The Blizzard of 1978 cancels classes for two days (except for faculty members within walking distance) and delays registration for spring semester.
1978WCCS Founded
A student run radio station, WCCS, goes on the air for the first time.
1983Wheaton Hosts Conference on the Balanced Curriculum
Three hundred educators from across the country gather at Wheaton to learn more about “gender-balancing” the college curriculum.
1983First Black Alumnae Weekend Held
The first Black Alumnae Weekend is held.
1984Sesquicentennial Celebration
The college begins a year long Sesquicentennial celebration at Commencement.
1990Otis Social Justice Award Established
In 1990, the Marjorie Otis Memorial Lecture Series became the Otis Social Justice Symposium, and the focus of the event shifted from religious studies to the exploration of issues central to a just society, such as peace, hunger, human rights,… Read More »
1990C. Everett Koop Receives Otis Social Justice Award
Wheaton inaugurated the Otis Social Justice Award with its first recipient, Dr. C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General, on November 30, 1990. The event included Koop’s keynote, entitled “Health Care: Crisis and Opportunity,” and a panel presentation, “Rationing Health Care:… Read More »
1991First Head of the Peacock Regatta Held
The inaugural Head of the Peacock Regatta, in which students make their own rafts to race across Peacock Pond, began on Spring Weekend in 1991 to commemorate the completion of Haas Athletic Center.
1992Jonathan Kozol Receives Otis Social Justice Award
Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools, receives the second Otis Social Justice Award. A panel presentation entitled “Schools and Society: Partnerships That Make the Grade” included Betsy. A Nelson 1959 of Boston Partners in Education, Donald… Read More »
1997Marian Wright Edelman Receives Otis Social Justice Award
The third Otis Social Justice Award is given to Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund. Her keynote is entitled “Standing Strong and Together for Children.”
1998Senior Honors Thesis Parade Created
Faculty dressed in academia regalia and playing instruments ranging from bugles to drums, lead the first annual Senior Honors Thesis Parade from the Science Center to the Registrar’s office.
1998 - 2011Dee the Dogg
Dee Dog, a border collie trained by a North Carolina organization called the “Geese Police,” is hired to chase off the many Canadian geese fouling the Chapel Field.
1998Bill Richardson Receives Otis Social Justice Award
Governor Bill Richardson, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, is given the fourth Otis Social Justice Award. Preceding his keynote was a panel entitled “Human Rights: What Are They Anyway?” with Professors Paul Helmreich, David Powell, Jeanne Wilson and… Read More »
2000Time Capsule Buried to Mark the Millennium
Students, faculty, and staff contribute to a Millennial Time Capsule, to be opened in 2100.
2000AIDS Memorial Quilt Travels to Wheaton
The AIDS Memorial Quilt travels to Wheaton College.
2000Gloria Steinem Receives Otis Social Justice Award
Gloria Steinem is the fifth recipient of the Otis Social Justice Award. Her keynote, “Putting Women into History and Vice Versa,” is accompanied by a panel presentation, “Major Issues in the Three Waves of Feminism,” including Kathryn Baxter 2000, Coordinator… Read More »
2001Howard Zinn Receives Otis Social Justice Award
Historian and writer Howard Zinn receives the Otis Social Justice Award.
2001Wheaton Responds to the Events of September 11, 2001
President Marshall and two colleagues were in Manhattan when the Twin Towers are attacked.
2002Barbara Ehrenreich Receives Otis Social Justice Award
Author and activist Barbara Ehrenreich receives the seventh Otis Social Justice Award. The event, including a panel made up of Professors John Bezis-Selfa, Paula Krebs and John Miller and students Aislinn Stetson 2004 and Diana Noriega 2004, is moderated by… Read More »
2003Eighth Otis Social Justice Symposium
The eighth Otis Social Justice Symposium was held on February 10 and 11, 2003 and featured Elaine Brown, former chairwoman of the Black Panther Party, Amber Hollibaugh, founding director of the Lesbian AIDS Project of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis… Read More »