Simpson College

Coordinates: 41°21′52.2″N 93°33′54.0″W / 41.364500°N 93.565000°W / 41.364500; -93.565000

For the college in Redding, California associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, see Simpson University.
Simpson College
Type Private
Established 1860
Endowment $78,609,361[1]
President Jay K. Simmons
Academic staff
 87
Undergraduates 1,485
Location Indianola, IA, USA
Campus 85 acres (340,000 m2)
Nickname The Storm
Website http://www.simpson.edu

Simpson College is a four-year, coeducational liberal arts institution situated in Indianola, Iowa, USA, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Simpson, which has been fully accredited by North Central Association since 1913, is a small school with approximately 1,400 full-time students and 500 part-time students. In addition to the main campus in Indianola, the college has classroom facilities in West Des Moines and Ankeny.

Simpson has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 10 comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. In the 2004 report, Simpson College was named number 1 in the "Best Value" category for midwestern comprehensive colleges. Simpson was also named by College and Character, A national initiative of the John Templeton Foundation as one of 60 colleges that offer students an exemplary first-year program. And Peterson's Competitive Colleges guide features Simpson as one of approximately 440 colleges and universities that the top students in the nation attend.

Simpson's campus is located 12 miles (19 km) south of Des Moines, providing Simpson students with easy access to various attractions, resources, and employment and internship opportunities in the Greater Des Moines area.

History

Simpson College was founded in 1860 and was named and based on the beliefs of Methodist minister Matthew Simpson. Simpson is best known as the minister who spoke the last words at Abraham Lincoln's grave in Springfield, Illinois. His beliefs are passed on to the students and professors of Simpson.

September 28, 2010 marked the 150th anniversary of Simpson's establishment as an educational institution, being the anniversary of the first day classes were held at the school. To celebrate the event, current students and alumni were invited to attend a picnic in the center of campus, out in front of Carver Science Hall. Following the picnic, a time capsule was buried containing pictures and other memorabilia submitted by students. The capsule will be uncovered in 2060, on Simpson's 200th anniversary.

Campus

Historic College Hall (formerly Old Chapel)

The 85-acre (340,000 m2) tree-lined campus is bordered on the north by Buxton Park. Simpson blends tradition with practicality which is reflected in the architecture on campus. Many of the buildings have been renovated in keeping with their historic past, and new buildings blend the traditional look of the campus with an energetic dimension. The theater building, an example of the Brutalist architecture that dominated American campus construction in the 1970s, was renovated and added on to in 2010-11, softening its features, but is a notable exception. The renovation and addition to the theater building is the first of many construction projects that Simpson has planned for the next five years.

Other notable construction includes the building of the brand new Kent Family Campus center, which replaces the old Brenton Student Center as the center of student life. The 55,000-square-foot campus center will house new meeting rooms and offices for student groups, a student activities theatre, comfortable living room settings, a grille and snack bar, a coffee house, a new book store and post office, and new professional space for the Student Development staff.

Simpson also recently renovated their outdoor track and football field. In addition to rebuilding the entrances and fences surrounding Bill Buxton stadium, the school invested in what has been dubbed the most innovative artificial turf system in the world, FieldTurf Revolution, for the fall of 2011 school year. The new-era Beynon BSS 1000 running track, similar to the new tracks installed at the University of Virginia and The University of Iowa, was also installed for the 2011-12 school year.[2] The renovation of Simpson's athletic facilities will continue in the future with a proposed design for a new bi-level weight room in the current pool area and two new classrooms in place of the current weight room. This move was made possible by the construction of a new YMCA on the north side of town that will contain an Olympic-sized pool and will host swimming meets for both Simpson College and the local high school.

Simpson offers a variety of residential housing options, including two freshmen-only residence halls, other traditional residence halls, apartment-style living, theme houses and an active Greek system. All Simpson living facilities include air conditioning, lofted beds, carpet, furniture, social lounges and wireless internet.

Organization and administration

The college had an endowment of $56.6 million as of June 30, 2009.[3]

Academic profile

Simpson's curriculum includes more than 40 majors, minors and pre-professional programs. Course work is structured in a 4-4-1 format, with classes running Sept.-Dec. and Jan.-Apr. before the 3 week May Term. This provides students with many unique learning opportunities, including internship programs, career observations and a variety of Study Abroad programs that take place over May Term.

Beginning in Fall 2011, most courses at Simpson are four credit courses. Simpson also implemented their new Engaged Citizenship Curriculum, which is largely based on the AAC&U LEAP initiative. The new curriculum attempts to build seven different Embedded Skills into all courses. The seven skills are:

In addition to classes in their major, students are required to take courses in seven specified Areas of Engagement:

In order to meet the global perspectives Area of Engagement, many students will take an overseas course, which may be completed throughout an entire semester (with exchange programs in London, Germany, Argentina, Thailand, and Tahiti) or over May Term, which provides different selections every year. Some of the recent May Term travel courses include trips to China, Thailand, Italy, London & Paris, Ghana, Belize, and the Netherlands. Simpson ranks among the nation’s top 100 colleges in percentage of students who study abroad, according to U.S. News and World Report.[4]

In addition to these requirements, students also take two courses to bookend their Simpson Experience: the Simpson Colloquium and the Senior Capstone. The Simpson Colloquium is taken during the first semester of college and is designed to help students make the transition to college life. The Senior Capstone is a culminating project in each student's major demonstrating their proficiency in a chosen field of study.

Music

Simpson is notable for being the only college in the United States with an entirely student-cast undergraduate opera program that is supported by a largely professional orchestra. Two fully staged productions a year with admission open to the public and free to all students are staples of the Simpson calendar. Alumni can be found at the highest levels in opera performance, artistic administration, and music education.

Music at Simpson has been fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music since 1947, and confers the degrees of Bachelor of Music in performance and in music education, and the Bachelor of Arts in music. It is widely recognized as offering a premier education for vocal, piano, and instrumental students. Simpson develops the unique gifts of each student through a combination of one-to-one music instruction, classroom teaching, and countless performance opportunities. Aspects of the program have been cited as "outstanding" by U.S. News and World Report and the program in voice as "exceptional" by the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Simpson College enjoys an historic close partnership with the Des Moines Metro Opera, which makes it home on the Simpson campus over the summer, with performances in Simpson's Blank Performing Arts Center. It provides Simpson students with the invaluable opportunity to experience professional opera on their doorstep, and to serve as interns and production staff in the summer opera festival. Many singers from Simpson have taken part in the DMMO Apprenticeship Program, an opportunity afforded usually to only the most talented graduate students and young professional singers from all over the United States.

Athletics

Simpson College athletic teams are nicknamed the Storm. They compete in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in NCAA Division III. Simpson fields men's teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, American football, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field, and wrestling. Women's teams include: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Simpson also fields cheerleading and dance squads.

Simpson College has appeared in the NCAA tournament many times:

The Storm has achieved the honor of being Regional Champions also:

The Simpson College softball team won the NCAA Division III National Championship in 1997 and 1999. Simpson's softball team appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1971.[5]

To help support Simpson College athletics there is a non-profit organization funded by the Indianola community and other alumni called the Gold Club. The Gold Club was founded in 1976 by members of Simpson and the Indianola communities, the Simpson College Gold Club is designed to support Simpson College athletic programs. The Gold Club strives to inspire all athletic programs at Simpson College through a loyal display of school spirit and monetary contributions.

Gold Club members are former athletes, alumni, faculty, parents, and other athletic supporters who share the common interest of fostering the development and growth of Simpson College athletics.

Student life

The Simpsonian,[6] the nation’s oldest continuously published college newspaper, is the student newspaper. The newspaper has been published since September 1870.[7] It provides formal practical experience for students interested in journalism and serves as a forum for student opinions and ideas.

Sequel is an annual Simpson literary arts magazine, assembled from student and faculty contributions including: paintings, photographs, drawings, short fiction, and short non-fiction.

KSTM, 88.9, is the student operated campus radio station. It has limited wattage and the signal does not really carry outside of Warren County.

Intramurals allows students, faculty and staff to become involved in recreational activities. The campus community is invited to participate, and participants may do as many activities as they wish. Over 60% of the campus participates in one or more of the programs offered through the Office of Intramurals and Recreation. Events are widely varied and skill or expertise is not requirement when participating events. The goal is to participate and have fun.

The Campus Activities Board (CAB) is one of the main programming organizations on campus. CAB is an organization run by students for students and provides programs like, comedians, bands, movies, hypnotists and the popular "Hump Day Ha's." CAB provides many opportunities for involvement, ranging from being an active participant and member of CAB, to just attending one of the many programs offered.

Simpson Forum

Throughout the school year, Simpson holds numerous forum events. These are events that are meant to extend a student's education beyond the classroom and allow for personal growth. These events include Simpson-produced arts events, faculty-organized discussions, research symposiums, and expert speakers from outside of Simpson who discuss a wide range of topics. Recent experts include Gabriel Ajak, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, former U.S. Senator John Culver, and former U.S. Senator and presidential nominee George McGovern among others. Forum events are a requirement for first-year students, as they must attend at least four events throughout the fall semester, but are optional beyond that. Simpson also offers an additional credit to students who attend at least 90% of designated forum events in a semester.

John C. Culver Public Policy Center

The Culver Center was established at Simpson College in 2010 to honor the service of John Culver, who served the people of Iowa for 16 years in the US House of Representatives and US Senate. The Culver Center is dedicated to encouraging civic engagement and public service. The fellows program awards four year scholarships to up to five incoming Simpson students who demonstrate a commitment to public service. The annual John C. Culver Lecture brings a prominent figure in public service or politics to campus to meet with students and deliver a lecture, which is open to the public. Lectures have included Senator George McGovern, Political Journalist Mark Shields, and Supereme Court Reporter Linda Greenhouse. http://culvercenter.org/

Campus Day

Campus Day has been an annual tradition at Simpson College since at least 1911. The idea was conceived by the student body to suspend classes one Tuesday and put in a day of cleaning campus buildings and grounds. Faculty did not know until they arrived at campus to start classes, but were glad to pitch in.[8] The cleanup of campus became an annual tradition and eventually expanded to the Indianola community. Today, nearly 60% of Simpson students take part in campus day activities, which include campus-assigned projects, a grill out, and a late night dodgeball tournament. Historically, Campus Day was picked early in the year by the student government and reserved as a surprise to the rest of the student body, but today it is announced ahead of time so that students can plan ahead for it.[9]

Greek life

Simpson College has a deep-rooted Greek life history. It is home to seven Greek organizations: three national fraternities; Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Tau Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, one local fraternity; Kappa Theta Psi, and three national sororities; Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, and Delta Delta Delta. Every April, one week is set aside in the Greek community for Greek Week, a series of coed competitions that instill a sense of unity among the houses, while providing friendly competitiveness.

Notable people

Wallace Hall (formerly Science Hall) housed George Washington Carver's first college classrooms.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ As of May 31, 2013. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ "FieldTurf: Simpson College goes first class with FieldTurf Revolution and Beynon Surfaces". fieldturf.com.
  3. ↑ "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Quick Facts". Simpson College Official Website.
  5. ↑ Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
  6. ↑ "The Simpsonian". The Simpsonian. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  7. ↑ http://www.thesimpsonian.com/site/about.html
  8. ↑ http://simpson.edu/library/collections/campusday.html
  9. ↑ http://simpson.edu/library/archives-special-collections/college-archives/campus-day-history/
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Simpson College Greek Life. "Simpson College Greek Chapters", Simpson.edu. Retrieved on 2010-1-23.
  11. ↑ "George Washington Carver" Retrieved on 2013-09-18
  12. ↑ Metzger, Sherry. "Bilateral Amputee Named in Top 25 NCAA Moments: College Wrestling Champion Nick Ackerman", The O&P Edge, June 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  13. ↑ "Meet Your Clerk". cookcountyclerk.com.
  14. ↑ "David Orr Bio and work experience. - David Orr, Cook County Clerk". David Orr, Cook County Clerk.
  15. ↑ http://simpson.edu/success-story/mike-pearson-10/

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