Cornell College

Not to be confused with Cornell University.

Cornell College

Motto	Deus et Humanitas
Motto in English	God and Humanity
Type	Private
Established	1853
Affiliation	United Methodist Church
Endowment	$66,999,430
President	Jonathan Brand
Academic staff	119
Undergraduates	1,077
Location	Mount Vernon , Iowa , USA
Campus	rural, 129 acres (522,044 m²)
Colors	Purple & White
Nickname	Rams
Website	cornellcollege.edu

Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron tycoon William Wesley Cornell, who was a distant relative of Ezra Cornell (founder of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York).

Overview

Cornell students study one course at a time (commonly referred to as "the block plan" or "OCAAT"). Since 1978, school years have been divided into "blocks" of three-and-a-half weeks each (usually followed by a four-day "block break" to round out to four weeks), during which students are enrolled in a single class; what would normally be covered in a full semester's worth of class at a typical university is covered in just seventeen-and-one-half Cornell class days. While schedules vary from class to class, most courses consist of around 30 hours of lecture, along with additional time spent in the laboratory, studying audio-visual media, or other activities. Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa; Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia; Tusculum College in Tusculum, Tennessee; and The University of Montana - Western are the only other colleges operating under a similar academic calendar. Cornell formerly operated on a calendar of 9 blocks per year, but switched to 8 blocks per year beginning in the fall of 2012.

From its inception, Cornell has accepted women into all degree programs. In 1858, Cornell was host to Iowa's first female recipient of a baccalaureate degree, Mary Fellows, a member of the first graduating class from Cornell College. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics. In 1871, Harriette J. Cooke became the first female college professor in the United States to become a full professor with a salary equal to that of her male colleagues.

King Chapel, Cornell College

Campus buildings

The most widely recognizable building on Cornell's campus is King Chapel. The chapel is the site of the annual convocation at the commencement of the school year as well as the baccalaureate service in the spring for graduating students. The chapel contains a large organ (over 3000 pipes) and is often the site of musical performances. Religious services are held in the nearby Allee Chapel.

Old Sem, for a short while was the only building of the original college, now houses administrative offices of the college.

Cornell contains 9 academic buildings. College Hall (also sometimes called "Old Main"), the second-oldest building of the college, houses classrooms and offices of several social science and humanities departments. South Hall, originally a male dormitory, houses the Politics and Creative Writing Departments. Prall House contains offices and classrooms of the Philosophy and Religion Departments. The Merle West Science Center houses the Physics, Biology, and Chemistry Departments. West Science contains the school's one of the two stadium seating lecture-style classroom, with a capacity around 100. The Norton Geology Center contains both an extensive museum and classrooms for geological sciences. Law Hall includes the Math, Computer Science, and Psychology Departments, and is the computing hub of the campus. McWethy Hall, formerly a gymnasium, was remodeled and now contains the studios and offices of the Art Department. Armstrong Hall and Youngker Hall are adjoining fine arts buildings. Armstrong Hall is the location of the Music Department, while Youngker Hall contains the Theatre Department, including Kimmel Theatre. In addition, the Small Sports Center and the Lytle House contain classrooms of the Kinesiology Department.

Cole Library serves both the college and the Mount Vernon community.

Cornell has several residence halls. Pfeiffer Hall, Tarr Hall, and Dows Hall together form the "Tri-Hall" area. Tarr was once an all-male residence hall, but now houses both males and females. Dows is an all-female residence hall, and Pfeiffer is co-ed for all years. Pfeiffer was extensively renovated in 2008. Bowman-Carter Hall is an all-female hall for upperclassmen. Pauley-Rorem Hall is a combination of two residence halls that are joined in the middle by a common set of stairs. female first-years resided in Pauley, and male first-years resided in Rorem until 2012-2013 when both residence halls became co-ed by floor. Olin and Merner Hall are co-ed upper-class residence halls. New and Russell Hall (the latter commonly known as Clock Tower) were opened in 2005 and 2007, respectively, and offer suite-style living. Students may choose more independent living options in apartments at Wilch Apartments, 10th Avenue, Armstrong House, and Harlan House, and even at the Sleep Inn. Nearly all Cornell students are required to live on-campus or in campus apartments, so most students do not rent non-college housing.

The Cornell campus is centered around a modest hill, the feature noted in the moniker "Hilltop Campus." Several campus buildings are grouped on the hilltop, while the athletic facilities and some residential buildings are located farther downhill on the campus's northwest side.

Athletics

Cornell College fields 19 intercollegiate athletic teams, all of which compete in NCAA Division III sports. Formerly a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC), Cornell joined the Midwest Conference (MWC) in the fall of 2012.

Cornell has achieved its greatest success in wrestling. Cornell wrestlers have won eight individual national titles, and in 1947, the wrestling team won the NCAA Division I and AAU national championships. Sixty-Two Cornell wrestlers have been named NCAA All-Americans, and seven have been elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Seven wrestlers have also been in the Olympics.

Another Cornell team has also met with success recently. In 2011, the women's volleyball team captured the IIAC title and went on to take part in the national tournament for the first time in school history.

Twenty-five Cornell students have earned NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, awarded annually to students in their final year of eligibility who excel both athletically and academically. Cornell ranks in the top 15 Division III colleges in recipients of this award.

Cornell's football rivalry with Coe College dates to 1891, making it the oldest intercollegiate rivalry west of the Mississippi. Coe currently holds the lead in the series, 60-51-4.

Cornell's mascot is a Ram. In 1949 the Royal Purple, the school's yearbook, offered a $5 prize for someone who could come up with a new mascot to replace either the "Purples" or "Hilltoppers." A sophomore came up with the idea for the ram.

Ash Park, Cornell College football stadium, Mount Vernon, Iowa

Intercollegiate Mock Trial

A very young program, having existed for only four years, the Cornell College Mock Trial team has been relatively successful, and is currently ranked 16th in the nation. Competing against over 700 teams in the nation, including Yale University, Princeton University, New York University and Washington and Lee University, the Cornell Mock Trial team finished sixth in the nation at the 2010 AMTA (American Mock Trial Association) Nationals.

The Cornell Team has seen success throughout the year seeing victories in Mac II hosted by Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Bluejay Invitational hosted by Creighton University, the Fantastic Flyer Invitational hosted by Lewis University in Oak Brook, Illinois, and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and the AMTA Opening Round Championship held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Cornell Mockers have received numerous individual awards including two All-American attorney awards at the Gold Round National competition in April 2010.

Greek life

Cornell College has 15 officially recognized unique non-national Fraternities and Sororities.

• Delta Phi Delta "Delphis"
• Phi Kappa Nu "Newts"
• Phi Lambda Xi "Phi-Lambs"
  

  Ram's head logo of Cornell College
• Sigma Kappa Psi "Skys"
• Beta Omicron "OWLS"
• Alpha Chi Epsilon "AXEs"
• Alpha Sigma Pi "ARROWs"
• Mu Lambda Sigma "Milts"
• Delta Phi Rho "Delts"
• Phi Omega "Phi-Os"
• Gamma Tau Pi "Gammas"
• Kappa Theta "Thetas"
• Kappa Delta Chi "KDChis"
• Rho Zeta Omicron "The Rhozes"
• Beta Psi Eta "Betas"

Academic statistics

• Student Faculty Ratio: 11:1
  

  Commencement ceremony in the Small Sport Center at Cornell College
• Most Popular Majors: Economics, History, Psychology
• Most Frequent Class size: 10-19

Applicant statistics

• Average GPA of applicants: 3.44
• Middle 50% ACT: 23-29
• Middle 50% SAT: 1070 - 1330 (on 1600 scale)
• Percent of applicants admitted: 46%

Student statistics

• Enrollment: 1,191
  

  Soon-to-be Graduates of Cornell College
• Male/Female: 45/55
• In-state/Out-of-state: 20/80
• International: 4.95%

Notable alumni

• John Q. Tufts late 19th century — Congressman from Iowa's 2nd Congressional district (1875–1877)
• Leslie M. Shaw 1874 — Governor of Iowa, U.S. Secretary of Treasury
• Robert Cousins 1881 — U.S. Congressman from Iowa (1893–1909)
• William Wallace McCredie 1885 — Judge, U.S. Congressman from Washington (1909–1911) and Baseball Executive
• Burton E. Sweet 1895 — U.S. Congressman from Iowa (1915–1923) and unsuccessful Senate Candidate (1922, 1924)
• Lester J. Dickinson 1898 — U.S. Congressman (1919–1931) and Senator from Iowa (1931–1937)
• Walter Thornton 1899 — Major League Baseball player
• Erwin Kempton Mapes 1909 — renowned scholar of Spanish-American Literature
• Lee Alvin DuBridge 1922 — President of the California Institute of Technology, science advisor to U.S. President Richard Nixon
• Hubert Stanley Wall 1924 — mathematician
• Orin D. Haugen 1925 - Colonel in the United States Army during World War II
• Leo Beranek 1936 — Co-founder of Bolt, Beranek and Newman
• James Daly 1941 — Emmy Award-winning actor
• Maryann Mahaffey 1946 — Detroit City Council member
• Don E. Fehrenbacher 1948 — Pulitzer Prize for History winner
• Dale O. Thomas 1948 — Wrestler and coach
• Grimes Poznikov 1969 - street performer in San Francisco, California
• David Hilmers 1972 — NASA astronaut and medical doctor
• Rob Ash 1973 — Head football coach at Montana State University
• Michael J. Graham 1975 — President of Xavier University
• Chris Carney 1981 — Congressman from Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional district
• Jack Norris 1989 - President and co-founder of Vegan Outreach
• Deb Mell 1990 — member of Illinois House of Representatives
• Harper Reed 2001 — CTO of Obama for America 2012 campaign

Notable faculty

• Joseph M. Bachelor — author
• Glenn Cunningham — Silver Medalist 1500 meters run, 1936 Olympics
• Robert Dana — Poet Laureate of Iowa
• Charles Wesley Flint, President (1915–1922), Methodist bishop
• Bruce Frohnen — academic
• Leroy Lamis — American sculptor
• Jim Leach — former Republican congressman, taught as a visiting professor.
• David Loebsack — Congressman from Iowa's 2nd District

Notable staff

• Lisa Stone — Head Coach, Saint Louis University Women's Basketball

Notes

1. ^{1 endowment} As of June 30, 2013. Page 44.
2. ^{2 enrollment}

External links

• Official website
• Official athletics website
• 2002 article about the Cornell-Coe rivalry