Cornell College

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Cornell College

Motto: DEUS ET HUMANITAS (God and Humanity)
Established: 1853
Type: Private
Endowment: $68.7 Million[1]
President: Leslie H. Garner, Jr.
Faculty: 119
Undergraduates: 1,155[2]
Location: Mount Vernon, Iowa, USA
Campus: rural, 129 acres (522,044 m²)
Colors: Purple & White
Nickname: Rams
Affiliations: United Methodist Church
Website: cornellcollege.edu
This article is about the liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. For the unaffiliated Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York, see Cornell University.

Cornell College is a selective 1,200-student 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).

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[edit] Overview

Cornell students study one course at a time (abbreviated to "OCAAT" or "the block plan"). Since 1978, school years have been divided into nine "blocks" of three-and-a-half weeks each (each 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. Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Quest University in Garibaldi Highlands, BC, Canada; Tusculum College in Tusculum, Tennessee; and The University of Montana - Western are the only other colleges operating under this academic calendar.

From the very beginning, Cornell has accepted women into all degree programs. In 1858, Cornell was the first college west of the Mississippi to grant a baccalaureate degree to a woman. Mary Fellows, a member of the first graduating class from Cornell College, 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.

Cornell College is listed as one of the Princeton Review's Best 357 Colleges and in Loren Pope's, Colleges That Change Lives.

King Chapel, Cornell College
King Chapel, Cornell College

[edit] Athletics

Cornell College fields 19 intercollegiate athletic teams, all of which compete in NCAA Division III sports. It is a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

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. Thirty Cornell wrestlers have been named All-Americans, and seven have been elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

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 tenth among 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.

[edit] Academic Statistics

  • Average GPA: 3.53
  • Average ACT: 26
  • Student Faculty Ratio: 11:1
  • Most Popular Majors: Economics, English, Psychology
  • Average Class size: 15 students
  • Maximum Class size: 25 students
  • Number of TAs: 0

[edit] Student Statistics

  • Enrollment: 1,115
  • Male/Female: 47/53
  • In-state/Out-of-state: 31/69

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Notable faculty

[edit] Notable staff

  • Matt Hoover -- Second season winner of NBC's "The Biggest Loser"
  • Lisa Stone -- Head Coach, University of Wisconsin Women's Basketball

[edit] Lecturers, speakers, and performers

Despite Cornell's small size and location in a small town, many nationally and internationally prominent speakers and performers have visited Cornell, including the following:

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. 1 endowment  The Power of Endowment. Cornell College. Retrieved on April 8, 2006.
  2. 2 enrollment  Cornell College at a Glance. U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved on April 8, 2006.

Coordinates: 41°55′34″N, 91°25′33″W

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