Cottey College is a
private women's college
Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...
in
Nevada, Missouri. It was founded by Virginia Alice (Cottey) Stockard in 1884. Since 1927 it has been owned and supported by the
P.E.O. Sisterhood, a philanthropic women's organization based in
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
. For most of its history, Cottey was a two-year liberal arts college, and in 2011 it achieved accreditation as a four-year baccalaureate-granting college. It had 302 full-time students enrolled in 2021.
Cottey is situated on of land in Nevada, Missouri, the Vernon County seat and a rural town of 8,198 people (by the 2020 estimate). The main campus occupies 11 city blocks. Five blocks south is B.I.L. Hill, a private lodge that rests above a public park which includes a walking trail, gazebo, and small lake. BIL Hill is used by Cottey students, faculty, and staff for recreation, concerts, bonfires, picnics, suite nights, and other traditions.
History
Beginnings
![Cottey Nevada Souvenir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Cottey_Nevada_Souvenir.jpg)
Cottey College was founded by Virginia Alice Cottey (known as Alice Cottey) in 1884; she originally called it Vernon Seminary, based on the county.
After teaching at Central College in
Lexington, Missouri since 1875, Cottey decided she wanted to establish her own school. She had saved $3,000, and her sisters Dora and Mary lent her nearly $3,000 of their savings to begin the school.
Several towns bid for the opportunity to host the new girls' school, including
Fort Worth,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and several towns in
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. After much thought, Cottey accepted the offer of
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
in Vernon County, although it was not the most generous. Residents donated of land upon which Cottey had a three-story brick building constructed. After the college expanded, this building came to be known as Main Hall.
Vernon Seminary opened its doors in 1884 as a primary, intermediate, and collegiate preparatory school.
In those early years, before educational standardization in the U.S., placement of students depended more upon their accomplishments than age. In 1886 the school's name was officially changed to Cottey College. By 1932, the college consisted only of the higher education part, offering a two-year program.
In 1927, Cottey offered the college to the
P.E.O. Sisterhood (Philanthropic Educational Organization), an international organization based in
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
that supports women's education. She made a condition that they raise a $200,000 endowment for the college (about $2.9 million in 2018 dollars), in order to maintain and operate it for the long term.
The P.E.O. accepted, and have since owned and operated the private Cottey College.
Enrollment
Enrollment grew from 28 to 72 students during the first year,
and by 1910 there were 250 students. Attendance dropped during the 1930s and '40s, but rose to maximum capacity of 350 by the 1970s.
With more two-year local community colleges opening in the later 20th century, Cottey had a slow decline in enrollment during the 1990s and into the 2000s. It was also a period when some young women preferred co-ed institutions in larger communities. The college worked to restore enrollment and to expand its offerings to a full, four-year curriculum, which it achieved in 2011. By 2017, the number of students totaled 307.
Student life
Residential life
Students come from more than 40 states and 20 different countries.
In the 2018–19 school year, international students came from
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
,
Burundi,
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, France,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Guatemala, India,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, Japan, Kenya,
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
, Mexico,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
, Nigeria], South Africa,
Eswatini,
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
, United Kingdom, and
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
.
Cottey students live in one of three campus halls (P.E.O., Reeves, and Robertson), each having between 10 and 14
suites. These include a few bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchenette arranged around a living room. Student rooms have typical college furnishings. Suites are occupied by between 8 and 12 students. Most suites are sponsored by a P.E.O. chapter, and suite members usually receive several care packages from these P.E.O.s during the year. Sponsorship of some suites has changed over time, their names changing as well.
Residence halls
P.E.O. Hall is the oldest of the existing dormitories, and was erected in 1939. It has 10 suites, housing about 100 students. It was the first building to be paid by the
P.E.O. Sisterhood after they acquired the college.
Reeves Hall was built in 1949 on the site where a prior Cottey dorm, Missouri Hall, had burned down in 1940. Like P.E.O., it houses 10 suites and about 100 students. It is noted for having the largest basement of the three halls, and a foyer reminiscent of a classic hotel lobby.
Robertson Hall (Robbie) was the last Cottey dorm to be built, being erected in 1959. It houses 14 suites (about 150 students) as well as the college's dining facility, Raney Dining Hall and the Centennial Room. It is noted for being the only hall with air conditioning and an elevator, and for having the smallest basement.
Each hall has recreational rooms, computer suites, laundry facilities, and quiet study rooms elsewhere in each building.
Cottey has had several prior dormitories, including Rosemary Hall (est. 1903) and Missouri Hall (1928–1940). Main Hall was also used as a dorm from 1884 to 1939.
[Troesch, Dr. Helen DeRusha. The Life of Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard. Wayside Press, Inc., 1955.]
International experience
In 2000, the college established a spring trip abroad for second-year students and other eligible students. Since the first trip, international experience trip in 2000, each second-year class has traveled to one of several destinations:
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, or
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
. For each European destination, the cost of airfare and hotel stays have been paid by the college. Alternative trips to destinations including Japan, Peru], Thailand], Guatemala], New Zealand have sometimes incurred additional fees.
Athletics
The Cottey athletic teams are called the Comets. The college is a member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...
(NAIA), primarily competing in the
American Midwest Conference
The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States.
History
The c ...
(AMC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Comets previously competed as an
NAIA Independent within the Continental Athletic Conference from 2018–19 to 2021–22.
Cottey competes in nine intercollegiate varsity sports: basketball, cross country, eSports, flag football (added in 2020), golf, softball, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.
History
When intercollegiate athletics were re-introduced to the college in the 1998–99 academic year, the Comets competed in the
National Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
(NJCAA).
Notable alumnae
![LadybirdB-29](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/LadybirdB-29.jpg)
*
Jetta Carleton '33 – author of ''The Moonflower Vine'' (1962), a
New York Times Bestseller
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
*
Dora Dougherty Strother '41 –
Women Airforce Service Pilot
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...
, one of the first two women to pilot a
B-29.
*
Ruby Kless Sondock '44 – First woman justice on the Texas Supreme Court
*
Francine Irving Neff
Francine Irving Neff (December 6, 1925 – February 9, 2010) was the 35th Treasurer of the United States, serving from June 21, 1974, to January 19, 1977. She was appointed by Richard Nixon but continued serving as Treasurer through Gerald Ford's t ...
'46 – Treasurer of the United States, 1974–1977
*
Marilyn Harris Springer '51 – Best-selling author of the ''Eden'' series and ''Hatter Fox''.
*
Carol Littleton
Carol Sue Littleton, (born October 23, 1942) is an American film editor.
Her work includes ''Body Heat'' (1981), '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), and '' The Big Chill'' (1983). Littleton was the recipient of an Emmy Award for Outsta ...
'62 – Film editor, nominated for an Oscar for ''
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial''
*
Judith P. Morgan – Painter
*
Judith McCulloh – Folklorist, ethnomusicologist, and university press editor
References
Further reading
* Campbell, Elizabeth McClure. ''The Cottey Sisters of Missouri''. Parkville, MO: Park College Press, 1970.
* Cottrell, Debbie Mauldin. "Mount Holyoke of the Midwest: Virginia Alice Cottey, Mary Lyon, and the founding of the Vernon Seminary for Young Ladies." ''Missouri Historical Review'', vol. 90, no. 2 (Jan 1996), pp. 187–198.
* Stockard, Orpha Loraine. ''The First 75 Years: Cottey College''.
* Troesch, Dr. Helen DeRusha. ''The Life of Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard''. Wayside Press, Inc., 1955.
External links
Official websiteOfficial athletics website
{{authority control
Women's universities and colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in Missouri
Educational institutions established in 1884
Buildings and structures in Vernon County, Missouri
Education in Vernon County, Missouri
1884 establishments in Missouri
NJCAA athletics
Two-year colleges in the United States
Private universities and colleges in Missouri
Women in Missouri