Monmouth College

This article is about the college in Illinois. For the university in New Jersey, see Monmouth University. For the former Monmouth College in Oregon, see Western Oregon University.

Monmouth College
Motto	Sit Lux (Let there be Light)
Established	April 18, 1853
Type	Private
Endowment	$58.6 million[1]
President	Dr. Mauri Ditzler
Admin. staff	128
Students	1,360 undergraduate
Location	Monmouth, IL, USA 40°54′52″N 90°38′14″W / 40.91444°N 90.63722°W / 40.91444; -90.63722Coordinates: 40°54′52″N 90°38′14″W / 40.91444°N 90.63722°W / 40.91444; -90.63722
Campus	Small town
Colors	Red and White
Mascot	Big Red
Website	http://www.monmouthcollege.edu

Monmouth College is a four-year coeducational private liberal arts college located in Monmouth, Illinois, United States.

History

Monmouth College was founded on April 18, 1853 by the Second Presbytery of Illinois, a frontier arm of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The college celebrates this date annually as "Founders Day," cancelling classes for a day of celebration and an honors convocation. Founded as "Monmouth Academy," the school became Monmouth College after receiving a charter from the state legislature on September 3, 1856. The college remains affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, a consortium of small, private liberal arts colleges. The college's motto "Sit Lux" ("Let there be Light") appears on its seal, but the college likes to describe itself as "What College Was Meant to Be."

The college's endowment in FY 2006 was $61,871,804.

Monmouth was one of the first institutions in the country to admit women from its inception. This increased the college's early popularity and logically made it the home of the women's sorority movement. Pi Beta Phi was founded on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis. Pi Beta Phi was the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men. Kappa Kappa Gamma, founded in 1870, is another national sorority founded at Monmouth College.

Presidents

• James Cochran Porter

Founder of Monmouth Academy 1852

• Robert Ross

Founder of Monmouth Academy 1852

• Rev. David Alexander Wallace

1st President of Monmouth College 1856-1878

• Rev. J.B. McMichael, D.D.

2nd President, 1878–1897

• Rev. Samuel Ross Lyons, D.D.

3rd President, 1898–1901

• Rev. T. H. McMichael, D.D.

4th President, 1903–1936

• Rev. J. H. Grier, D.D.

5th President, 1936–1952

• Reverend Robert W. Gibson

6th President, 1952–1964

• G. Duncan Wimpress, Jr., Ph.D.

7th President, 1964–1970

• Richard Dengler Stine, Ph.D.

8th President,1970–1974

• DeBow Freed, Ph.D.

9th President, 1974–1979

• Bruce Haywood, Ph.D.

10th President, 1980–1994

• Sue Ann Huseman, Ph.D.

11th President, 1994–1997

• Richard Giese, Ph.D.

12th President, 1997–2005

• Dr. Mauri Ditzler

2005–present

Students and staff

Sign in front of campus

Wallace Hall

Student profile

• Size: 1,360
• Points of origin: 24 states; 9 countries
• Diversity: 54.5% women; 44.5% men; 8% students of color; 2.6% international

Faculty profile

• Size: 130 (92 full-time, 38 part-time)
• Student-faculty ratio: 13:1
• Qualifications: 78 percent have Ph.D. or equivalent degree
• Average Class Size: 18.4

Fraternities

• Phi Delta Theta
• Phi Gamma Delta
• Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Alpha Tau Omega
• Zeta Beta Tau

Women's Fraternities

• Alpha Xi Delta
• Pi Beta Phi
• Kappa Kappa Gamma

Honorary Societies

• Alpha Lambda Delta (Freshmen Scholastic)
• Alpha Psi Omega (Theatre)
• (Student Affiliates) American Chemical Society
• Beta Beta Beta (Biology)
• Blue Key (Junior Service)
• Gamma Omicron of Eta Sigma Phi (Classics)
• Kappa Delta Pi (Education)
• Kappa Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta (Communication)
• Tau Pi Chapter of Mortar Board (Senior Service)
• Phi Alpha Theta (History)
• Pi Delta Phi(French)
• Pi Gamma Mu (Social Science)
• Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science)
• Psi Chi (Psychology)
• Sigma Delta Pi (Spanish)
• Sigma Omicron Mu (Senior Scholastic)
• Sigma Tau Delta (English)
• Society of Physics Students

Athletics

Monmouth College Football Field at dusk

Monmouth College is a member of the Midwest Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Division III. The college offers 10 varsity sports for men and 10 for women. The college has won the Midwest Conference men's all-sports trophy each of the last two years. Additionally, the college offers intramural sports to interested students.^[2]

The athletic teams' nickname, Fighting Scots, was coined in 1928 by alumni secretary Harold Hermann '27 to reflect the Scotch-Irish heritage of the college's founders. "Fighting Scots" is a Registered Trademark of Monmouth College.

The Monmouth College Men's Track and Field team brought back a third place team trophy from the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 26, 2007. This is the first national team trophy that a Monmouth College sports team has won. The following year Monmouth's Mens Track & Field Team brought home a second place trophy from the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 14, 2008.

Monmouth began its college football rivalry with Knox College in Galesburg in 1888, making it the sixth oldest college football rivalry in the country.^{[citation needed]} The two schools play annually for the Bronze Turkey trophy in November (originally on Thanksgiving). Monmouth leads the series with 56 wins, 50 losses and 10 ties.

The Bronze Turkey has been stolen several times and was at one time buried under the old MC indoor track for six years.

The Monmouth College football team has appeared in the NCAA Playoffs in 2005 and 2008. In 2005 Monmouth college went 10-0 in the regular season, but lost in the first round to St. Johns 62-3. In 2008 the Scots went 10-0 in the regular season. In the first round they beat Aurora University 42-13, to win their first post-season game in school history. They lost in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs to Wartburg College 30-28. Monmouth College was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1921-1937.

The Monmouth College men's water polo team has had much success since its start in 2007. It has won the past four Heartland Division Championships and the team has also taken 2nd place in the CWPA Division III National Tournament the past two seasons.

Men's Varsity Teams

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Football
• Golf
• Indoor Track
• Outdoor Track
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Tennis

Women's Varsity Teams

• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Golf
• Indoor Track
• Outdoor Track
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Notable alumni

• Joe Tait (1959) - Longtime Radio Voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Lon Helton (1972) - Nationally syndicated country music radio host, CMA Country Countdown USA. Helton is a five-time CMA National Personality of the Year.
• Kevin M. Goodwin (1980) - President & CEO of Sonosite, Inc.
• Jim Pate (1963, deceased) - Retired Chairman & CEO of Pennzoil.
• Harold "Red" Poling (1949) - Retired Ford Motor Company Chairman & CEO, member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity ΣΦΕ.
• Chad Simpson (1998) - Micro Award winning short and flash fiction author
• James Stockdale (1946, deceased) * - Retired Vice-Admiral, US Navy & Former U.S. Vice-Presidential candidate, member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
• Dwight Tierney (1969) - Senior Executive Vice President, Viacom & one of the Founders of MTV.
• William Trubeck (1968) - Retired Executive Vice President and CFO, H&R Block.
• Helen Wagner (1938, deceased) - Longtime star of the soap opera, As The World Turns, for over 50 years, she uttered the show's first words in its debut in 1956.
• Roger Haynes (1982) - In 2007, Haynes was named the Division III Men's National Coach of the Year for the indoor season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. He was inducted into the Monmouth M-Club Hall of Fame in 1997. Haynes also serves as Monmouth's Athletic Director and as an instructor in the Department of Physical Education.
• Charles F. Wishart (1893) President College of Wooster 1921-1944, Moderator of the General Assembly 1924.

Facilities

Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center

The 83 acre (336,000 m²) college campus has undergone a major facelift in recent years. Bowers Hall, a residence hall built in 2001, was the first new dormitory in over 30 years. The college purchased an apartment complex near the campus in 2003 and North Hall, built on the north side on the campus was completed before the Fall of 2005. Gracie Peterson Hall, a modern coed dorm opened in the fall of 2007. The Peacock Athletic Complex was built in 2000 and is in walking distance from the campus. The college also built new tennis courts in 2003 and reopened the completely renovated Dahl Chapel and Auditorium containing a 500 seat recital hall/auditorium as well as music rehearsal space. In the fall of 2008, the first phase of the April Zorn Memorial Stadium was completed, enlarging the seating capacity to 2,600 and adding a state-of-the-art press box.

The largest building on campus is the massive 155,000-square-foot (14,400 m²) Huff Athletic Center. It encompasses the college's old Glennie Gymnasium and includes a brand new fieldhouse with indoor tennis courts and track, natatorium, fitness complex, wellness suite, locker and training rooms, classrooms and offices.

The college maintains additional facilities including a state-of-the-art digital television studio and media (computer) lab, the Wells Theatre and WIT Experimental Theatre, hosting dramatic productions, a web-based radio station and the beautifully renovated Hewes Library complete with a wide range of print and electronic information resources, computing facilities, a digital classroom, an art gallery housing the James Shields collection of art and antiquities and a coffee shop. Nearby is the LeSeur Nature Preserve, a 16.5 acre (67,000 m²) nature preserve located a short 10 minute walk from campus.

The Minnie Billings Capron Classics Room located on the first floor of Wallace Hall, the main classroom building, honors the mother of Keith Capron. Keith Capron endowed a Classics chair in honor of his mother, who attended Monmouth College for one year. Mr. Capron also donated the funds to create the modern, technologically-equipped Capron Room, including a library and display of classical artifacts. A photo of Mrs. Capron hangs in the room.

According to a (copyrighted and trademarked) online news story article appearing in the online Monday, August 22, 2011 edition of the Peoria Journal Star, : "Monmouth College is moving forward with what's being called a "new academic era" at the school in Western Illinois. WGIL Radio reported that officials unveiled the cornerstone Saturday for the new $40 million Monmouth College Science and Business Center being built at the college. It will be the first time the two departments will be under the same roof. Monmouth College Board of Trustees Chairman David Byrnes pledged $5.5 million toward the project himself and said the new building sends an important message. He said it's a reminder of the college's commitment to reach the next level in its pursuit of academic excellence. The Science and Business Center also received money under Illinois' capital construction program. It should be completed in two years." The preceding article can be found at this hyperlink: (<<http://www.pjstar.com/news/x865769266/Monmouth-College-unveils-cornerstone-for-building>>).

See also

• Monmouth University, in West Long Branch, New Jersey, was also named Monmouth College until 1995.

References

1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "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. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2009_NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values.pdf. Retrieved February 25, 2010. 
2. ^ Monmouth College Wellness Office. "Intramural Sports". Retrieved on 2011-03-05.

• Monmouth College 2006-2007 Catalog
• Monmouth College Office of College Communications

External links and references

• Official website
• Campus map
• Illinois Gamma Chapter of Phi Delta Theta
• Delta Lambda Chapter of Zeta Beta Tau, Monmouth College
• Alpha Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Monmouth College
• Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi, Monmouth College
• Gamma Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Gamma Omicron Chapter of Eta Sigma Phi
• Western Illinois Society of the Archaeological Institute of America