Luther College

Did You Know Facts:

About Luther
in the small northeast Iowa town of Decorah, Luther College is an undergraduate liberal arts institution of about 2,500 students. The college is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Founded in 1861 by Norwegian immigrants, Luther offers more than 60 majors and pre-professional and certificate programs leading to the bachelor of arts degree. Its mission statement emphasizes faith, leadership, and community service. Luther College provides equal opportunity for all qualified persons in its educational programs and activities.

History
After discussions extending over several years, the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decided on October 10, 1857, to found a college and began to gather subscriptions for a building fund.

In the same year it also decided that, until such time as suitable buildings could be erected, students should be sent to Concordia College and Seminary in St. Louis, and that a Norwegian professorship should be established there. The first three students went to St. Louis in 1858 and five more followed the next year.

The Norwegian professorship was filled in 1859, when Rev. Laur. Larsen was appointed, entering officially upon his duties October 14, 1859. Hence October 14 was designated as Founders' Day by the college.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, disorders arose in St. Louis; Concordia College and Seminary closed in April, 1861; and Professor Larsen and students returned home. At its meeting in June 1861, the church decided to proceed at once to establish its own college.

In August, although a building in Decorah had been rented and partially renovated, college authorities decided to make use of a newly erected vacant parsonage at Halfway Creek, Wis., about 13 miles north of La Crosse. There the school opened September 1, 1861, with two teachers, Laur. Larsen and F. A. Schmidt. Larsen and Schmidt also served as pastors for the immigrants then living in the area. The enrollment for the year was 16.

In the summer of 1862 the school was transferred to Decorah; its first home was the building, still standing, at the northwest corner of Winnebago and Main streets. The first building on the college campus was "Main," dedicated October 14, 1865.

The present Main building is the third "Main" to stand on the same site, the two preceding having been destroyed by fire in 1889 and 1942. Though college work was begun in 1861, the Civil War, illness, and other causes left none of that year's freshman class to graduate in 1865. The first graduating class, therefore, was that of 1866.

The classical curriculum established by the founders of the college was changed in 1932 when the requirement that all students take both Greek and Latin was dropped.

For 75 years the school admitted men only; then in 1936 Luther College became coeducational. When the institution celebrated its centennial in 1961, it had an enrollment of 1,357 and a staff of 74 full-time and 12 part-time teachers.

Expansion has marked Luther's second century with the student body at 2,545 in the fall of 2005. Faculty have increased to 175. The college has expanded physically since 1960 with an extensive building program that included a new union, library, science hall, field house and athletic complex, three residence halls, a music building, an art and theatre building, and a center for worship and performing arts.

Farwell Hall, a residence hall, and a major expansion of the field house, now renamed the Regents Center, were completed in early 1991. The Franklin W. Olin Building, was completed in Fall 1995. Baker Village, a townhouse-style residential complex, opened in Fall 1999. The Center for the Arts opened in Fall 2002.

The college has also expanded its academic program to include the professional areas of nursing and social work, several preprofessional programs, and a study center in England—all based in Luther's commitment to the liberal arts.

Quick Facts
General
President
Richard L. Torgerson

Character
An independent, coeducational, residential, liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Location
Decorah, Iowa (population 8,500) in the northeast Iowa bluff country 35 miles west of the Mississippi River and 15 miles south of the Minnesota border. The Upper Iowa River flows adjacent to campus.

History
Founded by the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1861

Enrollment
Approximately 2,500 men and women; 35% from Iowa, 88% from Iowa-Illinois-Minnesota-Wisconsin; remainder from 34 other states and more than 40 foreign countries

Calendar
4-1-4 fall and spring semesters divided by January term; two optional summer sessions

Faculty
181 full-time faculty; 89% with terminal degree; faculty:student ratio 1:12

Facilities
Library with more than 340,000 volumes, seating for 977, and computerized access to more than 90 million volumes through interlibrary network; planetarium, anatomy lab, live animal center; KWLC Luther College radio station; 1,600-seat auditorium and 53-rank, 42-stop, 3-manual tracker-action pipe organ in the Center for Faith and Life

Member of ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest)
ACM is a consortium of academically excellent, independent liberal arts colleges. In addition to Luther, members include Beloit College, Carleton College, Coe College, Colorado College, Cornell College, Grinnell College, Knox College, Lake Forest College, Lawrence University, Macalester College, Monmouth College, Ripon College, and St. Olaf College.

Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa
Academic
Degree Conferred
Bachelor of arts; more than 60 majors, minors, and preprofessional programs

Majors/Minors
Accounting
Africana Studies
Anthropology
Art
Athletic Training
Biblical Languages
Biology
Business (Management)
Chemistry
Classical Studies
Communication Studies
Computer Science
Economics
Education (Elementary, Secondary, Special Endorsements—Mental Disabilities, Multicategorical, Prekindergarten/Kindergarten, Reading, ESL/Bilingual)
English
Environmental Studies
French
German
Greek
Health
History
Latin
Latin American Studies
Management
Management Information Systems
Mathematics
Mathematics/Statistics
Museum Studies
Music (Church Music, Education, History and Literature, Performance, Theory/Composition)
Nursing
Philosophy
Physical Education
Physics
Political Science
Psychology
Religion
Russian Studies
Scandinavian Studies
Social Welfare
Social Work
Sociology
Spanish
Speech/Theatre
Theatre/Dance
Women and Gender Studies
Preprofessional and special programs
Arts Management
International Management
Predentistry
Preengineering
Prelaw
Premedicine
Preoptometry
Prepharmacy
Prephysical Therapy
Preveterinary Medicine
Sports Management
Admission
Selectivity
Competitive; secondary school record most important; ACT or SAT scores required
The college accepts promising students without regard to race, creed, handicap, color, national origin, age, sex, or sexual orientation.

Cost for 2009-10
Comprehensive fee including tuition, room, and board is $37,520. Ninety-eight percent of students receive some form of financial assistance, which is based on both need and merit.

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