Login
Login

Alma College

{{Short description|Private college in Alma, Michigan, U.S.}}

{{Other uses}}

{{Infobox university

| name = Alma College

| image =

| image_size = 150

| motto =

| established = {{start date and age|1886}}

| type = Private liberal arts college

| accreditation = HLC

| religious_affiliation = Presbyterian

| academic_affiliation = Annapolis Group

| endowment = US$121.6 million (2021){{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/alma-college-2236|title=US News College Profiles|access-date=2021-09-30|archive-date=2021-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930132715/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/alma-college-2236|url-status=live}}

| staff =

| president = Eric P. Blackhurst

| rector =

| provost = Sean D. Burke

| vice_chancellor =

| dean =

| head_label =

| head =

| students =

| undergrad = 1,235{{Cite web|url=https://www.alma.edu/academics/institutional-effectiveness|title=Institutional Effectiveness Alma College|website=www.alma.edu}}

| postgrad = 38

| doctoral =

| city = Alma

| state = Michigan

| country = United States

| coor = {{Coord|43.380|-84.671|type:edu_region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}

| campus = Small city, rural area
{{convert|125|acre|km2}}

| free_label =

| free =

| colors = {{colorbox|#8A2432}} {{colorbox|white}}
(Garnet and white)

| mascot = Scotty

| sports_nickname = Scots

| website = {{url|https://www.alma.edu/|alma.edu}}

| logo = Alma college textlogo.png

| logo_size = 250

}}

Alma College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,200 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Alma College is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and offers bachelor's degrees in multiple disciplines as well as four master's degree programs.{{cite web|url=http://www.alma.edu/academics|title=Academics: Alma College|access-date=2011-06-01|archive-date=2011-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613045233/http://www.alma.edu/academics|url-status=live}} Its athletics teams, nicknamed the Scots, are part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) – Division III and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).

History

The college was founded by Michigan Presbyterians in 1886. It received funding from lumber magnate Ammi W. Wright, for whom Wright Hall on campus and Wright Avenue in the city of Alma are named.

A marker designating the college as a Michigan Historic Site was erected by the Michigan History Division, Department of State.{{cite web |title=Michigan Historical Markers – Alma College |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=91690 |access-date=August 4, 2022 |website=www.hmdb.org |publisher=Historical Marker Data Base}} The inscription reads:

On October 26, 1886, the Presbyterian Synod of Michigan accepted an offer by Ammi W. Wright of Alma of thirty acres of land, containing two buildings, and a gift of $50,000 from Alexander Folsom of Bay City, for the purpose of establishing Alma College. The Synod had resolved: "We will, with God's help, establish and endow a college within our bounds." A charter was granted by the state of Michigan, April 15, 1887. Classes began September 12, 1887. In the first year there were 95 students and nine faculty members. Here the Presbyterian Church has fostered the pursuit of learning to the glory of God and to the dignity of men.

The college's 13th president, Jeff Abernathy, assumed leadership in June 2010.{{cite news| url=http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2010/06/alma_colleges_new_president_be.html| title=Alma College's new president begins tenure| publisher=MLive.com| date=2010-05-15| access-date=2014-05-08| archive-date=2018-06-03| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603191508/http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2010/06/alma_colleges_new_president_be.html| url-status=live}} He was succeeded in 2024 by long-time trustee and alumnus Eric Blackhurst as interim president after Abernathy stepped down to focus on the Alma College Prison Initiative.{{Cite web |last=Rath |first=Tim |date=2024-11-20 |title=President Eric Blackhurst {{!}} Alma College {{!}} Campus Announcement |url=https://www.alma.edu/news/eric-blackhurst-alumnus-and-longtime-trustee-named-interim-president-of-alma-college/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Alma College |language=en-US}} Joseph L. Odenwald, former president of Southwestern Michigan College, was announced in February 2025 as the college's next president beginning on June 1.https://www.alma.edu/news/alma-college-names-dr-joseph-odenwald-as-its-14th-president/

=Scottish heritage=

In 1931, the College hosted a contest to replace their current mascot at the time, the Fighting Presbyterians, and "the Scots"—a nod to the Presbyterian Church's roots in Scotland—was chosen. Since that time, Alma College has embraced its Scottish traditions.{{cite web | url=https://www.alma.edu/about/scottish-heritage/ | title=Scottish Heritage | access-date=2022-06-10 | archive-date=2022-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610174407/https://www.alma.edu/about/scottish-heritage/ | url-status=live }} While still maintaining a close relationship with the Presbyterian Church, Alma College accepts and welcomes students of all religious backgrounds.

Academics

{{Infobox U.S. college admissions

|year = 2019

|admit rate = 60.8
(1,848 out of 3,041)

|admit rate change =

|yield rate = 20.8
(385 out of 1,848)

|yield rate change =

|SAT Total = 1030-1210
(among 92% of FTFs)

|SAT Total change =

|ACT = 20-25
(among 24% of FTFs)

|ACT change =

|float = right

|ref = {{cite web |url=https://www.alma.edu/live/files/3849-2019-20-cds-ftiac-003 |title=Alma College Common Data Set 2019-2020 |publisher=Alma College |access-date=2022-11-18}}

}}

Alma College offers more than 45 undergraduate academic programs, and four graduate programs, leading to Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Science, and Master of Arts. In addition to the academic majors, numerous concentrations, academic institutes, and special programs are offered, including the Presidential Honors Program and the Center for College and Community Engagement. Its most popular majors, in terms of 2023 graduates, were:{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Alma+college&s=all&id=168591#programs |title=Alma College |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education |access-date=May 8, 2024}}

  • Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services (52)
  • Health Professions and Related Programs (32)
  • Education (30)
  • Biological, Neuroscience, and Biomedical Sciences (23)
  • Psychology (23)

Along with its on-campus options, Alma College offers a number of domestic off-campus and internship programs, in cities including Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC. Alma offers international study programs in countries including Argentina, Australia, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Scotland and Spain.{{cite web | url=https://www.alma.edu/academics/experiential-learning/international-off-campus-study.php | title=International & Off-Campus Study | access-date=2022-06-10 | archive-date=2022-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610181315/https://www.alma.edu/academics/experiential-learning/international-off-campus-study.php | url-status=live }}

Alma has a 4-4-1 academic calendar, with 14-week terms in the fall and winter, and a four-week term in May. Students typically use the latter term, known on-campus as Spring Term, for travel, classes, research and internships.{{cite web | url=https://www.alma.edu/academics/experiential-learning/spring-term.php | title=Spring Term | access-date=2022-06-10 | archive-date=2022-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610154316/https://www.alma.edu/academics/experiential-learning/spring-term.php | url-status=live }}

=Graduate degrees=

Alma College in 2021 launched the first graduate program in its then-134-year history with the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree,{{cite web | url=https://www.alma.edu/live/news/2782-alma-college-set-to-open-new-master-of-fine-arts | title=Alma College Set to Open New Master of Fine Arts Program | access-date=2022-06-10 | archive-date=2022-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610174407/https://www.alma.edu/live/news/2782-alma-college-set-to-open-new-master-of-fine-arts | url-status=live }} led by author and educator Sophfronia Scott.{{Cite web |url=https://sophfronia.com/ |title=Sophfronia Scott – Author of books of fiction and nonfiction |access-date=2022-06-10 |archive-date=2022-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407222108/https://sophfronia.com/ |url-status=live }}

In 2022, the college launched a Master of Science in Communication and Information Technology degree.{{cite web | url=https://www.alma.edu/live/news/3081-new-master-of-science-in-communication-and | title=New Master of Science in Communication and Information Technology Degree Launched | access-date=2022-06-10 | archive-date=2022-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610174406/https://www.alma.edu/live/news/3081-new-master-of-science-in-communication-and | url-status=live }} In 2023, the college launched a Master of Arts in Special Education with Learning Disabilities Endorsement program.{{Cite web |last=Rath |first=Tim |date=2023-07-20 |title=Alma College to Offer Master of Arts in Special Education with Learning Disabilities Endorsement |url=https://www.alma.edu/news/3559-alma-college-to-offer-masters-in-special-education/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Alma College |language=en-US}} In 2024, the college launched a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree.{{Cite web |last=Rath |first=Tim |date=2023-05-08 |title=Alma College to Offer Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling |url=https://www.alma.edu/news/alma-college-to-offer-master-of-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Alma College |language=en-US}}

Campus

File:Thomas Andison Chapel.jpg

Alma College is located in a small-town setting, the city of Alma having slightly fewer than 10,000 residents. Its primary academic buildings, built with a red brick motif, are centered around a large square, McIntyre Mall. West of this mall is picturesque Thomas Andison Chapel.{{Cite web |last=Rath |first=Tim |date=2023-09-26 |title=Alma College Chapel to be Named After Andison |url=https://www.alma.edu/news/alma-college-chapel-to-be-named-after-andison/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Alma College |language=en-US}}

The majority of buildings are located on North Campus, that is, the area north of Superior Street. These include the major dormitory residences, as well as the academic and student life buildings. South Campus is home to suite-style residences ("New Dorms," so named because they were built later in the 1960s than residences in North Campus) as well as the new environmentally friendly apartment-style Wright Hall, inaugurated in 2005 and the second residence of its name, the former being demolished in 1976. South Campus is also home to "Fraternity Row" (Center Street) and "Sorority Row" (Superior Street) as well as several other themed houses. More than half of the buildings on Alma's campus were built under the long tenure (1956–1980) of Robert D. Swanson, after whom the main academic building is named.

The Dow Science Center,{{cite web | url=https://www.alma.edu/ddsc/ | title=Dow Digital Science Center | access-date=2022-06-10 | archive-date=2022-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610182816/https://www.alma.edu/ddsc/ | url-status=live }} renovated in 2018, features the Rollin M. Gerstacker Science and Technology Suite, as well as the Dow Digital Science Center (DDSC). These spaces offer academic student study space, large screen monitors for showing remote projects in real time, dedicated computer work stations, a large conference room designed for distance room and a seminar room. The DDSC sponsors summer camps for elementary, middle and high school students in the area.

The college in 2019 dedicated the Wright Leppien Opera House Block,{{cite web | url=https://www.alma.edu/offices/facilities-and-service-management/wright-leppien-opera-house-block/ | title=Wright Leppien Opera House Block | access-date=2022-06-10 | archive-date=2022-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610174406/https://www.alma.edu/offices/facilities-and-service-management/wright-leppien-opera-house-block/ | url-status=live }} a historic structure in downtown Alma which had been gutted by a fire almost a decade earlier. "The Opera House," as it is locally known, was historically considered to be the main local venue for numerous theatrical productions, concerts and public lectures. Today, it is used for student housing and special events.

The college in 2023 opened the Greg Hatcher Learning Commons, a $14-million renovation of its preexisting library into a new facility, which serves as both a library and a student union.{{Cite web |last=Rath |first=Tim |date=2023-08-31 |title=The Tartan: Our New 'Heart of Campus' |url=https://www.alma.edu/news/our-new-heart-of-campus/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Alma College |language=en-US}}

In addition to the main campus, the college also owns a {{convert|180|acre|km2|adj=on}} ecological research area containing woodlands, a willow marsh, a sphagnum bog, and a glacial kettle lake, with a full research facility and a bird observatory, located in Vestaburg, about {{convert|15|mi|km}} west of Alma.

Athletics

{{see also|Alma Scots men's basketball}}

file:Alma logo from NCAA.svg

Alma athletics teams are nicknamed the Scots. Generally, more than half (52.4%) of Alma's students participate in sports. In December 2021, the college announced the addition of women's wrestling [https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/December/08/Alma-College-adds-womens-wrestling ALMA COLLEGE (MICH.) ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF WOMEN'S WRESTLING PROGRAM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610155649/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/December/08/Alma-College-adds-womens-wrestling |date=2022-06-10}} bringing the total number of sports offered up to 12 men's NCAA and 12 women's NCAA, plus co-ed esports and women's bowling, competitive cheer, dance, and STUNT.

The mascot of Alma College is Scotty. He wears a traditional highland Kilt, sporran, and sash woven in the Alma College tartan pattern.

Prior to 1934, the Alma mascot was the Fighting Presbyterians. This became the subject of debate in 1931 due to a series of stories by The Almanian, a student-run newspaper, expressing discontent over the limitation on cheers to "Go Presbyterians" or "Go Campbellites," the latter in support of the football coach, Royal Campbell.{{cite web |last=Lab |first=Digital Scholarship |title=History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research – Episodes |url=http://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/5246 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219013755/http://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/5246 |archive-date=2014-12-19 |access-date=2011-12-05}}

=Honors=

File:Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets vs. Alma Scots (44587146251) (cropped).jpg]]

  • In 1992, Alma's women's basketball team earned the NCAA Division III championship.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}
  • In 2006, Alma College quarterback Josh Brehm was named the recipient of the Gagliardi Trophy, the highest individual honor in NCAA Division III football.{{Cite web |title=Alma College Athletics |url=https://almascots.com/hof/bios/Josh_Brehm |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Alma College Athletics |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731022526/https://almascots.com/hof/bios/Josh_Brehm |url-status=live }}
  • In 2022, Alma's dance team won its seventh National Dance Alliance (NDA) Division 3 championship.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-07 |title=Team 7 Wins 7th Title in Daytona Beach |url=https://almascots.com/news/2023/4/7/4_7_2023_36.aspx |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Alma College |language=en}}
  • In 2023, Alma's football team reached the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in its history.{{Cite web |last=Rath |first=Tim |date=2023-12-05 |title=How the Scots Made History: Alma College Reaches Third Round of NCAA Playoffs |url=https://www.alma.edu/news/how-the-scots-made-history-alma-college-reaches-third-round-of-ncaa-playoffs/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Alma College |language=en-US}}
  • In 2024, Alma's competitive cheer team won a fourth-consecutive National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) Division 3 championship.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-13 |title=Domination in Daytona as Cheer Wins 3rd Consecutive National Championship |url=https://almascots.com/news/2024/4/13/cheerleading-team-12-completes-four-peat-as-cheer-is-named-2024-advanced-all-girl-national-champions.aspx |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Alma College |language=en}}

Greek life

Several social Greek letter organizations are active on the Alma College campus.

Notable alumni

File:Gary Peters, official portrait, 114th Congress.jpg

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{ccat}}

  • {{oweb}}
  • [https://almascots.com/ Athletics website]

{{navboxes

|title = Articles related to Alma College

|titlestyle = background:#8A2432; color:white; border:2px solid #

|list =

{{Colleges and universities in Michigan}}

{{Annapolis Group}}

{{Oberlin Group}}

{{Presbyterian Colleges}}

{{CLAC}}

{{Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association navbox}}

}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1886 establishments in Michigan

Category:Buildings and structures in Gratiot County, Michigan

Category:Education in Gratiot County, Michigan

Category:Liberal arts colleges in Michigan

Category:Presbyterianism in Michigan

Category:Tourist attractions in Gratiot County, Michigan

Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Category:Private universities and colleges in Michigan

Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Higher Learning Commission

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1886