Wesleyan University, founded in 1831, is a small private university in Middletown, Connecticut. Originally an all-male Methodist college, its first attempt at co-education lasted from 1872 to 1912; the departure of the female students led directly to the foundation of nearby Connecticut College. Women were readmitted to Wesleyan in the early 1970s, and it is now completely secular. Perhaps best known for the liberal arts, it does also offer a wide variety of sciences, which dominate the graduate programs available. It is one of the "Little Three" along with Amherst College and Williams College. The college is well known for its social activism and also its high percentage of students from minority backgrounds. It was a pioneer in world music one of the first American universities outside of Los Angeles and New York City to offer a program in Film Studies.
Famous Alumni
Famous alumni of Wesleyan University include:
- Miguel Arteta (graduated 1989) - Film director (Star Maps, Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl)
- Eric Asimov (graduated 1979) - Restaurant columnist and editor, The New York Times; son of Isaac Asimov
- Gerald Baliles (graduated 1963) - Former governor of Virginia
- John Perry Barlow (graduated 1969) - Lyricist for Grateful Dead, cofounder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Michael Bay (graduated 1986) - Film director (The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor)
- Bill Belichick (graduated 1975) - Head coach, New England Patriots, winner of 2002 Super Bowl
- Dr. Herbert Benson (graduated 1957) - Founding president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute; author of The Relaxation Response
- Meredith Bergmann (graduated 1976) - Sculptor of Women's Memorial (Boston).
- William Blakemore (graduated 1965) - Correspondent, ABC News
- Amy Bloom (graduated 1975) - Author of Come to Me, Love Invents Us'\', and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You''
- Joshua Boger (graduated 1973) - President and CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
- Linda Brinen (graduated 1988) - Scientific and technical programs manager, Joint Center for Structural Genomics, Stanford University
- Ethan Bronner (graduated 1976) - Assistant editorial page editor, The New York Times
- Dominique Browning (graduated 1977) - Editor-in-chief, House & Garden Magazine
- Ambrose Burfoot (graduated 1968) - First collegian to win the Boston Marathon; executive editor, Runner's World Magazine
- Majora Carter (graduated 1988) - Founder and executive director, Sustainable South Bronx
- Richard Cavanagh (graduated 1968) - President and CEO, The Conference Board of New York
- Jennifer Crittenden (graduated 1992) - Writer and/or producer for Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, and Everybody Loves Raymond
- Robin Cook (graduated 1962) - Medical mystery writer whose books include Abduction, Chromosome 6, Coma, Shock, and many other bestsellers
- Alan Dachs (graduated 1970) - President, The Fremont Group (investment arm of Bechtel Corp.); chairman of Wesleyan's board of trustees
- Ed Decter (graduated 1979) - Screenwriter: There's Something About Mary
- Dana Delany (graduated 1978) - Emmy Awasrd?winning actress whose credits include the television shows China Beach and Presidio Med and the films Tombstone and Fly Away Home
- Jane Eisner (graduated 1977) - Columnist, Philadelphia Inquirer
- Charles Exley, Jr. (graduated 1951) - Former chairman and CEO, NCR Corporation
- Ted Fiske (graduated 1959) - Educational writer, creator of The Fiske Guide to Colleges
- Jeff Galloway (graduated 1967) - Celebrated runner and author of Galloway's Book on Running
- William H. Gass (year?) - Author
- Dr. Laman Gray, Jr. (graduated 1963) - Artificial heart surgeon
- Akiva Goldsman (graduated 1983) - Screenwriter for The Client, A Time to Kill, and A Beautiful Mind (Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar)
- Daniel Handler (graduated 1992) - Author (under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket) of A Series of Unfortunate Events children's book series
- Russell Hardin (graduated 1964) - Attorney, Hardin, Beers, Hagstette & Davidson, and lead Houston attorney for Arthur Andersen's defense against lawsuits brought by Enron shareholders
- Lyle Ashton Harris (graduated 1988) - Photographer, exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art
- Hon. Terry Hatter (graduated 1954) - Federal judge, Los Angeles
- John Hickenlooper (graduated 1974) - Mayor of Denver.
- Jay Hoggard (graduated 1976) - Renowned jazz musician, vibraphonist
- Gerald Holton (graduated 1941) - Professor emeritus, Harvard University, world's leading authority on life of Albert Einstein
- Robert Hunter (graduated 1962) - Former United States ambassador to NATO, now president of the Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Alberto Ibarg¨en (graduated 1966) - Publisher, The Miami Herald, Chair of PBS Board of Directors
- Charles James (graduated 1976) - Vice president and general counsel, ChevronTexaco Corp.
- Sebastian Junger (graduated 1984) - Author of The Perfect Storm and Fire
- Herb Kelleher (graduated 1953) - Founder, chairman, and former president and CEO, Southwest Airlines
- Matt Kelley (graduated 1902) - Founder, president, and CEO, The Mavin Foundation
- Brooks Kraft (graduated 1987) - Nationally recognized photojournalist whose pictures of the White House and President Bush have appeared in Time Magazine.
- David Kohan (graduated 1986) - Cocreator and executive producer of Will and Grace and Good Morning, Miami
- Alex Kotlowitz (graduated 1977) - Journalist, activist, author of There Are No Children Here
- Daphne Kwok (graduated 1984) - Executive director of the Asian Pacific Institute for Congressional Studies
- Eliza Leighton (graduated 1995) - Cofounder, Stand for Children
- Dr. Jay Levy (graduated 1960) - AIDS researcher and educator; professor, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
- John Lipsky (graduated 1968) - Chief economist and managing director, JP Morgan Chase
- Caroline Little (graduated 1981) - COO of Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive
- Robert Ludlum (graduated 1951) - The late writer whose books include The Bourne Identity, The Matarese Circle, and many others
- Emelie Marcus (graduated 1982) - Editor of the scientific journal Cell.
- Laurence Mark (graduated 1971) - Producer of the films Jerry McGuire, As Good As It Gets, Finding Forrester
- Daisy von Scherler Mayer (graduated 1988) - Film director (Party Girl, Madeline, The Guru)
- Alix Olson (graduated 1997) - Performance artist and award-winning slam poet
- C. Richard (Rick) Nicita (graduated 1967) - Cochairman, Creative Artists Agency
- Dr. Michael Palmer (graduated 1964) - Medical mystery writer whose books include Side Effects, Flashback, Extreme Measures, and Natural Causes
- Robert Patricelli (graduated 1961) - President and CEO, Women's Health, USA
- Randall Pinkston (graduated 1972) - Emmy Award?winning television journalist
- Anthony Richter (graduated 1984) - director of Central Asia and Middle East Initiatives of the Open Society Institute
- Bill Rodgers (graduated 1970) - Renowned runner, winner of four New York and four Boston marathons
- Tom Rogers (graduated 1976) - Chairman and CEO, Primedia
- Paul Schiff (graduated 1981) - Producer of the films My Cousin Vinny and Rushmore
- Stephen Schiff (graduated 1972) - Screenwriter for Lolita, True Crime, and Unfaithful
- Hon. Anthony Scirica (graduated 1962) - Circuit judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third District (Philadelphia)
- Sara Shandler (graduated 2002) - Author of Ophelia Speaks: Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self
- Theodore Shaw (graduated 1976) - Associate director-counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
- Alan Shestack (graduated 1960) - Chief curator, National Gallery of Art
- David Skaggs (graduated 1964) - Executive director, Aspen Institute
- Mark Steinmetz (graduated 1982) Photographer, recipient of Guggenheim Fellowship
- C. Sumner (Chuck) Stone (graduated 1948) - Professor of journalism at University of North Carolina; former editor, Philadelphia Daily News
- Beverly Daniel Tatum (graduated 1975) - President, Spelman College; author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
- Philip Trager (graduated 1956) - Photographer whose books include Villas of Palladio, Dancers, Persephone, and Changing Paris: A Tour Along the Seine
- Stephen Trask (graduated 1989) - Composer and lyricist for the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Hon. Stephen Trott (graduated 1962) - Federal Appellate Court judge, 9th Circuit
- Jon Turteltaub (graduated 1985) - Film director (Cool Runnings, Phenomenon, While You Were Sleeping)
- Laura Walker (graduated 1979) - President and CEO, WNYC
- Paul Weitz (graduated 1988) - Director (with brother Chris Weitz, American Pie, About a Boy)
- Jeff Weitzen (graduated 1978) - Former president and CEO, Gateway 2000
- Joss Whedon (graduated 1987) - Creator, producer, director, and writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly; screenwriter for Speed and Toy Story
- Bradley Whitford (graduated 1981) - Emmy-winning actor in television drama The West Wing
- David White (graduated 1970) - Executive director, producer, and founder of the Dance Theater Workshop
- Mike White (graduated 1992) - Screenwriter for Chuck and Buck, Orange County, and The Good Girl
- Dar Williams (graduated 1989) - Folksinger
- Christopher Wink (graduated 1983) - Founder of the Blue Man Group
- Frank Wood (graduated 1984) - Tony Award-winning actor (Side Man)
- John Woodhouse (graduated 1953) - Senior chairman, Sysco Corp.
- Walter Wriston (graduated 1941) - Retired chairman, Citicorp
- Michael Yamashita (graduated 1971) - Photographer, National Geographic
- John Yang (graduated 1980) - Correspondent, ABC News
- Strauss Zelnick (graduated 1979) - Founder and president, ZelnickMedia
- Ezra Zilkha (graduated 1947) - President, Zilkha and Sons
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