Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent, exclusively undergraduate liberal arts college in Bloomington , Illinois . Founded in 1850 , the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856. It offers over 80 majors, minors and programs in the liberal arts , business , the fine arts , nursing , and eight pre-professional areas .

   The university's mission is to foster the traditional liberal arts of creativity , character , and knowledge . Its motto – Scientia et sapientia, or "Knowledge and wisdom" – was coined by famed explorer and Wesleyan Professor John Wesley Powell .