Iowa Wesleyan Gets New Name and Look

On May 8, 2015, the Iowa Wesleyan Board of Trustees took unanimous action to change Iowa Wesleyan College to Iowa Wesleyan University.  The change comes  on the heels of a historic and collaborative strategic planning process that concluded this summer and involved over 900 regional partners and a multitude of stakeholder groups.

"This is an extraordinary moment in the history of Iowa Wesleyan," said President Steve Titus. "Iowa Wesleyan's mission is to embrace and serve the region that has been its home for nearly two centuries.  We have a responsibility to serve the people of southeast Iowa with a variety of educational offerings at the undergraduate and graduate levels through a variety of platforms." Titus said.  "The work we ! began a few years ago is to transform a small, local residential undergraduate college into the regional, comprehensive university for southeast Iowa," he said.

University status is not new for Iowa Wesleyan.  Senator James Harlan, the fourth president of Iowa Wesleyan, named the then Mount Pleasant Collegiate Institute Iowa Wesleyan University in 1855.  The name was changed to Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912.

"Today, there is a need for a regional comprehensive university in southeast Iowa," said Scott Briell, senior vice president for enrollment and communications. "Through the work of the Commission of the Future of Wesleyan, there has been a growing consensus that Iowa Wesleyan is uniquely suited to fill this need and be a central educational resource for the region."

As a regional comprehensive university, Iowa Wesleyan has positioned itself to offer both undergraduate and graduate academic programs that are relev! ant to the region's economic and employment needs.

"We are developing new undergraduate, online and graduate programs," said Titus.  "Our commitment is to serve traditional, adult, graduate and dual enrollment high school students in relevant and meaningful ways," he said.

"Given the transformation of the institution the past couple of years and its plan for hate future, it was time we responded in new ways to the educational, economic and employment needs of the region," said Don Wiley, chairman of the board of trustees.

The new look of Iowa Wesleyan builds on the "IW" launched last fall as part of the rebranding of Tiger athletics. "The IW was a huge success, so as we were thinking about the new look of the university it made sense to integrate the iconic mark launched last year," Titus said.  There is a new website address, too.  The previous website of www.iwc.edu is now www.iw.edu and the athletics website is now www.iwtigers.com.


While the legal name change occurred earlier in the summer, the official launch date is August 10, 2015.  A launch celebration for hate Mount Pleasant and surrounding communities is Friday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m.. in Mount Pleasant's Central Park, in conjunction with the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce Rock Around the Block event.  Come visit the Iowa Wesleyan University tent for giveaways and to learn more about the great things happening at your university.


For more information contact Ashlee Whipple at 319-385-6364 or ashlee.whipple@iw.edu<mailto:ashlee.whipple@iw.edu
STORY COURTESY OF IOWA WESLEYAN COLLEGE