Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Monday, July 08, 2024
Transitional learning. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Eat up the summer with an Iowa Soybean Association Farmer membership powered by the soybean check-off. Access timely industry info, engage in on-farm research, and join producer programs all designed to support your operations' unique needs. Activate or confirm your membership before August 31st and be entered to win one of many unique prizes, including a solo stove. Visit isoybeans.com today to learn more. The Iowa Soybean Association, driven to deliver for Iowa's nearly 37,000 soybean farmers. Any private colleges and universities in Iowa were founded by churches as a way to enhance faith-based learning. On July 8th, 1891, Univistic College was founded in Storm Lake by the Presbyterian Church, with the first classes held in the Storm Lake Opera House. The college soon expanded, made up of four buildings in a small area. Over time, the campus has grown to nearly two dozen buildings, which cover a handful of blocks along the shores of Storm Lake. The college's first building, known as Old Main, opened in 1892 and was the primary building on the campus until it was destroyed by fire in 1956. The loss of Old Main led Univista to evaluate its needs, and soon a decade-long expansion project was initiated with construction of three residence halls, a science building, physical education complex, library, campus center, auditorium, and a classroom administration building, all built during the 1950s and 1960s. Recognizing that it's hard for some people to continue their learning on a campus, Univista decided to bring the campus to the people. In the mid-1970s, the college opened its first satellite location to help serve the needs of non-traditional students who could not attend classes in Storm Lake. These were typically in partnership with community college facilities to allow students of all types to expand upon a two-year degree, earning a full four-year degree from Univista right in their hometowns. Now, there are 16 satellite locations across the state, plus online programs. And in 1995, Univista began offering its first graduate degrees, leading to a name change from college to university. In 2000, Univista University became the nation's first wireless community by providing laptops to all full-time students and faculty in Storm Lake, with the ability to connect to a campus-wide wireless network. From its first days in the local opera house to becoming a technology leader, what was originally called Univista College was founded by the Presbyterian Church on this date in 1891. And that's Iowa Almanac for July 8th. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @IowaAlmanac. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.