Central College (Iowa) - History

History

The Baptist Convention of Iowa founded Central University of Iowa in 1853 and it officially opened on October 8, 1854. The first class totaled 37 people. Central was a Baptist institution until 1916, when it was transferred to the control of the Reformed Church in America. Since 1886, Iowa Baptists had shifted their post-secondary education interests to Des Moines College, and hoped to reduce Central to a feeder school.

The college was called Central University of Iowa (CUI), at least until 1991. It renamed itself "Central College" in the mid 1994.

It is home to local radio station 89.1 KCUI-FM.

Central has a history of interesting architectural features. The first buildings of the new college in 1853 are Dutch Colonial and part of what was recently known as Strawtown Inn. The first dormitory, Cotton Hall, is noted for its ornate Victorian porch and stained glass windows. Building innovation continues with the addition of "green" buildings. The main feature of the campus is a pond in the center of campus. Central is also one of few schools with a public history major, and part of this focuses on architecture history.

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