Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE
This entry is being edited.
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE. One of Dubuque's TRI-COLLEGES. The University of Dubuque is the culmination of the first effort of the Presbyterian church to bring education to Iowa. It was one of the earliest collegiate enterprises in the state ranking sixth in order of organization. The school was also among the first to bring a "rational method" of education for the great number of foreign immigrants coming to this country. (1) In 1852 the German Theological College and Seminary, first of its kind west of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER, was founded by Rev. Adrian VAN VLIET, a German Presbyterian minister, as a preparatory school for Presbyterian ministers. In 2015 University comprised the undergraduate college, the graduate school, and the theological seminary.
Van Vliet began the school believing that scores of German immigrant farmers and miners coming to the region would eventually establish homes and need ministers for their churches. He trained Jacob and A. Kolb for the ministry in the basement of his church at 17th and Iowa STREETS, later the site of Our Lady of Lourdes Convalescent Home. (2) Van Vliet's school was unique by modern standards. He provided the students with board, room, and books without charge. As the number of students gradually climbed to eighteen, Van Vliet saw that his annual salary of $400 would no longer cover expenses. At this point, he began charging two dollars per week for board and room and purchased two buildings near the church to be used as dormitories and a kitchen. Impressed by his work, friends contributed $150.00 for its support. (3)
For its first twelve years, the school was the private concern of Van Vliet. In the spring of 1864, however, its supervision came under the control of the Presbytery of Dubuque. The school was then given its first formal name, "The German Theological School of the Northwest."
The Presbyterian Church of the United States officially assumed control of the school in 1870. (4) One year later Reverend Jacob Conzett was chosen as Van Vliet's successor. The school at this time had eighteen students. Still in need of more space, the institution was transferred to a brick building on corner of 17th and Iowa. (5) Under the leadership of Dr. Conzett, the school cleared itself of all financial debt and developed an invested capital of over $50,000. The enrollment increased to twenty-four students taught by three full-time and two part-time professors. This was to be the home of the school from 1872 for the next thirty-five years.
Dr. Cornelius M. STEFFENS, appointed financial secretary in 1902 and president 1908, guided the school into expanding its curriculum. In 1902 there were four teachers and twenty-three students and the financial assets totaled $19,000. (6) From a school offering a limited number of theological studies, a liberal arts college and academy were established by 1905. College degrees were first granted in 1906.
The college was moved to its present location on University Avenue in 1907. Among the first buildings constructed was McCormick Gymnasium. On April 25, 1914 an estimated three hundred persons including college students, faculty, ministers and citizens assembled at the site where construction on the $60,000 building would take place. The funds raised for the building came through the efforts of President Steffens and the generosity of Mrs. Nellie F. McCormick, widow of the Cyrus McCormick, the famed agricultural implement manufacturer of Chicago. (7) Other buildings constructed included Steffens Hall and Van Vliet Hall. The college placed special emphasis on teaching principles of Christianity and democracy to the hundreds of students it accepted. In 1911 the college became coeducational.
The college became known as the German Presbyterian Theological School or the Dubuque Theological German College and Seminary. In 1916, in response to the war, the word "German" was dropped from the name of the school, and the name Dubuque College was adopted. Other reactions to the war included the use of more English in the classroom and a change in the title of the academic magazine from Der Seminarist to The Dubuque Student.
The college officially became the University of Dubuque in 1920.
In 1965 three seminaries in Dubuque – University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), Wartburg Theological Seminary (then of the American Lutheran Church), and Aquinas Institute of Theology (Roman Catholic) formed an unprecedented threefold-seminary consortium. UDTS moved its operations to the AQUINAS INSTITUTE in Dubuque, sharing classroom, library, and living arrangements with Dominican seminarians and faculty. This lasted until 1981, when the Dominicans moved to St. Louis, Missouri. UDTS returned to the University of Dubuque campus. In 2014 the Schools of Theology in Dubuque consortium allows cross-registration to both Wartburg and Dubuque Seminary student bodies. (8)
Since 1998, the seminary offered ruling elders distance education to provide leadership for smaller congregations. The seminary also provided continuing education for teaching elders in distance format. (9)
Beginning in 2007, Dubuque Seminary became the first seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to offer a Master of Divinity distance education program. This accredited distance degree program allowed those interested to take two-thirds of the courses online over a four-year period. (10)
The curriculum and faculty for the online M.Div. are the same as those in our residential program. Interaction with instructors and other students occurs through email and discussion boards. In 2011 UDTS started offering the Master of Arts in Missional Christianity in both distance and residential formats. (11)
The University of Dubuque (UD) was involved in physical activities as early as 1866. UD competed in its first men’s intercollegiate competition - a football game in 1907, but did not begin intercollegiate competition until 1909. (12) In 1925 the university gave up intercollegiate athletics blaming the commercialism of sports. University officials specifically opposed enrolling athletes by offering board and tuition. President Karl F. Wettstone also objected to the coaches' salaries, which he felt, were inflated in comparison with salaries given other department heads. College sports, however, returned to the university in 1928. UD women competed in its first intercollegiate competition—a volleyball game in 1974. A year later, UD added women’s golf and won their first women’s conference championship. Women’s basketball was officially added in 1976, but UD played the sport early in the 1900s competing in the Dubuque City League and against local club teams. (13) In 2015 the University supported 23 teams and numerous intramural sports in state-of-the-art facilities. (14) In May, 2015 the men's golf team won the IIAC golf team championship, its first in thirty-nine years. (15)
The university's honorary rectorship program, begun in 1939 and considered unique in the United States, was actually an old European custom. Archibald MacLeish, three-time Pulitzer Prize winning dramatist and poet, received the thirteenth rectorship in 1977 and the first granted by the university since 1967.
In 1991 the University of Dubuque, with an annual budget and endowment each exceeding $10 million, could boast that 70 percent of its faculty had attained the highest degree possible in their fields. This was an increase from 23 percent in 1970.
Class size has been maintained at between fifteen and twenty students with instruction being given by faculty members. The university has accepted some students with low standardized test scores who have shown potential. Remedial work has then been provided. Retention of first semester freshmen students was increased 9 percent when the university instituted the Freshman Seminar, a two-credit course dealing with topics including money management and cultural diversity.
Athletic facilities have received more than $2 million for expansion and renovation. The Stoltz Sports Center was constructed as an addition to McCormick Gymnasium. The gymnasium, built in 1914, was renovated to included new racquetball courts, indoor pool, Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame, and a multi-purpose playing court.
The University of Dubuque was one of the first colleges in the area to offer an international studies major. In 1991 international students made up 20 percent of the freshman class. An estimated 15 percent of all students at the university came from twenty-nine countries. An additional 8 percent of the student body came from domestic minority groups. Extension programs offered by the university for working nurses seeking an MBA degree were offered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
The goal of the university administration has been to assure that every faculty member had overseas educational experiences. This success has been reflected by the fact that 50 percent of the university's instructors and 100 percent of the seminary's instructors have participated in travel experiences outside the United States. The faculty of the university gained a unique status in the 1970s by being the first in a private institution of higher education west of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER to request collective bargaining.
In cooperation with CLARKE COLLEGE and LORAS COLLEGE, the University of Dubuque participates in the Dubuque Tri-College Teacher Education Program. Students earn a degree from one school, although they are able to take classes on all three campuses. Bachelors and master's degrees are offered.
The University of Dubuque seminary trains ministers for all Protestant denominations, but principally for the United Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Degrees offered include the Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Religion. A program for church administrators links a Master of Divinity degree with an MBA from the College of Liberal Arts. Cooperative programs operate with WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. The Rural Ministry Program introduces students to life in rural America by requiring seminary students to participate in activities that take them into small towns much like they will probably serve in their first ministry. The university's Native American Program conducts workshops on reservations of Native Americans around the United States and has offered scholarships that have been accepted by members of thirty-five tribes.
Unique programs offered by the University of Dubuque include SEED, the three-week Summer Exploration of the Environment program for gifted high school students. In 1991 students from twenty-two states participated in the program while earning college credit.
The university's aviation department enabling students to earn degrees in aviation management and flight operation ranks in the top 50 in the United States and the best in Iowa. (16) In 2014 the university had a Pilot Cadet Program with SkyWest Airlines. The program allowed students to work closely with SkyWest pilots and gave them a clear path to become a SkyWest first officer after becoming flight instructors at University of Dubuque. (17)
Those attending the Dunlap Series have heard such distinguished speakers as economists Arthur Bums and John Kenneth Galbraith. A Speakers' Bureau, operated by the university, offers art programs, an international food festival and student speakers from dozens of countries.
The University of Dubuque (UD) commitment to service-members and veterans dates to WORLD WAR II with the Navy’s V5/V12 programs, continuing to the present day with an Army ROTC Eagle Detachment, and a veteran support group for those studying on campus. Since 1999, the University encouraged Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) graduates living overseas to join our community. The University of Dubuque has been given a “Military Friendly” rating by GI Jobs magazine, is a Yellow Ribbon School, a Vietnam War Commemoration Partner, and a Homebase Iowa employer. The University also employs faculty and staff throughout the campus community, who are veterans of all military branches. (18)
In 2014 the University of Dubuque offered the following assistance, education benefits, and veteran programs to all active duty military, veterans, and their families: (19)
A retired veteran is on-site, providing all student veterans one-on-one
assistance to ensure they are receiving all of their entitled benefits.
Serving our student veterans with one of the largest Veteran Centers in
the region (study rooms, computers, WIFI, media hub, gaming systems,
lounge, and kitchen)
The University of Dubuque participates in the Yellow Ribbon GI Education
Enhancement Program. The University of Dubuque currently contributes
$10,000 (one of the highest in the area) towards the Yellow Ribbon program.
The Veterans Administration matches that amount for a total of $20,000
towards tuition.
Waive the college application fee for veterans relocating to the area
DODDS Partnership and MCEI Grant (Military Child Education Initiative)
– $3,000
ROTC Service (Contracted Cadets) – $6,000
Army ROTC detachment
Offers a reduced rate for LIFE (Accelerated Adult learning Program)
Federal Tuition Assistance rate.
Credit for Military service through Veterans Joint Service Transcript
(JST).
Acceptance of CLEP/DANTES exams for college credit
Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty (Chapter 30)
Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606)
Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)
Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 35)
Reserve Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 1607)
Vocational Rehabilitation - Veterans with Disabilities (Chapter 31)
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Source:
1. "Noted Speakers on Big Program," Telegraph Herald, May 28, 1922, p. 1
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. "Everything Ready for Excavation," Telegraph Herald, April 25, 1914, p. 3
8. "Mission and Tradition," University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. Online: http://udts.dbq.edu/aboutudts/missionandtradition/
9. Ibid.
10. "Distance Master's Registration Information for Summer and August/Fall Semesters," UDTSLearning.net Online: http://udtslearning.net/mod/page/view.php?id=2
11. "Mission and Tradition"
12. "Men's Athletics," University of Dubuque. Online: http://www.dbq.edu/athletics/mens/
13. "Women's Athletics." University of Dubuque. Online: http://www.dbq.edu/athletics/womens/
14. Ibid.
15. "May," Chronology 2014, Telegraph Herald, January 1, 2015, p. 10
16. "Pilot Colleges," University of Dubuque, Online: http://pilot-colleges.com/university-of-dubuque
17. "Airline Agreements: University of Dubuque and SkyWest Airlines Pilot Cadet Program," University of Dubuque, Online: http://www.dbq.edu/academics/officeofacademicaffairs/academicdepartments/aviation/airlineagreements/
18. University of Dubuque, "Veterans," Online: https://www.dbq.edu/veterans/
19. Ibid.
