Connecticut College 1.35

Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut. It is a primarily residential, four-year undergraduate institution, with nearly all of its approximately 1,900 students living on campus. Students choose courses from 41 majors, including an interdisciplinary, self-designed major. The college was founded in 1911 as "Connecticut College for Women" in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women in 1909; it shortened its name to "Connecticut College" in 1969 when it began admitting men.Forbes ranked Connecticut College 81st in its 2016 overall list, 45th in the Northeast, 68th among private colleges, and 39th among liberal arts schools. Forbes also ranked Connecticut College 58th in "Grateful Grads". U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 45th among the top liberal arts colleges in 2014. The college competes athletically in the prestigious New England Small College Athletic Conference .History20th centuryThe college was chartered in 1911 in response to Wesleyan University's decision to stop admitting women. Elizabeth C. Wright and other Wesleyan alumnae convinced others to found this new college, espousing the increasing desire among women for higher education. To that end, the institution was founded as the Connecticut College for Women. Financial assistance from the city of New London, its residents, and a number of wealthy benefactors gave the college its initial endowment. The land upon which the college sits was a dairy farm owned by Charles P. Alexander of Waterford. He died in 1904 and his wife Harriet (Jerome) Alexander died in 1911, and their son Frank J. Alexander sold a large part of the farmland to the trustees to found Connecticut College.