Chatham University

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Hallmarks and Quirks

Things I'm Good At:

Activism. Particularly of the environmental kind. Or social kind. Or feminist kind. Really, any type of activism. For a small campus, I get a ton of big-name speakers and change-makers.
Writing. My MFA program in creative writing was named one of the top five Innovative/Unique Programs in the country by The Atlantic Monthly.
Having trees. Lots of schools have a few trees here and there; I'm a designated arboretum.
Division III sports. After hiring a new athletic director and several new coaches for the 2015-2016 school year, I'm looking forward to more competitive athletic programs. If you're an athlete, that means more playing time; if you're a student, it means better games.
Caring about the environment. In addition to the green focus that runs through most of my academic programs, I have a 388-acre eco-campus called Eden Hall located just twenty miles north of my main campus in Shadyside. I'm self-sustaining, produce zero carbon emissions, and manage all my storm and waste water on-site.

My Top 5 Must-Haves:

Ta-Nehisi Coates' book Between the World and Me. Or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists. Actually, better play it safe and bring both.
A reusable water bottle. Because seriously, did you know that eighty percent of the fifty billion water bottles that get purchased each year end up in landfills? Let's make Rachel Carson proud.
A camera. When those beautiful maples on campus hit peak redness during fall, you're going to want to show all your friends who went out of state.
Your Chatham University ID will get you free bus tickets and admission to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
A spirit of environmentalism. Those trees aren't going to hug themselves.

Why You Might Have Heard of Me:

Rachel Carson. Did I mention that she went here? Oh. Well...get used to hearing that a lot.
Dudes. Once known as the Pennsylvania Female College and the Pennsylvania College for Women, I started accepting men in 2015. With the transition comes a bit of controversy, but also an increased focus on facilities and athletics.
I'm an arboretum. My thirty-nine-acre main campus is a designated arboretum, featuring over 115 species of trees.
For the third year in a row, Sierra magazine named me as one of the top twenty-five greenest universities. My goal is to be carbon neutral by 2025, and you can bet your boots I'll make it happen.
Eden Hall. My 388-acre eco campus comes with a twenty-year master plan.

On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...

Hanging out with my friends. Where I like to go depends on what's going on. If there's a game on, you can find me in the Athletic and Fitness Center, cheering the Cougars on to victory.

I also like to go to the chapel to take in a mind-bending lecture or performance. I get really great speakers here; not to name-drop, but past ones have included award-winning journalist Jenny Nordberg and gender activist and spoken word poet Andrea Gibson.

If I'm not in the mood for a rowdy crowd or a thought-provoking performance, I like to grab a coffee at one of my cafés. Rea Coffeehouse is located below Rea House (one of my dorms) and covered in graffiti from generations of Chatham women; Café Rachel is especially nice on spring or summer nights, when the temperature is a balmy seventy-three degrees.

Favorite Hangouts:

Café Rachel. On a sunny day, you'll find numerous students sitting on the quad or on the patio of Café Rachel, named after Rachel Carson, who—if you didn't know—went here. The centrally located on-campus eatery has a variety of cookies and sandwiches packaged in the crinkliest biodegradable wrap known to womankind.
The Athletic and Fitness Center. Come watch my teams throw down.
The nearest Target is just a short ride away from campus via a free shuttle.
Shadyside. The slightly-misnamed upscale neighborhood is home to Walnut Street, which houses an Apple Store, J. Crew, at least three different yoga studios, and numerous eateries.

Quirks:

A lot of my students have nose rings. And tattoos. Tattoos and nose rings. But even if you don't have any of those things, everyone will still be your friend.
Several items in the dining hall come from Eden Hall farm.
I used to be an all-female college. The transition hasn't been too bad, but sometimes it's hard to find a men's restroom.
You won't want to leave campus without sledding down the epic Chapel Hill on a lunch tray. Or stealing a golf cart (just don't get caught). And you're not a real freshman unless you go for a winter dip in the duck pond. Fine, I made that last one up. Sorry for trying to start a new tradition.

Famous Alumni:

Rachel Carson, 1929, author and environmental activist
Lesley Brooks Wells, 1959, U.S. Federal Judge
Elaine Scarry, 1968, Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University (say that five times fast)
Lea Wait, 1968, author
Muriel Bowser, 1994, Mayor of the District of Columbia, #womenontop