{{Short description|Liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, US}}

| former_name = Iowa Conference Seminary (1853-18571853–1857)

| type = [[private college|Private]] [[liberal arts college]]

| undergrad = 10331,033<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cornellcollege.edu/institutional-research/institutional-profile/faqs.shtml|title=INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH & ASSESSMENT FAQ}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/cornell-college-1856|title=Cornell {{Bare URL inlineCollege|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220160522/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/cornell-college-1856|archive-date=April 20222011-02-20|access-date=2023-08-31}}</ref>

'''Cornell College''' is a [[private college|private]] [[liberal arts college]] in [[Mount Vernon, Iowa]]. Originally the '''Iowa Conference Seminary''', the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cornell College History & Traditions|url=http://www.cornellcollege.edu/about-cornell/history-and-traditions/index.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620215506/http://www.cornellcollege.edu/about-cornell/history-and-traditions/index.shtml |archive-date=2017-06-20 |access-date=2017-07-11}}</ref> Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron tycoon [[William Wesley Cornell]].

Cornell students study ''one course at a time'' (commonly referred to as "the block plan" or "OCAAT"). Since 1978, school years have been divided into "blocks" of three- and- a- half weeks each (usually followed by a four-day "block break" to round out to four weeks), during which students are enrolled in a single class; what would normally be covered in a full semester's worth of class at a typical university is covered in just eighteen Cornell class days. While schedules vary from class to class, most courses consist of around 30 hours of lecture, along with additional time spent in the laboratory, studying audio-visual media, or other activities. [[Colorado College]] in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]]; [[Maharishi University of Management]] in [[Fairfield, Iowa]]; [[Quest University]] in Squamish, British Columbia; [[Tusculum College]] in [[Tusculum, Tennessee]]; and [[University of Montana - Western|The University of Montana - Western]] are the only other colleges operating under a similar academic calendar. Cornell formerly operated on a calendar of 9 blocks per year but switched to 8 blocks per year beginning in the fall of 2012.

FromSince its inception, Cornell has accepted women into all degree programs. In 1858, Cornell was host to Iowa's first female recipient of a baccalaureate degree, Mary Fellows, a member of the first graduating class from Cornell College. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics. In 1871, [[Harriette Cooke|Harriette J. Cooke]] became the first female college professor in the United States to become a full professor with a salary equal to that of her male colleagues.

[[File:KingChapel1.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[King Memorial Chapel|King Chapel]], Cornell College]]

Cornell contains 9 academic buildings. College Hall (also sometimes called "Old Main"), the oldest building on campus, houses classrooms and offices of several social science and humanities departments. South Hall, originally a male dormitory, houses the Politics and Creative Writing Departments. Prall House contains offices and classrooms of the Philosophy and Religion Departments. The Merle West Science Center houses the Physics, Biology, and Chemistry Departments. West Science contains one of the school's two stadium seating lecture-style classrooms, with a capacity around 100. These have since been relocated to the new science building, Russell Science Center. It opened for classes for the 2019–2020 academic year. The Norton Geology Center contains both an extensive museum and classrooms for geological sciences. Law Hall includes the Math, Computer Science, and Psychology Departments, and is the computing hub of the campus. McWethy Hall, formerly a gymnasium, was remodeled and now contains the studios and offices of the Art Department. Armstrong Hall and Youngker Hall are adjoining fine arts buildings. Armstrong Hall is the location of the Music Department, while Youngker Hall contains the Theatre Department, including Kimmel Theatre. In addition, the Small Sports Center and the Lytle House contain classrooms of the Kinesiology Department.

Cornell has achieved its greatest success in [[collegiate wrestling|wrestling]]. Cornell wrestlers have won eight individual national titles, and in 1947, the wrestling team won the NCAA [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]] and [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] national championships. Sixty-Two Cornell wrestlers have been named NCAA All-Americans, and seven have been elected to the [[National Wrestling Hall of Fame]]. Seven wrestlers have also competed at the [[Olympic Games|Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cornellrams.com/sport/0/11.php |title=Cornell College - 2014-15 Wrestling |publisher=Cornellrams.com |access-date=2014-08-24}}</ref>

Cornell's [[mascot]] is a [[ram (sheep)|ram]]. In 1949, the Royal Purple, the school's yearbook, offered a $5 prize for someone who could come up with a new mascot to replace either the "Purples" or "Hilltoppers." A sophomore came up with the idea for the ram.

From 1853-1927 over twenty literary societies and secret societies emerged as the backbone of social life at Cornell. In 1927, all of these groups voluntarily disbanded, and in 1929, faculty voted to allow groups to organize as Greek organizations, provided that they renounced all ties to national Greek organization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greek Life History |url=https://www.cornellcollege.edu/greek-life/history/index.shtml |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=www.cornellcollege.edu}}</ref> At present, Cornell College has 1211 officially recognized local fraternities and sororities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cornellcollege.edu/greek-life/fraternities-and-sororities/index.shtml|title=Fraternities and Sororities - Cornell College|website=www.cornellcollege.edu}}</ref>

*[[Frank Jeremiah Armstrong]] (1900) -– First African American graduate of the college

*[[Orin D. Haugen]] (1925) -– Colonel in the United States Army during World War II<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~webbrl/Haugen/|title=An Orin D. Haugen Page|website=cda.morris.umn.edu}}</ref>

*[[Duane Garrison Hunt]] (1907) -– Roman Catholic Bishop of Salt Lake City from 1937 until his death in 1960 <ref>{{cite web|title=The Most Reverend Duane G. Hunt|url=https://www.dioslc.org/about-us/bishops-corner/32-the-most-reverend-duane-g-hunt|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

*[[Deb Mell]] (1990) — member of [[Illinois House of Representatives]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Deb Mell|url=http://www.ilga.gov/house/rep.asp?MemberID=1952|publisher=Illinois General Assembly|access-date=14 October 2013}}</ref>

*[[Jack Norris (activist)|Jack Norris]] (1989) -– President and co-founder of [[Vegan Outreach]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://veganculinaryexperience.com/JackNorris.htm |title=Interview with Jack Norris, President and Co-founder of Vegan Outreach |last=Wyrick |first=Jason |year=2008 |website=The Vegan Culinary Experience |location=[[Glendale, Arizona]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311011005/http://veganculinaryexperience.com/JackNorris.htm |archive-date=2014-03-11 |url-status=live |access-date=2014-04-07 }}</ref>

*[[Dale O. Thomas]] (1948) — Wrestler and coach<ref>{{cite web|title=Dale O. Thomas|date=6 March 2004 |url=http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/obituaries/dale-o-thomas/article_1d3080a7-bbb6-5c06-80f6-2b5f8a610e48.html|publisher=Corvallis Gazette Times|access-date=14 October 2013}}</ref>

*[[Lisa Stone]] — Head Coach, [[Saint Louis University]] Women's Basketball<ref>{{cite web|title=Ex-Wisconsin coach to head SLU women's basketball team|date=3 May 2012 |url=http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/ex-wisconsin-coach-to-head-slu-women-s-basketball-team/article_71f243ac-9583-11e1-a10d-001a4bcf6878.html|publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=17 June 2014}}</ref>

[[Category:EducationalUniversities institutionsand colleges established in 1853]]