Grinnell College

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Grinnell College is a private, highly selective liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States with a strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of transplanted New England Congregationalists formed the Trustees of Iowa College. It is ranked eleventh of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation by US News & World Report, and received the "Best All-Around" college rating from Newsweek magazine in 2004. Grinnell's endowment is the second largest of any liberal arts college.

History

In 1843 eleven Congregational ministers, all of whom trained at Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, set out to proselytize on the frontier. Each man pledged to gather a church and together the group or band would seek to establish a college. When the group arrived in Iowa later that year, each selected a different town in which to establish a congregation. In 1846 they collectively established Iowa College in Davenport. A few months later, Iowa joined the Union.

The first 25 years of Grinnell's history saw a change in name and location. Iowa College moved farther west from Davenport, Iowa, to the town of Grinnell and unofficially adopted the name of its new benefactor: an abolitionist minister, Josiah Bushnell Grinnell. The name of the corporation "The Trustees of Iowa College" remained, but in 1909 the name "Grinnell College" was adopted by the trustees for the institution itself.

In its early years, the College experienced setbacks. Although two students received bachelor of arts degrees in 1854 (the first to be granted by a college west of the Mississippi River), within 10 years the Civil War had claimed most of Grinnell's students and professors. In the decade following the war, growth resumed: women were officially admitted as candidates for degrees, and the curriculum was enlarged to include then-new areas of academic studies, such as natural sciences with laboratory work.

In 1882, Grinnell College was struck by a tornado — then called a cyclone, after which the college yearbook was named. The storm devastated the campus and destroyed both College buildings. Rebuilding began immediately, and the determination to expand wasn't limited to architecture: the curriculum was again extended to include departments in political science (the first in the United States) and modern languages.

Grinnell became known as the center of the Social Gospel reform movement, as Robert Handy writes, "The movement centered on the campus of Iowa (now Grinnell) College. Its leading figures were Professor George D. Herron and President George A. Gates" . Other firsts pointed to the lighter side of college life: the first intercollegiate football and baseball games west of the Mississippi were played in Grinnell, and the home teams won.

As the 20th century began, Grinnell established a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, introduced the departmental "major" system of study, began Grinnell-in-China (an educational mission that lasted until the Japanese invasion and resumed in 1987), and built a women's residence hall system that became a national model. The social consciousness fostered at Grinnell during these years became evident during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, when Grinnell graduates Harry Hopkins '12, Chester Davis '11, Paul Appleby '13, Hallie Flanagan '11, and Florence Kerr '12 became influential New Deal administrators.

Concern with social issues, educational innovation, and individual expression continue to shape Grinnell. As an example, the school’s "5th year travel-service program," preceded the establishment of the Peace Corps by many years. Other recent innovations include first-year tutorials, cooperative pre-professional programs, and comprehensive programs in quantitative studies and the societal impacts of technology globally.

Academics

A Grinnell education is anchored in active learning that occurs in one-on-one interactions between faculty members and students. Recent data place Grinnell at No. 9 of all U.S. institutions (includes both universities and colleges) for the proportion of graduates who go on to earn Ph.D. degrees and No. 15 for graduating female Ph.D. earners.

Grinnell's open curriculum encourages students to take initiative and assume responsibility for their own courses of study, developed under the guidance of a faculty adviser. Outside of the First-Year Tutorial (a one-semester special topics seminar that stresses methods of inquiry, critical analysis, and writing skills), there are no core requirements. To graduate, students are expected to complete at least 32 credits in a major field and a total of 124 credits of academic work, with no more than 48 credits in one department and no more than 92 credits in one division. In the humanities, arts, and social and natural sciences at Grinnell, students have opportunities to conduct original research and undertake advanced study through independent and interdisciplinary projects that foster intellectual discovery.

Grinnell has twenty-six major departments and ten interdisciplinary concentrations. Popular majors include Biology, History, English, Political Science, and Economics. Over half of the student body studies abroad. Grinnell has a campus in London, Grinnell-in-London, as well as Grinnell-in-Washington D.C.

Grinnell’s commitment to the importance of off-campus study reflects the school’s emphasis on social and political awareness and the international nature of its campus. Approximately 60 percent of all Grinnell students participate in more than seventy off-campus programs, including the Grinnell-in-London program and study tours of China, France, Greece, and Russia. These study programs in Europe (including Russia), Africa, the Near East, and Asia, as well as nine programs in Central and South America, provide the opportunity for research in many disciplines, from archeology to education to mathematics. In addition to off-campus programs, Grinnell offers internship programs in such areas as urban studies, art, and marine biology for students interested in field-based learning and experience in professional settings. Second- and third-year students may apply for summer internship grants and receive credit for the experience. Semester programs in the United States include those at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Newberry Library, National Theatre Institute, and Grinnell-in-Washington, D.C.

Intensive teaching, active learning, residence in a community of cultural and global diversity, and the institution's commitment to self-governance in both social and academic life--these elements come together to form a distinctive experience of liberal education.

Despite the growing trend of U.S. students taking five or more years to finish an undergraduate degree, Grinnell College is strongly oriented towards students being enrolled full time in exactly eight consecutive semesters at the college, although exceptions are available for medical issues and other emergencies. To avoid being suspended from the college, students must make "normal progress towards graduation." This generally means that the student must take at least 12 credits of classes in each individual semester, with grades of a C or better. A student who is not making normal progress towards graduation is placed on academic probation and may be dismissed from the college.

Tuition and financial aid

Grinnell's combined tuition, room, board, and fees for the 2007-2008 academic year is $42,422. Tuition and fees are $34,392 and room and board are $8,030. Grinnell offers a significant amount of merit-based aid in comparison with peer institutions with about 90% of students receiving some form of financial aid. The average financial aid package is over $26,000.

Grinnell College is one of a few dozen US colleges that maintain need-blind admissions and meets the full demonstrated financial need of all U.S. residents who are admitted to the college.

With the first-year students enrolled in the 2006-2007 school year, Grinnell has ended its need-blind admissions policy for international applicants. Under the old policy, students from countries outside the U.S. were admitted without any consideration of their ability to afford four years of study at the college. However, financial aid offers to these students were limited to half the cost of tuition. International students frequently carried very high workloads in an effort to pay the bills, and their academic performance often suffered. Under the new "need-sensitive" or "need-aware" policy, international students whose demonstrated financial needs can be met are given a slight admissions edge over applicants who can't. The twin hopes are that the enrolled international students will be able to dedicate more energy to their schoolwork, and also that this will ultimately allow the college to provide higher tuition grants to international students.

Athletics

The school's varsity sports teams are named the Pioneers. They participate in eighteen intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division III level and in the Midwest Conference. In addition, Grinnell has several club sports teams that compete in non-varsity sports such as Water Polo, Ultimate Frisbee and Rugby Union The Water Polo club team, the Wild Turkeys, went runners-up in the 2007 Division III Collegiate National Club Championships organized by the CWPA in Lindenwood College, St. Louis.

Nearly one-third of recent Grinnell graduates participated in at least one of 20 varsity sports while attending the college and the college has led the Midwest Conference in the total number of Academic All-Conference honorees in last six years.

In February 2005, Grinnell became the first Division III school featured in a regular season basketball game by the ESPN network family in 30 years, when it faced off against the Beloit Buccaneers on ESPN 2. Grinnell was narrowly defeated 86 to 85. Grinnell College's basketball team attracted ESPN due to the team's unique style of playing basketball, known simply as "The System." Coach David Arseneault's "system" incorporates a continual full-court press, a fast-paced offense, an emphasis on offensive rebounding, a barrage of three-point shots and substitutions of five players at a time every 35 to 40 seconds. "The System" has been criticized for not teaching the principles of defense. However, under "The System," Grinnell has won three conference championships over the past ten years and have regularly placed in the top half of the conference. Coach Arseneault's teams have set numerous NCAA scoring records and several individuals on the Grinnell team have led the nation in scoring or assists.

Campus

Grinnell College is located in the town of Grinnell, Iowa, halfway between Des Moines and Iowa City. The 120-acre campus contains sixty-three buildings ranging in architectural style from Collegiate Gothic to Bauhaus. The residential part of campus is divided into three sections: North Campus, East Campus, and South Campus. Each campus's dormitories, modeled explicitly after the residential colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, are connected by a loggia, an architectural signature of the college.

The college maintains a 365-acre environmental research area called the Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA). The U.S. Green Building Council awarded CERA's Environmental Education Center a gold certification. The building is the first in Iowa to receive the designation.

Many building projects have been undertaken in recent years at the College including a new athletics center, the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, the renovation of the Robert Noyce '49 Science Center and the Joe Rosenfield '25 Student Center. Noted architect César Pelli designed the athletics center, the Joe Rosenfield Student '25 Center, and the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts.

Social activities and organizations

The organizational structure of the Student Government Association, wielding a yearly budget of over $360,000 and unusually strong administrative influence, covers almost all aspects of student activity and campus life. There are no sororities or fraternities.

Service organizations are popular. The Alternative Break ("AltBreak") program takes students to pursue service initiatives during school holidays, and as of 2005, Grinnell had more alumni per capita serving in the Peace Corps than any other college in the nation. The college also runs its own post-graduation service program known as Grinnell Corps in Grinnell, China, Namibia, Lesotho, Greece, Macau, Nepal, and New Orleans though the Nepal program is currently suspended for safety reasons.

The Scarlet and Black is the campus newspaper and KDIC (88.5 FM) is the student-run radio station.

Endowment

Grinnell's $1.72 billion endowment- the largest among the nation's liberal arts colleges- is evident in the college's facilities, art collections, and generous financial aid programs. Under the stewardship of Warren Buffett and Joseph Rosenfield, the college has adopted an opportunistic and innovative stategy in managing its assets. In 1976, Grinnell's capital fund acquired a TV station, one of many investments that were unprecedented in their time for a college endowment. Another innovative move that significantly grew the endowment occurred when Rosenfield and the college contributed to the founding of Intel- an investment exceeding 10% of the venture capital raised to start the semiconductor company (Robert Noyce, Intel co-founder, is a Grinnell alumnus.)

Since the late 1960's, Warren Buffett has played a visible role in growing the endowment at Grinnell, where he serves as a life trustee.

Notable alumni

Harry Hopkins, 1912, senior advisor to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, principal architect of the New Deal, WPA administrator.

Joseph Welch, 1914, Head attorney for the United States Army during the Army-McCarthy Hearings.

Robert Noyce, 1949, nicknamed "Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founder of Intel, co-inventor of the integrated circuit.

Herbie Hancock, 1960, Jazz musician and composer who has won an Academy Award and multiple Grammy Awards, member of Miles Davis's "second great quintet".

John Garang, 1969, leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, later vice president of Sudan.

Thomas Cech, 1970, Co-winner of 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry ``for [...] discovery of catalytic properties of RNA'', president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Virtual communities and social networking websites

GrinnellPlans is a virtual community consisting of 3,809 members as of January 8, 2008. Most members are current students or alumni, but faculty, staff members, and (by invitation) other friends of the College have also joined.

In 2003, Information Technology at Grinnell College ordered that GrinnellPlans not be hosted on Grinnell College property because of the College's concerns regarding possibly illegal content on the system. GrinnellPlans moved to an off-campus host. It is supported through user donations and is not affiliated with Grinnell College.

References

External links

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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 17:07:33 PDT (GMT -0700)
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