Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. It opened in 1839, two years after the opening of Mount Holyoke College.
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History
The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the "Georgia Female College", and it opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839. The school was renamed as "Wesleyan Female College" in 1843, when its affiliation changed from the Methodist-Episcopal Church to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The college shortened its name in 1917 to the present "Wesleyan College".
Wesleyan has the world's oldest alumnae association, begun in 1859. Wesleyan College is the birthplace of the first sororities in the United States: the Adelphean Society in 1851, now known as Alpha Delta Pi, and the Philomathean Society in 1852, now known as now Phi Mu. The two sororities together are referred to as the "Macon Magnolias". In 1914, the school ended all social sororities on its campus.
Academics
Wesleyan College has an undergraduate student population of around 600 with an acceptance rate of 62.1% and average high school GPA of 3.28. It has a student-faculty ratio of 7:1. In any given year, students from more than 20 states and over 20 countries around the world attend the college. Wesleyan offers 25 majors, 35 minors, and eight pre-professional programs. Students can earn a bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, or bachelor of science in nursing. Wesleyan is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Rankings
In its 2026 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked Wesleyan College fifth among 128 Regional Colleges South and ninth in the category "Top Performers on Social Mobility".
In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked Wesleyan College third among 223 colleges that award almost exclusively bachelor's degrees in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked Wesleyan College first in the service rank for bachelor's college.
Campus
Wesleyan College has a 200-acre (800,000 m2) campus dotted with revivalist Georgian style brick buildings and features a 6.3-acre (25,000 m2) lake, Foster Lake.
Non-residential buildings on the (main) upper campus include:
Candler Alumnae Center was built in 1946 and was presented to the College by the late Judge John Slaughter Candler of Atlanta in memory of his parents, Samuel and Martha Beall Candler. It was designed by renowned architect Phillip Shutze with the assistance of librarian Katharine Payne Carnes and originally housed the campus library. Candler Hall was renovated in 1971 as the Candler Alumnae Center and is currently home to the Office of Alumnae Affairs, the Office of Institutional Advancement, the Oval Hall ballroom, and the Benson Meeting Room.
The Loggia is a two-level portico connecting the Olive Swann Porter Building with Persons Hall. The top-level balcony overlooks the courtyard between the residence halls and the campus fountain. It is revered for its exceptional architectural design and marble columns and staircase. The Loggia has been a symbol of Wesleyan College since its construction in 1928.
The Lucy Lester Willet Memorial Library is a three-story Georgian-style brick building that was constructed in 1968 and is dedicated to the memory of Lucy Lester Willet, class of 1881. During the 2016-2017 school year, Willet Library underwent extensive renovations, opening a new 24-hour student academic center on the first floor of the building, complete with study carrels, computer labs, conference rooms, a testing center, the campus writing center, and a second-floor lounge with sitting areas, televisions, and vending machines. The library also houses the college's branch of the Confucius Institute.
The Munroe Science Center houses the biology, chemistry, nursing, neuroscience, and environmental science departments. Built in 2006, the 42,000-square-foot building was made possible by the generosity of the Munroe sisters and their families. The Munroe Science Center boasts numerous teaching laboratories, two classrooms, modern research labs for faculty-student research, animal facilities, a rooftop greenhouse, an astronomy observation deck, and the Center for Women in Science and Technology. On the west wing of Munroe is the nursing wing which houses the nursing classroom and state of the art nursing simulation lab.
Student life
Student body
In 2024, the student body was 38% White, 38% Black, 11% Hispanic, 6% of two or more races, 5% international students, 1% Asian, and 1% of unknown classification.
Organizations
There are four major student boards: CRU (Council on Religious Unity), CJA (Council on Judicial Affairs), CAB (Campus Activities Board), SRC (Student Recreation Council), which are represented as a part of SGA (Student Government Association). Wesleyan boasts the Nu Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional business fraternity. It also has over 25 special interest clubs, academic honor societies including the Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Beta Beta and Omicron Delta Epsilon; musical groups, art clubs, service organizations, religious groups, and departmental leadership groups. Sororities have been prohibited since 1917.
Events
There are several popular events of the International Cherry Blossom Festival every springtime, such as the grand finale fireworks display. Porter Auditorium was once the home of the Macon Symphony Orchestra, and it still hosts many musical and theatrical events and competitions.
Residence halls
Banks Hall was built in 1928 and houses freshmen. It is connected to the Olive Swann Porter Building via a breezeway.
Elizabeth Turner Corn Hall North and Ernest & Pauline Corn Hall South were opened in 1999. Each of these three-story buildings contains private furnished rooms (each with private bath) arranged in four-person suites and sharing a fully equipped kitchen, laundry facilities, and fully furnished living/dining room. There is also a small atrium on the lawn between the two buildings. Upperclassmen are housed in the apartments, and Elizabeth Turner Corn Hall exclusively houses seniors, as well as contains a deluxe "Alumnae Suite" for visitors to the campus.
Hightower Hall was built in 1963 and houses upperclassmen. It contains a piano lounge in its foyer, as well as some of the most coveted rooms on the campus with its views of Foster Lake.
Jones Hall was built in 1959 and contains the Wesleyan College Center for Community Engagement and Service, as well as a conference room and an overnight visitor's suite on the first floor. The second and third floors of the building house upperclassmen. Jones Hall's Mary Bennet Cox Dunwody Terrace, a popular event venue, is located behind the building and overlooks the azalea garden at the edge of Foster Lake.
Persons Hall was built in 1928 and houses upperclassmen. The building is connected to the Wortham Residence Hall, as well as the Olive Swann Porter Building via the Loggia.
Wortham Hall was built in 1928 and houses freshmen. Wortham Hall is connected to Persons Hall via a breezeway, as well as an overhead "bridge" between the two buildings.
Athletics
The Wesleyan athletic teams are called the Wolves. (formerly known as "Pioneers" until after 2012–13). The college is a member of the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It competes in the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS), formed in July 2022 by an amicable split of Wesleyan's former home of the USA South Athletic Conference. The Wolves had been USA South members from 2016–17 to 2021–22, and before that competed in the defunct Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) from 2003–04 to 2015–16. Beginning in the2026-27 academic year, Wesleyan will move from NCAA Division III to the NAIA.
Wesleyan competes in nine intercollegiate varsity sports, including basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, equestrian, soccer, softball, track, and volleyball. Wesleyan's equestrian team competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association and the Intercollegiate Dressage Association.
Facilities
In addition to Porter Gym on the main campus, other athletic facilities on the campus include:
Mathews Athletic Center was donated to the College by Trustee George Mathews in memory of his sister, Mary Ann Mathews Pease '44 AND includes soccer and softball fields and tennis courts. The center provides weekly yoga, and other strength training classes, and more.
Nancy Ellis Knox Equestrian Center is located north of Foster Lake and hosts the College's IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association) and IDA (Intercollegiate Dressage) teams. The center includes two riding arenas, turnout paddocks, a 24-stall barn, and classroom. Instruction is also offered to the Macon community through the Community Horsemanship Program. The center's academic program is the Equine-Assisted Therapy minor.
Colors
The school colors include Pantone purple 268 C, dark purple 2627 C, and light purple 7678 C.