Collections : [Wesleyan University -Special Collections and Archives]

The class of 1873 Boat Club was organized on October 4, 1870, by 19 members of the class of 1873. It participated in the first Wesleyan regatta, which was held July 19, 1871, with the clubs of the classes of 1872, 1873, and 1874 competing.

Wesleyan University began holding reunions for its alumni in the late 1860s. Prior to that, alumni stayed in touch with one another through correspondence. The University began compiling news and events related to its graduates beginning in the 1850s, and these collections of updates were frequently gathered into volumes distributed to class members.

COPUS, the Coalition of Private University Students, was a financial aid advocacy group that was formed in the mid 1970s when a coalition of college students across the country joined together to address financial aid issues.

The commencement orations given by 19th century Wesleyan students reflect their studies in classics and their interests in philosophy, literature, and politics.

The Conversational Club was formed in 1862 by the faculty of Wesleyan University to discuss topics of interest along with other Middletown residents.

The Cuvierian Society was organized in April 1836 as the Natural History Society, a primarily undergraduate organization at Wesleyan University for the study of natural science. Along with some faculty members, alumni, and local community members, the organization gathered for monthly meetings, during which members read essays and heard addresses from invited guests. The group changed its name to the Cuvierian Society in 1837. It continued to meet regularly until May 1846.

Dana Plante (1937-1960) graduated in 1959 from Wesleyan University.

Daniel Curtis Rand, a Charleston, New Hampshire native, attended Wesleyan University from 1839 to 1843, when he graduated. He later ran powder mills in Connecticut and New York.

David Park McAllester was professor of Anthropology and Music at Wesleyan University from 1947 to 1986. He studied and wrote about the rites and ceremonies of the Navajo Indians and was a co-founder of the Society for Ethnomusicology.

The Davison Art Center, housed in the 1839 Alsop House, comprises exhibition galleries, classrooms, offices, and the university’s collection of prints and photographs. The Art Center and much of its collection was the gift of George W. (Wesleyan class of 1892) and Harriet Baldwin Davison.