Central College

Located in Pella, a picturesque Iowa town of Dutch heritage and architecture, Central's liberal arts program is characterized by its commitment to rigorous academic achievement, civic engagement, cultural enrichment, environmental stewardship and global perspectives.

Central's core curriculum builds on the development of communication skills and first-year experience by striving to make students active learners and bridge builders. A new core curriculum includes 1) an interdisciplinary liberal arts capstone seminar; 2) a disciplinary studies sequence to provide breadth; 3) a global perspective experience; 4) a global sustainability component; and 5) writing intensive courses spread across four years.

Committed to international education, Central is a nationally recognized leader in study abroad, and about half of Central's students study abroad at one of seven international sites in Austria, England, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain and Wales.

Central is dedicated to service and community-based learning. More than 30 campus-based courses have service-learning components, and more than 300 students each semester engage in course-based service-learning with up to 97 community partners. All of Central's study-abroad programs have service-learning options for students. Central was recently recognized as a finalist for the Presidential Award by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Central was one of only 14 schools in the nation awarded the distinction.

From renovations to new construction to recycling, Central is committed to advancing a holistic and integrated worldview of sustainability by developing a greener campus. The newly constructed Roe Center housing education, psychology, communications, community-based learning and the Center for Global Sustainability Education opened in August 2009 and received the state's first platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2003, the Vermeer Science Center was recognized as the first building in Iowa to achieve a silver LEED rating, and Howard McKee Hall was the first residential building in the state to receive a gold LEED rating. Sustainability efforts extend across campus from dining services (organic foods) to student-led recycling efforts. The newly created Center for Global Sustainability Education serves as a resource center and community sustainability partner that works in conjunction with the community-based learning program.

Approximately 30 percent of the campus population is involved in the fine arts. Students can sing or play in one of more than 18 ensembles ranging from classical to jazz to pop. Music ensembles have toured Italy, Paris, British Columbia, Mexico, London and New York; Central features one of only two undergraduate glassblowing studios in the state of Iowa; the Mills Gallery showcases art exhibitions throughout the year. Theatre programs involve students in every facet of stage production with an intense schedule of three or four major productions annually. The Geisler Library Writers Reading Series includes visits from nationally known authors reading from their fiction and non-fiction works. Supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Humanities Iowa, recent guests have included Marilynn Robinson, Ted Kooser, Carol Bly, Jane Hirshfield, Richard Powers and Patricia Hampl.

Approximately 50 percent of all undergraduates participate in Central's NCAA Division III program. Athletics are integral to the college's overall mission in which development of the whole person is essential. Central student-athletes have received ESPN Academic All-American distinction 48 times and won NCAA Postgraduate scholarships 20 times. Central's A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex is one of the top collegiate facilities in the region, having been chosen to host more NCAA championship events in more sports than any other Iowa college.