Browse Exhibits (6 total)

Carol Jane "Casey" Thurman (1943-2023) graduated from Wesleyan College in 1965. When Casey arrived to study voice at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., she was unstoppable.
Her senior yearbook described her as “the girl who was born with a smile on her face and a laugh in her heart.” In addition to other honors, she was selected “Miss Wesleyan” and “T & C Girl of the Year” in 1965. Friends said they could hear her shouting “This is better’n grits!” all around campus. Clearly, she had found her next home, and Casey referred to Wesleyan as her “cornerstone” for the rest of her life.

While at Wesleyan, Casey studied with Comer Professor of Voice Norman McLean, establishing a relationship that lasted for decades. “Mr. Mac” remained her vocal coach for many years.
Casey won the Metropolitan Opera Regional/District auditions in 1964, which helped expand her vision and opened possibilities for her far beyond Macon and Wesleyan.

Wesleyan College has been accelerating equality for women since 1836. This exhibit chronicles the rich 186 year history of the college and its impact on the world through 186 archival artifacts and narratives. Through the use of these artifacts, Wesleyan's story of race, advocacy, class names, traditions, and the student experience is told.

The exhibit is a continuation of work begun by Dr. Karen Huber and the HIS 358 class spring semester 2015. They worked on a project entitled "African Americans at Wesleyan College before the "First Five". During Celebrating Student Scholarship Day, an exhibit and discussion about the research was hosted by Willet Library. The exhibit remained up for the rest of the semester.

In August 2016, Dr. Huber was commissioned to write a history of Wesleyan College. She spent much of the following year researching the history which culminated in an all campus convocation on Racial Reconciliation where Dr. Huber presented her findings. An oral history project was undertaken by Dr. Huber, Dr. Nicholas Steneck, and their students. You will find those oral histories, and others done by this team, in the oral history section of this exhibit.

In 2020, Wesleyan College was granted a "Reframing the Institutional Saga" grant from the Network of Vocational Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) through the Council of Independent Colleges. In addition to exploring the racial history of Wesleyan College, this project connects who we are today as an institution, with who we were, and explores all of the ways we have evolved over time. It builds upon an earlier publication by Dr. Samuel Akers, "The First 100 Years", and brings in a rich tapestry of student experience and involvement.

The exhibit has been broken down into time periods. These periods reflect key events in Wesleyan's history. 

As we continue to research the stories that shaped our institution, we will add relevant documents to these pages.  Therefore, this is not The End, but rather To Be Continued...  

Disclaimer

This exhibit includes historical materials that may be offensive or harmful. These archival records are evidence of the time in which they were created and often contain language and images that are racist, or otherwise derogatory and insensitive. This content does not reflect the values of Wesleyan College or the contributors to this project.

This exhibits highlights publications of Wesleyan College.  These include alumnae magazines, college catalogues, literary magazines, student newspapers, and yearbooks.

To search in any of these publications, press Ctrl+F and type the word or name that you are searchng for in the box 

Disclaimer

This exhibit includes historical materials that may be offensive or harmful. These archival records are evidence of the time in which they were created and often contain language and images that are racist, or otherwise derogatory and insensitive. This content does not reflect the values of Wesleyan College or the contributors to this project.