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Wartburg College

Coordinates: 42°43′45″N 92°28′55″W / 42.72911°N 92.48197°W / 42.72911; -92.48197
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Wartburg College
File:Wartburgcollegelogo.png
MottoBe Orange
TypePrivate
Established1852
Endowment$33 Million
PresidentDarrel D. Colson
Academic staff
150
Undergraduates1,775
Location
Waverly, Iowa and
Denver, Colorado
Campusrural, 118 acres (47.75 ha)
ColorsOrange & Black    
NicknameKnights
AffiliationsEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
Websitewartburg.edu

Wartburg College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg West is in Denver, Colorado.

The most popular programs of study at Wartburg are, (in order): business administration, biology, communication arts, elementary education, and psychology [citation needed]. Wartburg's social work program is the oldest undergraduate program of its kind in Iowa. Wartburg is the only private college in Iowa offering a music therapy major. The college is highly competitive and has an 89 percent medical school placement rate and a 100 percent placement rate in other fields of medicine.

In 2007 US News and World Report rated Wartburg College 6th for academic excellence among Midwestern comprehensive colleges which primarily award bachelor's degrees, and 2nd in terms of "bang for the buck" (i.e. best value when tuition costs, scholarship aid, and academics are compared).

History

Wartburg College was founded in 1852 in Saginaw, Michigan, by Georg M. Grossman, a native of Neuendettelsau, Bavaria. Grossmann was sent by Pastor Wilhelm Löhe to establish a teacher training school for German immigrants. The location of the college moved many times between Illinois and Iowa until permanently settling in Waverly in 1935. Also in 1935 St. Paul (Phalen) Luther College of Saint Paul, Minnesota merge into Wartburg College.

The longstanding rivalry between Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and Wartburg College has produced colorful moments over several years. The origins of the rivalry are vague. Stories of pranks date back to the 1940s. The rivalry has, for the most part, been characterized by fun and good sportsmanship. The rivalry rose to new heights in October 1996, when two clever Wartburg cross-country runners rented a light plane, flew to Decorah, and dropped leaflets on the Luther campus. The incident was reported in every major newspaper in Iowa, got national mention on the Fox network and made Rolling Stone magazine's list of the most memorable college pranks of the 1996-1997 year. The creativity in the rivalry continued when student staff members of the college radio station, KWAR, secretly entered a float in the Luther College Homecoming Parade. The staff members decorated the float as an environmental club - the Organization of Nature Enthusiasts - from Luther College. In front of judges stand, the float quickly changed colors from blue and white to orange and black. The float continued all the way through town and onto Luther's campus, with numerous Wartburg students joining the procession from the crowd as the parade passed them.[1]

The college is named after Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany, where Martin Luther was protected during the stormy days of the Reformation. Student and alumni groups often travel to the castle, and the Wartburg Choir has performed in the castle several times. Waverly and Eisenach are sister cities, and they often swap foreign exchange students. The college is proud of its German heritage, and celebrates an annual student-declared one-day holiday Outfly,[2] a deliberately mistaken translation of the German noun Ausflug. Another German element of campus life is the stone inscription on the Chapel: "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott", which English-speaking Lutherans sing as A Mighty Fortress is Our God.

Campus buildings are named after places and people in Wartburg's history, including Grossmann, Luther, Saginaw, Galena, etc. The college is nearing the end of a long-term effort to unify the architectural appearance of the campus, with new music, library, stadium, cafeteria, and science buildings over the past 15 years. An array of skywalks and building corridors now allows students to walk from one end of campus to the other without having to go outside.

In 2008 the new Wartburg-Waverly Sports and Wellness Center, an indoor athletic complex co-sponsored by the city of Waverly, opened. The new center includes a performance arena, an indoor track, and natatorium. It replaces Knights Gymnasium, the longtime home of Wartburg Basketball and Volleyball, as well as the Physical Education Center which formerly adjoined the old gym.

Tuition and finances

The total cost of attendance at Wartburg is approximately $39,110 annually (2011–12). However, there are a number of scholarships available to exceptional prospective students.

  • Regents and Presidential Scholarships up to full tuition
  • McElroy Scholarship / Slife Scholarship up to full tuition
  • Meistersinger Music Scholarship up to $5,000 per year
  • Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship $3,000 per year for two years
    • Awarded to transfer students who are active members of Phi Theta Kappa at a two-year institution. You must be accepted for admission and complete a scholarship application, have a minimum 3.3 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale, and have completed at least 30 semester hours of transfer credit by March 1.
  • John Deere Credit Scholarship up to $2,250 per year
    • Awarded to ethnic minority students from Des Moines public schools with a minimum ACT composite score of 19, rank in top half of graduating class and GPA of 3.0. Students who meet the criteria for the scholarship need to submit the scholarship application and complete an interview.
  • International & Overseas American Student Scholarships amounts vary
    • Awarded to international and overseas Americans based on merit.
  • Tuition Exchange Program for Imports full tuition
    • Dependents of employees at other higher education institutions may qualify for the tuition exchange program.
  • Cedar Valley Science Symposium Scholarship up to $1,500 per year
    • Offered each fall as a part of the Cedar Valley Science Symposium at Wartburg. For first-year students on the basis of participation in the Cedar Valley Science Symposium. Not based on financial need. Contact the college by the end of September for information.
  • Communication Arts/Studies Scholarship up to $1,000 per year
    • Offered each year as a part of the Wartburg/IBA Summer Workshop and SCJ Media Day. For first-year students declaring a communication arts or studies major and demonstrate communication proficiency.
  • Americorps Matching Grant (PDF)
    • Matches up to 50 percent of the AmeriCorps Education Award for students who meet selection criteria.
  • Education Partners in Covenant (EPIC) up to $750 per year
    • For members of participating congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A matching funds program between the congregation and the college. Not based on financial need. Wartburg matches up to $750 per academic year.
  • National Merit Finalist Scholarship $2,000 per year
    • Awarded to first-year students who list Wartburg as their first choice with the National Merit Corporation and are selected as finalists.

Famous alumni

Presidents of Wartburg

  • Georg M. Grossman 1852-1868
  • John Klindworth 1868-1875
  • Georg Grossmann 1878-1894
  • Friedrich Lutz 1894-1905
  • Gerhard Bergstraesser 1905-1909
  • Friedrich Richter 1894-1899 (Clinton IA)
  • Otto Kraushaar 1899-1907 (Clinton IA)
  • John Fritschel 1907-1919 (Clinton IA)
  • Otto Proehl 1919-1935 (Clinton IA)
  • August Engelbrecht 1909-1933
  • Edward J. Braulick 1935-1945
  • Conrad Becker 1945-1964
  • John Bachman 1964-1974
  • William Jellema 1974-1980
  • Robert L. Vogel 1980-1998
  • Jack R. Ohle 1998-2008
  • William Hamm 2008-2009 (Interim)
  • Darrel Colson 2009–Present

Locations

Wartburg College has moved many times throughout its history:[3]

References

  1. ^ D3football.com - Midwest Region Notes by Don Stoner
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Wartburg College, Locations

42°43′45″N 92°28′55″W / 42.72911°N 92.48197°W / 42.72911; -92.48197

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