Grinnell College: A Legacy of Liberal Arts Education
Grinnell College, a private liberal arts college located in Grinnell, Iowa, boasts a rich history and a commitment to providing students with an exceptional education. Originally founded as Iowa College in 1846 by Congregationalists from New England, Grinnell has evolved into a nationally recognized institution known for its open curriculum, social consciousness, and dedication to individual expression. The college's motto, "Veritas et Humanitas" (Truth and Humanity), reflects its core values and its mission to educate students who will contribute to the betterment of society.
Historical Overview
In 1843, eleven Congregational ministers, all of whom trained at Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, set out to preach on the frontier. The college's early years were marked by significant changes, including a change in name and location. Initially located in Davenport, Iowa College faced conflicts with the city council due to its stance against slavery and saloons. In response, the city council constructed roads that transected the campus. This led to the college's relocation further west to the town of Grinnell, which was named after the abolitionist minister Josiah Bushnell Grinnell. The college unofficially adopted the name of its new home.
Despite early setbacks, including the Civil War, which decimated its student and faculty population, Grinnell persevered. In 1882, a devastating tornado destroyed the college buildings. In the face of adversity, Grinnell rebuilt and emerged as a center of the Social Gospel reform movement. Figures like Professor George D. Herron and President George A. Gates played pivotal roles in this movement.
As the 20th century dawned, Grinnell College experienced a period of growth and innovation. The college established a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, introduced the departmental "major" system of study, and initiated Grinnell-in-China, an educational mission that lasted until the Japanese invasion and resumed in 1987. Grinnell also established a women's residence hall system that became a national model.
The social consciousness fostered at Grinnell became evident during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, with Grinnell graduates like Harry Hopkins '12, Chester Davis '11, Paul Appleby '13, Hallie Flanagan '11, and Florence Kerr '12 becoming influential New Deal administrators.
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Campus and Location
Grinnell College is situated in the town of Grinnell, Iowa, approximately halfway between Des Moines and Iowa City. The main campus, which has a history as a stop on the Underground Railroad, is bounded by 6th Avenue on the south, 10th Avenue on the north, East Street on the east, and Park Street on the west. The residential part of campus is divided into three sections: North Campus, East Campus, and South Campus. The dormitories in North and South Campus are modeled after the residential colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. All three campuses feature dormitory buildings connected by loggia, an architectural signature of the college. The loggia on South Campus is the only entirely closed loggia, while the loggias on East and North campus are only partially closed. From the time that the first dorm opened in 1915 until the fall of 1968, the nine north campus dorms were used exclusively for male students, and the six south campus dorms reserved for female students.
The college maintains a 365-acre (1.48 km2) environmental research area called the Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA). In the 2000s, the college completed the Charles Benson Bear '39 Recreation and Athletic Center, the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, the renovation of the Robert Noyce '49 Science Center, and the Joe Rosenfield '25 Student Center.
Academics and Curriculum
Grinnell's open curriculum encourages students to take initiative and to assume responsibility for choosing their own courses of study. Students are given the freedom to explore combinations of academic interests, issues within society, and other parts of the world. Working alongside their advisers, students choose from over 500 courses across the college's many divisions and departments. Students don’t have to declare a major until the second half of their sophomore year.
While the college does not offer any graduate degrees, it does have dual degree programs with several universities that let Grinnell students move directly into graduate programs. Grinnell participates in a 3-2 engineering dual degree program with Columbia University, Washington University in St. Louis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and California Institute of Technology.
The student-faculty ratio at Grinnell College is 9:1, and the school has 63.1% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Grinnell College include Social Sciences, General; Biology/Biological Sciences, General; Computer and Information Sciences, General; Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other; Psychology, General; Physical Sciences, General; Mathematics and Statistics, Other; English Language and Literature, General; Visual and Performing Arts, General; and History, General. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 93%.
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Financial Aid and Admissions
Grinnell College is 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 pass at least 12 credits of classes in each individual semester, with grades C or higher, and have accumulated enough credits to make graduation possible at the end of four years, which requires an average of 15.5 credits each semester. The sticker price for Grinnell's combined tuition, room, board, and fees for the 2022-2023 academic year is $76,528.
Grinnell offers a large amount of need-based and merit-based aid in comparison with peer institutions. Beginning with the first-year students enrolled in the 2006-2007 school year, Grinnell ended its need-blind admissions policy for international applicants. 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 cannot.
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. The Grinnell Pioneers won the first game of intercollegiate football west of the Mississippi when they beat the University of Iowa 24-0 on November 16, 1889.
The men's water polo team, known as the Wild Turkeys, were runners-up in the 2007 College Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Collegiate National Club Championships hosted by Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. They also qualified for the tournament in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2014. The Men's Ultimate team, nicknamed the Grinnellephants, qualified in 2008 for its first Division III National Championship in Versailles, Ohio.
In February 2005, the Grinnell Pioneers men's basketball team 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 ESPN2. Grinnell lost 86-85. Grinnell College's basketball team attracted ESPN due to the team's run and gun style of playing basketball, known in Grinnell simply as "The System". Coach Dave Arseneault originated the Grinnell System that 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. This allows a higher average playing time for more players than the "starters" and suits the Division III goals of scholar-athletes. "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.
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On November 19, 2011, Grinnell player Griffin Lentsch set a new Division III individual scoring record in a game against Principia College. The 6-foot-4-inch (1.93 m) guard scored 89 points, besting the old record of 77, also set by a Pioneers player-Jeff Clement-in 1998. Lentsch made 27 of his 55 shots, including 15 three-pointers as Grinnell won the high-scoring game 145 to 97. On November 20, 2012, Grinnell's Jack Taylor broke Lentsch's scoring record, as well as the records for NCAA and collegiate scoring, in a 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible College. Taylor scored 138 points on 108 shots, along with 3 rebounds, 6 turnovers and 3 steals.
In 2019, the Grinnell women's volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in the 46-year history of the program, defeating St. Norbert College in a five-set thriller during the Midwest Conference Tournament championship match at Cornell College's gymnasium.
Student Life and Governance
Students at Grinnell adhere to an honor system known as "self-governance" wherein they are expected to govern their own choices and behavior with minimal direct intervention by the college administration. Founded in November 2000, the student-run group Pioneer Capital Investments (PCI), formerly known as Student Endowment Investing Group, actively invests over $100,000 of Grinnell College's endowment capital in public equities. Service organizations are popular.
Rankings and Recognition
Grinnell is ranked 5th in the 2021 Washington Monthly rankings for liberal arts colleges, which focus on key outputs such as research, dollar value of scientific grants won, the number of graduates going on to earn Ph.D. degrees, and certain types of public service.
Career Preparation
Grinnell offers one of the country’s lowest career-adviser-to-student ratios, ensuring students receive the guidance they need on their path to a meaningful job. Grinnellians benefit from a robust alumni network to land at top companies like Goldman Sachs and the Smithsonian, and at top graduate programs like those at Yale and Harvard.
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