Buena Vista University
{{Short description|Private university in Storm Lake, Iowa, US}}
{{advert|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox university
| name = Buena Vista University
| image = Buena vista univ seal.png
| image_size =150
| former_name = Buena Vista College (1891–1995){{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.bvu.edu/about/history |website=bvu.edu |publisher=Buena Vista University |access-date=12 January 2023}}
| established = {{start date and age|1891}}
| type = Private university
| religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA)
| endowment = $128.8 million (2020)As of June 30, 2020. {{cite report |url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx |title=U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA |date=February 19, 2021 |access-date=February 20, 2021}}
| president = Brian Lenzmeier
| city = Storm Lake
| state = Iowa
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{coord|42.642588|-95.207875|region:US-IA_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
| campus = Rural, 60 acres (0.25 km²)
| mascot = Beavers
| website = {{URL|https://www.bvu.edu/|bvu.edu/}}
| colors= Navy Blue and Gold
{{color box|#002244}}{{color box|#FECB00}}
| logo = Buena Vista University logo.png
| logo_size = 200
}}
Buena Vista University is a private university in Storm Lake, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1891 as Buena Vista College, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. The university's {{convert|60|acre|m2|adj=on}} campus is situated on the shores of Storm Lake, a {{convert|3200|acre|km2|adj=on}} natural lake.
Buena Vista University offers 42 undergraduate majors at its Storm Lake campus. Seventeen additional locations throughout Iowa and online serve working adult and graduate students.
History
At its inception, the college was housed in the Storm Lake Opera House, where it remained for only a year. Old Main, the college's first building, opened in 1892, and was occupied by faculty and students until it burned down in 1956. Major construction projects in the 1950s and 1960s extended the college, which soon included three dormitories, a library, and a number of classroom buildings.
Academics
The various major study areas of Buena Vista University are grouped within four schools, each of which is administered by a dean.{{cite web|url=https://catalog.bvu.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=182 |title=Programs by School |publisher=Buena Vista University |access-date=October 18, 2024 }}
- Harold Walter Siebens School of Business
- School of Education
- School of Liberal Arts
- School of Science
Buena Vista University also offers pre-professional programs. Specific course requirements vary with each particular professional and school area and are worked out in detail with the faculty advisor.
The William W. Siebens American Heritage Lecture Series addresses American freedoms. Speakers have included former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter; former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Shimon Peres of Israel, F. W. de Klerk of South Africa, Margaret Thatcher and John Major of Britain; Madeleine Albright, Gen. Colin L. Powell, Walter Cronkite, Carl Sagan, Sir John Marks Templeton, Michael Gartner, Harry Blackmun, Bob Woodward, David Gergen, Jehan Sadat, Vicente Fox, and Paul Volcker.{{cite web|url=https://www.bvu.edu/ahls |title=American Heritage Lecture Series |publisher=Buena Vista University |access-date=October 18, 2024 }}
In 2009, the military science program began at BVU, the only such program in Western Iowa. The mission of the program is derived directly from the regulations governing the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (AROTC) which are issued by the Army Cadet Command and Army Training and Doctrine Command. Army ROTC is an elective curriculum students take along with their major program of study. The program is designed to give students tools, training and experiences that will help them succeed in any competitive environment.
Buena Vista University's degree completion programs offer educational opportunities across the state of Iowa at its off-campus locations. These sites are on the campuses of community colleges with which BVU has established partnerships. Locations include sites in Carroll, Council Bluffs, Creston, Denison, Fort Dodge, Emmetsburg, Estherville, Spencer, Spirit Lake, LeMars, Marshalltown, Mason City, Newton, Ottumwa, and West Burlington.{{cite web|url=https://www.bvu.edu/campaign/BVU-Convenient-Affordable-Programs |title=Convenient, Affordable Degree Completion Programs |publisher=Buena Vista University |access-date=October 18, 2024 }}
Athletics
{{see also|Buena Vista Beavers football}}
Buena Vista University competes in 21 intercollegiate sports at the varsity level. The university is an NCAA Division III institution and a member of the American Rivers Conference (formerly the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). Teams that compete at BVU include baseball, men's and women's basketball, cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling. Roughly one out of every four BVU students participate in intercollegiate athletics.
Buena Vista's mascot is the Beaver. The origins of the Beaver as the Buena Vista mascot go back to the early 1900s, when the football team was called the BVers. In the spring of 1921, a Buena Vista student combined that nickname with the name of the then-popular soft drink Bevo to create the nickname the Beavers.
Buena Vista's softball team appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1971.{{cite book|title=A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series|first1=William|last1=Plummer|first2=Larry C.|last2=Floyd|year=2013|publisher= Turnkey Communications Inc.|location= Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States|isbn=978-0-9893007-0-4}}
Notable alumni
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- Bob Amsberry, college women's basketball coach
- Nate Bjorkgren, professional basketball coach
- Ken Carlson, member of the Iowa House of Representatives
- Jim Doran, professional football player{{cite web|title=Jim Doran|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DoraJi00/splits/1961/|publisher=Pro-Football Reference.com|access-date=11 October 2013}}
- Jim Fanning, professional baseball player and manager
- Ryan Grubb, college football coach
- Carlos Martinez, professional football player{{cite web |title=Carlos Martínez (American football) |url=http://www.nfl.com/player/carlosmartinez/2505243/profile |publisher=NFL Enterprises LLC. |access-date=11 October 2013}}
- Nelle Peters, architect
- Randy Rahe, college football coach
- Jesse Schmidt, professional football player{{cite web|title=Jesse Schmidt|url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/08/07/iowa-barnstormers-jesse-schmidt-named-top-wide-receiver|publisher=Des Moines Register|access-date=11 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215215719/http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/08/07/iowa-barnstormers-jesse-schmidt-named-top-wide-receiver|archive-date=15 February 2013}}
- Shelly M. Shelton, Republican member of the Nevada Assembly{{cite web|title=Assemblywoman Shelly M. Shelton|url=https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Legislator/A/Assembly/Current/10|website=Nevada Legislature|access-date=February 6, 2016}}
- Mark Thompson, politician
- Andre D. Wagner, photographer{{cite web|access-date=2020-11-01|title=Andre D. Wagner and the analogue photographs of the streets of NYC|url=https://www.c41magazine.com/andre-d-wagner-nyc/|date=17 October 2018|website=c41magazine.com}}
- Lindsay Peoples Wagner, journalist{{cite web|title=Lindsay Peoples Wagner Named Editor-in-Chief of the Cut|url=https://nymag.com/press/2021/01/lindsay-peoples-wagner-named-editor-in-chief-of-the-cut.html|website=New York Magazine Press Room|date=4 January 2021 |access-date=January 4, 2021}}
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References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{ccat}}
- {{oweb}}
- [https://bvuathletics.com/ Athletics website]
{{Colleges and universities in Iowa}}
{{Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference navbox}}
{{Presbyterian Colleges}}
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Category:Private universities and colleges in Iowa
Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Category:Universities and colleges established in 1891
Category:Education in Buena Vista County, Iowa
Category:Buildings and structures in Buena Vista County, Iowa
Category:Tourist attractions in Buena Vista County, Iowa