Northwestern College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Orange City, Iowa. It is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA) as one of a few Reformed Church colleges in the Midwest. The other two RCA colleges are Hope College and Central College. Northwestern began as an academy in 1882. It was then upgraded to junior college status in 1928. Then in 1961, it became the four-year institution it is today. Northwestern is one of three colleges in Sioux County. The others are Dordt College in Sioux Center and Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon.
Northwestern occupies 100 acres in the middle of Orange City, a town with 5,589 residents.1. The campus' 24 buildings are centered on the Highway 10 and Albany Avenue intersection.
Culture
Northwestern works to integrate "faith and learning" as the main goal of the college education.2 The liberal arts are to be taught, not as self-contained disciplines, but as part of a greater whole. Another motto of the academic culture is "a whole education for your whole life".3 "Vocare: Find Your Place" is a project funded by a Lilly grant that aims to help students find their life's calling and follow it earnestly.4 These goals and projects take form in many ways, both student and faculty-initiated. An ample list of campus ministry and faith opportunities is listed below:
Every year during the fall semester, the Student Activities Council hosts "Airband", a night of usually 10 acts all dramatizing a song or a medley. Groups have done everything from choreographed group dances to a 4-man team creating a drama similar to matrix ping pong.
In the spring, the college hosts "Ballyhoo", the campus talent show. Exhibiting even more variety than "Airband", student groups go head-to-head for the grand prize. Past winners were a 1-man band performing the song "Pick-up Lines", a "STOMP" broom routine, and an Irish jig featuring a violin soloist. Past non-winning acts include a variety of talents ranging from stand up comedy to interpretive dance to grilling a steak.
RUSH: A Student Dance Concert performs each year at Northwestern College. RUSH is a completely student-led, student-initiated, student-choreographed dance concert involving over 10% of the student population. RUSH holds the belief that anyone can dance, so long as they are committed and determined. All who try out are cast, and in its five year run, RUSH has quickly become one of the most anticipated and most popular events at Northwestern.
Departmental facilities
Bultman Center for Health, Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics, opened in 1995
Christ Chapel and DeWitt Music Hall, opened in 1987
DeWitt Theatre Arts Center, opened in 2004
Korver Visual Arts Center, opened in 2003
Rowenhorst Student Center, renovated in 2007
Van Peursem Hall
This is Zwemer Hall, the oldest building on campus. It contains offices for the registrar, admissions, financial aid, president, and other administrative departments.
Administrative facilities
Zwemer Hall, built in 1894 and restored in 1997 (listed in the National Register of Historic Places)
Franken Center for Faith, Learning and Living
Notable personalities
Presidential leadership
President Greg Christy [2] began his leadership in January 2008. His inauguration [3] took place on Oct. 10, 2008. His previous work was at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, as the vice president for institutional advancement.
B.D. Dykstra - former professor, pacifist, pastor, and poet
A.J. Muste - former professor, pacifist, labor and civil rights activist
Piet Koene - professor of Spanish who received the "2004 Iowa Professor of the Year" award
Jeff Barker - professor of Theatre and Speech who received the "2006 Iowa Professor of the Year" award
Mark Bloemendaal - Director of Admissions
Students in the news
Deb Remmerde, a 2008 Northwestern College graduate (who was named the NAIA women's basketball Player of the Year in 2006 and 2008) holds the record for most consecutive in-game free throws in organized basketball. She ended her 133-shot free-throw streak in February 2006. Remmerde later appeared on "The Early Show" where she completed 580 of 585 free-throws, live, in front of a CBS television crew.5
Junior, Steve Mahr organized the first annual "Red Letter Festival," which occurred on May 5, 2007 in the Bultman Center. Steve, and other volunteers used this festival as a support-raising tool for "The Bridge," a shelter for victims of domestic abuse in the Orange City area. The news story describes some, but not all of the festival's activities.6
Recognition
U.S. News and World Report ranked Northwestern fourth among Midwest baccalaureate colleges in its 2009 America's Best Colleges guidebook.7
In 2008, Northwestern became only the second college to be honored as a Groundwater Guardian Green Site in recognition of its environmental stewardship.8
Forbes.com ranked Northwestern College 211th out of 569 top institutions in its America’s Best Colleges 2008 listing.9
The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll has recognized Northwestern two years in a row for being a leader in local, national and international service efforts.10
