The Illionis Vesleyan University occupies 70 acres in in the heart of Bloomington residential area. Comprising three divisions, the College of Liberal Arts, College of Fine Arts and; the School of Nursing. The university is non-denominational, enrolling some 2,137.
The university was first proposed in 1849 at the Illinois Methodist Episcopal conference here, but full classes were not held until 1851 and the charter was not granted until 1853. Listed among the early trustees of the University were such prominent persons as judge Davis and Peter Cartwright, the great pioneer preacher.
Encountering financial difficulties, the school suspended operations between 1855 and 1857, when it was reopened with a new president, the Rev. Oliver Munsell. An intensive drive for funds conducted by the president soon put the university on a sound basis, and it has since operated continuously. In 1930 it absorbed Hedding College, another Methodist Episcopal institution, which had long functioned at Abingdon, Illinois.
The university centers around Hedding Hall ( 1871), which contains class rooms and the chapel. Nearby are OLD NORTH HALL, completed in the 1850’s, and Science Hall, a modern laboratory. In adjacent squares are the Memorial Gymnasium, with a swimming pool; Bucy, Memorial Library; and Presser Hall, newest building, in which is the school of music and the auditorium.
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