Fall 2007 - Northwestern College

Coverstory
Northwestern Classic
125-year anniversary
N
orthwestern Classical Academy’s first attempt to achieve accreditation in 1919
failed. It met all of the requirements except one: There were no toilets or drinking
fountains in Zwemer Hall. Northwestern College likewise was denied accreditation
when it first applied in 1962 for reasons that included inadequate library
facilities and a shortage of professors with earned doctorates. Now Northwestern
is recognized as a college that is both academically excellent and Christ-centered.
It is annually listed among the top colleges in its region by U.S. News & World
Report and appears in such college guides as Peterson’s Competitive Colleges and
Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges. Not only do 77 percent of full-time faculty
hold doctorates or the highest degree in their field, but Northwestern professors
have been named the Iowa Professor of the Year two out of the past three years.
Though stately in appearance, Zwemer
Hall initially lacked toilets and drinking
fountains—a fact that contributed to the
academy’s initial failure to achieve
accreditation.
Students in the education department’s curriculum laboratory in the 1950s.
C
ollege coursework was added to the curriculum in 1928, when 30 students
enrolled in Northwestern Junior College. One year later, the Great
Depression hit. Northwestern’s income dropped nearly 60 percent, and
donations fell from $15,000 to $2,000 in two years. Salaries were cut and
football was discontinued to save money. The financial crisis led the
Reformed Church in America’s Board of Education to recommend in 1932
that Northwestern Junior College “close temporarily.” Only strong and
vigorous opposition from Northwestern’s Board of Trustees and President
Jacob Heemstra prevented such action. Today Northwestern is the
strongest it’s ever been financially. Budgets are balanced, debt is minimal,
the physical plant book value is $44 million, and the endowment has
reached $41 million. Northwestern consistently ranks as one of the most
financially sound private colleges in Iowa.
Today Northwestern College is recognized for its
academic excellence, as evidenced when theatre
professor Jeff Barker became the second Northwestern
faculty member to be named the Iowa
Professor of the Year.
20 ▲ Fall 2007