Video Focuses on History of Highland Park College

 

The Des Moines, Iowa Historical Society offers a very interesting presentation on their YouTube channel focusing on the history of Highland Park College. This has been researched and presented by L.M. Elm who also maintains a blog College on the North Side that includes photos and links to Highland Park yearbooks. The presenter lays out a story common to many institutions founded across the midwest.

Iowa Wesleyan University Announces Closure

Iowa Wesleyan University’s Board of Trustees announced its unanimous decision to close the university at the end of this academic year. The Board indicated that the decision was based on increased operating costs due to inflationary pressures, changing enrollment trends, and a significant drop in philanthropic giving.

Iowa Wesleyan was founding in Mt. Pleasant, IA as Mount Pleasant Literary Institute in 1842. The name changed to Mount Pleasant Collegiate Institute in 1843 and to Iowa Wesleyan University in 1855. The name changed to Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912 and back to Iowa Wesleyan University in May 2015. Read more about historical details on the IWU History page.

You can read more in "Iowa Wesleyan University closing after 181 years," with reporting by Vanessa Miller for The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, IA or "Iowa Wesleyan University outlines reasons for closing down at the end of academic year," posted by WQAD-TV of Moline, IL with reporting by Hollie Knepper.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers, and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Southeastern Community College Celebrates Centennial

Southeastern Community College is celebrating its centennial this fall. The institution was founded in 1920 as Burlington Junior College in Burlington, Iowa. BJC merged with Keokuk Junior College in 1966 and moved to West Burlington, IA to form what is now Southeastern Community College. Centennial activities were delayed from 2020 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

You can read more in The Hawk Eye, "Southeastern Community College holds ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new additions as it celebrates 100-year anniversary" published September 21, 2021 with reporting by Brad Vidmar.

Visit the SCC 100th anniversary page to find alumni stories and a timeline of significant institutional events. 

Faith Baptist Bible College Celebrates Centennial

Faith Baptist Bible College & Theological Seminary is celebrating the centennial of its founding this year. 

The centennial web page includes planned events, a timeline, names of presidents, and several historic photographs.

The institution was founded as Omaha Bible Institute in 1921 and is now located in Ankeny, Iowa.

Omaha Bible Institute changed its name to Omaha Baptist Bible Institute in 1953 and was affiliated with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. 

The institution changed its name to Omaha Baptist Bible College in 1960 and moved to Ankeny in 1967 as Faith Baptist Bible College.

Morningside College Announces Name Change

Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa announced this past week that it will change its name to Morningside University in June 2020.

You can read more about the change in a post by RadioIowa on November 13, 2020, "Morningside College to undergo name change June 1."

Morningside recently celebrated the 125th anniversary of its founding in 1894. It was affiliated with the Northwest Iowa Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Classes start in the fall of 1895 after the college purchased what is known today as Charles City College Hall.

Morningside College Prepares for 125th Anniversary

KSCJ radio in Sioux City posted several short audio clips of students describing contents of a time capsule prepared as part of 125th anniversary activities, "Morningside College Seniors Make Time Capsule for Class of 2044."

Morningside College was founded on December 5, 1894 and was affiliated with the Northwest Iowa Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Classes start in the fall of 1895 after the college purchased what is known today as Charles City College Hall.  The college currently enrolls 2,788 students.

You can learn more about the institution's history by viewing "Morningside College: 125th Anniversary Commemorative Video" posted on YouTube.

The college bookstore is also offering a new history, Morningside College at 125, written by Tim Orwig.

Vatterott College Closes

Celeste Bott of the St. Louis Post Dispatch in "Vatterott immediately closes all campuses" and Wes Johnson of the Springfield (MO) News-Leader in "All Vatterott College campuses - including Springfield's - suddenly close Monday," are reporting on the immediate closure of Vatterott Educational Centers, Inc. Vatterott was a for-profit institution and with academic programs in culinary arts, automotive trades, and allied health fields. The company with roughly 950 employees, is headquartered in Olivett, MO.  Letters to students and employees are posted on the Vatterott College web site.

Vatterott campuses were located in seven states and enrolled just over 3,500 students. Vatterott College was initially founded in 1969 in St. Louis, MO as Urban Technical Centers, Inc.  It later operated as Vatterott & Sullivan Educational Center and Vatterott Educational Centers before adopting the name of Vatterott College in 1989.

Campus	City	State	Enrollment
Vatterott College-Appling Farms	Memphis	Tennessee	255
Vatterott College-Berkeley	Berkeley	Missouri	545
Vatterott College-Cleveland	Broadview Heights	Ohio	117
Vatterott College-Des Moines	Des Moines	Iowa	34
Vatterott College-Dividend	Memphis	Tennessee	689
Vatterott College-ex'treme Institute by Nelly	St. Louis	Missouri	245
Vatterott College-Fairview Heights	Fairview Heights	Illinois	238
Vatterott College-Joplin	Joplin	Missouri	140
Vatterott College-Kansas City	Kansas City	Missouri	260
Vatterott College-Oklahoma City	Warr Acres	Oklahoma	108
Vatterott College-Quincy	Quincy	Illinois	94
Vatterott College-Springfield	Springfield	Missouri	162
Vatterott College-St Charles	St Charles	Missouri	220
Vatterott College-Sunset Hills	Sunset Hills	Missouri	316
Vatterott College-Tulsa	Tulsa	Oklahoma	88
Vatterott College-Wichita	Wichita	Kansas	46
		Total	3,557

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Book of Knowledge: Graceland From A to Z...

Graceland University in Lamoni, IA offers The Graceland College Book of Knowledge as a fascinating historical resource that can be downloaded as a .pdf from their website.  While the book hasn't been updated since its publication, I think the format serves as an interesting model for others anticipating a similar project at another institution.  It is also a testament to the difficulty in preserving and maintaining history of small colleges when resources are limited....and as a result, the book reflects a special labor of love.

David Goehner is the author of the work published in 1997 and was an outgrowth of centennial preparations a few years earlier.  Goehner found a three-ring binder in his office when he started at Graceland that included mimeographed pages of historical information initially compiled by a Lambda Delta Sigma Society during the 1940 academic year.  The work of this student group and then been updated by college librarian Cleo Hawthorne Moon in 1945.  The work then served during the intervening years as a reference source when various questions arose.

Information is organized like an encyclopedia beginning with Aaron C. Engle Ceramics Award in section A and concluding with the Z.I.P. Club, a men's social group.  The book also includes campus maps, commencement speakers, famous visitors, faculty, presidents, and members of the Board of Trustees.

Goehner also gives credit to earlier histories of Graceland that were used as references for his update: Roy Cheville's history of Graceland's first fifty years, Through The West Door, and Paul M. Edwards' update of the college’s history to the 75th anniversary, The Hilltop Where.

Graceland College changed its name to Graceland University in 2000.

If you are aware of similar resources on your campus or at an institution with which you are familiar, consider leaving a url as a comment below. 

Dordt College Announces Name Change

Dordt College announced this week that it will change its name to Dordt University in May 2019.  The college website offers a short video with president Erik Hoekstra and a page of frequently asked questions.

The institution located in Sioux Center, Iowa and affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church was founded in 1953 as Midwest Christian Junior College. The name changed to Dordt College in 1956.

WNAX radio offers a short audio segment reporting on the name change.

Iowa Wesleyan University Celebrates 175 Years

Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant, IA is celebrating its 175th anniversary.  An article covering the Founders Day celebration by Brooks Taylor, "Let the party continue: Iowa Wesleyan University reflects on 175 years, looks toward the future," was published in the Mt. Pleasant News on February 20, 2017.

Iowa Wesleyan was founded in 1842 and assumed the name of Mount Pleasant Collegiate Institute in 1843.  The name changed to Iowa Wesleyan University in 1855 and then to Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912.  The name changed again to Iowa Wesleyan University in 2015.

Colorado Heights University will be Closing

The Denver Post reported today that Colorado Heights University will be closing.  The Denver Business Journal published an article yesterday, "University housed in historic Loretto Heights campus to close."  There is also a statement on the institution's web site with links to additional information.

The institution opened in 1989 as Teikyo Loretto Heights University on the campus of the former Loretto Heights College.  The institution changed its name to Colorado Heights University in 2009.  Roughly 130 students were enrolled in degree programs.  There were also several hundred international students participating in various English-as-a-second-language programs.

The Teikyo Universities Group, a Japanese foundation, affiliated with Teikyo University, has operated several other institutions in the United States:  

• Salem Teikyo University (now Salem International University) in Salem, West Virginia.
• Teikyo-Westmar University, later Westmar University, in Le Mars, Iowa, that closed in 1995.
• Teikyo-Marycrest University, later, Marycrest International University, that closed in 2002, in Davenport, Iowa.
• Teikyo Post University (now Post University) in Waterbury, Connecticut.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit and for-profit closures.  Each tab includes basic information for each institution, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

History of Charles City Hall at Morningside College

Tim Gallagher provides a historical sketch in the Sioux City Journal, "Charles City Hall links three colleges."  The building was initially constructed to house the University of the Northwest that operated in Sioux City from 1890-1894.  The building is named for Charles City College that was founded by German Methodists in Charles City, Iowa.  Charles City College closed and merged with Morningside College in 1914.

Campus History at Cornell College

Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa posted a press release highlighting a summer research project by two students.  The project involves research in the college archives to identify items related to ten historic buildings that can be used for an online tour of the campus.  The post includes a short video on the project that includes interviews with Brad Kane ’18, Hannah Robertson ’18 and their professor, Catherine Stewart.  The Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission and the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group are also partners on the project.

Commemorating a Tragic Fire at Penn College

Wilcox Library of William Penn University in Oskaloosa, IA posted several fascinating sets of photos yesterday on Fb commemorating a fire May 27, 1916 that destroyed the Old Main of what was then Penn College. The library's posts include images of telegrams of support from around the country, newspaper articles with reports of the fire and the cleanup. College business manager Robert Williams and student Harry Oakley lost their lives when walls collapsed.

The posts note that Old Main was constructed in three phases with the first west wing section funded by the Iowa Union College Association of Friends and completed in 1873. The central wing was completed in 1877 and funded by the Quakers. The third and final east wing was completed in 1890 and funded by the citizens of Oskaloosa, Iowa.

AIB College of Business and Kilian Community College hold final Commencements

Kilian Community College in Sioux Falls, SD and AIB College of Business in Des Moines, IA held their last commencements this past week.  Kilian had previously announced its closure in November, 2015.  

AIB's closure was announced in January 2015.  AIB's campus will become a shared higher education center serving students in Iowa's capital city.

Retirement of Willard Lee "Sandy" Boyd Jr. at the University of Iowa

Iowa Now offers an interesting article marking the retirement of Willard Lee "Sandy" Boyd Jr.  He joined the University of Iowa faculty in 1954 and served as the 15th president from 1969-1981.  He then served as president of the Field Museum in Chicago before returning to the university as a professor in 1996.  The article includes a number of historical photographs and recaps significant changes in the campus during his years of service.

125th Anniversary for Buena Vista University

Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa is celebrating its 125th anniversary.  The institution was founded in 1891 as Buena Vista College and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.

Waldorf Colleges Announces Name Change to Waldorf University

Waldorf College announced that it will be changing its name to Waldorf University on March 17, 2016.  Waldorf is located in Forest City, IA and was founded in 1903.

Iowa Wesleyan changed its name to Iowa Wesleyan University

Apologies for a delayed note...I must have been sleeping at my post last year!!  Iowa Wesleyan changed its name to Iowa Wesleyan University effective August 2015.  The institution is located in Mount Pleasant, IA.  It was founded in 1842 and assumed the name of Mount Pleasant Collegiate Institute in 1843.  The name changed to Iowa Wesleyan University in 1855 and then to Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912.

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