Buena Vista University

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Buena Vista University


Established	1891
Type	Private coeducational
President	Frederick V. Moore
Staff	61
Undergraduates	Storm lake 1,214 Centers students 1,378 Total 2,592
Postgraduates	69
Location	Storm Lake, Iowa, USA
Campus	Rural, 60 acres (0.25 km²)
Colors	Navy blue and gold
Mascot	Beavers
Website	www.bvu.edu

Buena Vista University is a private 4-year liberal arts college located in Storm Lake, Iowa. Founded in 1891 as Buena Vista College, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. At its inception, the college was housed in the Storm Lake Opera House, where it remained for only a year. Old Main, the college's first building, opened in 1892, and was occupied by faculty and students until it burned down in 1956. Major construction projects in the 1950s and 1960s extended the college, which soon included three dormitories, a library, and a number of classroom buildings.

The college gained accreditation in 1952, and began to grant degrees under the authority of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The first graduate degrees were offered in 1995, at which time the college became Buena Vista University.

The main campus of Buena Vista University serves approximately 1,200 students each academic year, and currently offers classes in 42 majors. 14 additional Centers located throughout Iowa serve about 1,400 students. The university was ranked in the top 20 Midwestern Comprehensive Colleges, as reported by U.S.News and World Report's college rankings.

1 Residence Life
2 Notable Alumni
3 eBVyou
4 External link

[edit] Residence Life

The university has eight residence halls and four cottages available for student living. All students, unless they are married, have children, over the age of 25, or are veterans, must live in university housing for all four years in college. Each residence hall is open during daylight hours, but are only accessible by electronic ID cards after dark.

Swope Hall The first residence hall built on campus, it is an all-female hall and has single and double occupancy rooms available. There are 10 housing communities, each with a resident advisor available for help.

Pierce-White Hall It is a double complex, comprised of two buildings. White hall is a co-ed building, with the basement housing male residents, and the top two floors housing female residents. The first floor fluctuates between having male and female residents to accommodate the make up of the student body. Pierce Hall is an all-male hall. Both Pierce and White have three floors and a basement and have 7 housing communities, each with a resident advisor available for help. The buildings share a common lobby and are connected underground with the Forum, the main building on campus.

Grand Hall Built in 1997, Grand Hall is a co-ed community with three floors. The building houses 100 students, including six resident advisors. The floors are separated into males and females and are connected by internal doors. Grand Hall was the first residence hall on campus to have an elevator. The building is 50 percent male and 50 percent females and 25 percent each class.

Liberty Hall Finished in 2002, Liberty Hall is a voluntary substance-free building, built with similar design to Grand Hall. There is space, however for a faculty member to live in the building, creating a unique sense of community. Residents choosing to live in Liberty Hall sign a pledge form to not partake in drinking alcohol or smoking and chewing tobacco while on building premises.

The Suites The suites are apartment-style living quarters that group six female or six male residents in a suite in three bedrooms. There are three suite buildings, Constitution, Briscoe (renamed from Heritage Hall after former college president, Keith Briscoe) and McCorkle. Entrance in the suites is reserved for sophomores, juniors and seniors and is based on a point system made up of points assigned for the student's year and grade point average and seniority in the suites.

Cottages There are four cottages located on the southeast side of campus reserved for special interest housing. Groups ranging from four to eight members apply to live in the cottages and have a special interest they are trying to promote, such as health and wellness.

[edit] Notable Alumni

Carlos Martinez
Rosemary Sackett, chief judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals
Bradley Laborman (birth name:Workman), TV Show/Web host
Benjamin Mordecai, broadway producer
Joel West (actor)

[edit] eBVyou

The eBVyou project made Buena Vista University the nation's first wireless community in the nation. The initiative, which was started in 2000, placed Gateway laptop computers in every student's hands, allowing them access to the internet from anywhere on campus. The campus is equipped with wireless points in every building, which link students, faculty and staff together at any time.

Every two years, all laptops are upgraded to a better, more functional model. So far, only Gateway models have been utilized, but bids from IBM and Dell have been entertained but declined.