William Penn University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Dep ...

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U.S. Ce ...

. It was founded by members of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

(Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and finally to William Penn University in 2000.

History

Penn College opened September 24, 1873. The college's name was changed from Penn College to William Penn College in 1933, sparking a controversy whether or not the institution had ceased to exist as an educational institution. That matter was settled once and for all by the Iowa Supreme Court which ruled that Penn College had not ceased to exist as an educational institution. In 2000, the name was changed again from William Penn College to William Penn University. In 1916, fire destroyed the original campus and Penn's business manager Robert Williams and freshman student Harry Oakley were killed when the four-ton college bell crashed through the main building and buried them beneath it. In 1995, William Penn's 'College for Working Adults' was founded, which enrolls non-traditional students in an evening program of accelerated study. In January 2000 the college returned to the NAIA Division II. William Penn is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

and a member of the

North Central Association The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

. In 2007, Musco Lighting, also in Oskaloosa, donated $12 million to the school for various projects—the biggest single gift in the school's history. The money was to be used for of new structures including student recreation, classrooms, laboratories, and a stand-alone Industrial Technology Center building called the Musco Technology Center (MTC), which is home for the expanding Digital Communication Program.

Historic district

Part of the campus has been set aside as a nationally recognized historic district that was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1996. At the time of its nomination it contained ten resources, which included one

contributing site In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, four contributing buildings, two contributing structures, two non-contributing buildings, and one non-contributing structure. The focus of the district is the Quadrangle, which is the contributing site. Penn Hall (1917), Lewis Hall (1917), the Central Heating Plant (1917), and Spencer Memorial Chapel (1923) are the historic buildings. The historic structures are two Memorial Gates (c. 1918). The Southeast Memorial Gate is located at the intersection of North Market Street and Trueblood Avenue. The Southwest Memorial Gate is located at the entrance to a vehicular drive off of Trueblood Avenue. They were gifts of the classes of 1918–1920 to honor their classmates who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Bloomington, Illinois architect A.T. Simmons designed the conceptual plan for the campus and the plans for individual buildings. He also designed the memorial gates; which were erected on May 20, 1918. The use of

Prairie School architecture Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped ...

is an unusual choice for a collegiate setting, and it exemplifies how its influence grew beyond Illinois. The Spencer Memorial Chapel is an exception. It was designed by the prominent Des Moines architectural firm of

Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson Proudfoot & Bird was an American architectural firm that designed many buildings throughout the Midwest region of the United States. Originally established in 1882, it remains active through its several successors, and since 2017 has been known as ...

in the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

style.

Campus ministries

Per the school's website: "At William Penn University, students are encouraged, but not required, to participate in religious life programming. Programming sponsored by Campus Ministries is Christian in orientation and interdenominational in nature. Campus Ministry assists students to explore questions of faith in a nurturing environment and discover spiritual resources to face life's challenges."

Athletics

The William Penn athletic teams are called the Statesmen. The university 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

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

(HAAC) since the 2015–16 academic year. The Statesmen previously competed in the defunct

Midwest Collegiate Conference The Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) was a college athletic conference, consisting of colleges and universities located in Iowa and Wisconsin. Founded in 1988, the conference's member schools competed on the NAIA level in 15 different sports. ...

(MCC) from 2001–02 to 2014–15 (when the conference dissolved); as well as in the

Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. From 1927 until August 9, 2018, it was known officially as the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) and commonly as the Iowa Conference. History The A ...

(IIAC; now known as the American Rivers Conference since the 2018–19 academic year) of the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

ranks from 1962–63 to 2000–01 (which they were a member on a previous stint from 1922–23 to 1953–54). William Penn competes in 23 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, track & field, volleyball and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track & field, volleyball and wrestling; and co-ed sports include cheer & dance and shotgun sports.

Men's basketball

The men's basketball teams have had significant success, finishing as the runner-up in the

2013 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament The 2013 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 22nd annual National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two ...

. In 2014 William Penn set a record for points scored in the NAIA National Basketball Tournament.

Notable alumni

Joseph Benavidez Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San An ...

, professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

Casey Fien Casey Michael Fien ( ; born October 21, 1983), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia Phillie ...

, professional baseball player * John M. Haines, tenth Governor of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

from 1913 to 1915 *

Damon Harrison Damon Paul Harrison (born November 29, 1988) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at William Penn University and was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has also been a membe ...

, professional football player *

Jerry Kutzler Jerry Scott Kutzler (born March 25, 1965) is an American former baseball pitcher. A right-handed starting pitcher, Kutzler appeared in seven games for Major League Baseball's (MLB) Chicago White Sox in the 1990 season. He earned his first MLB vi ...

, professional baseball player * Clarence E. Pickett, 20th-century American Quaker * Lilly Peckham Pickett, 20th-century American Quaker, graduated in 1908 *

Bruce Polen Bruce Polen (born October 22, 1951) is a former American football player and coach. He was the tenth head football coach at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, serving for two seasons, from 1982 until 198 ...

, college football player and coach *

Kevin Ritz Kevin D. Ritz (born June 8, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Ritz grew up in Bloomfield, Iowa. He is an alumnus of William Penn University and Indian Hills Community College. Ritz was drafted by the Detro ...

, professional baseball player * Andy Stokes, professional football player * Rob Taylor,

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

Ed Thomas Edward Arthur Thomas (July 17, 1950 – June 24, 2009) was an American high school football coach. On June 24, 2009, Thomas was shot and killed in his Parkersburg, Iowa football team's weight room by Mark Becker, one of Thomas' former players. ...

, football coach * Antonio Pérez, Educator * D. Elton Trueblood, 20th-century American Quaker * Abel Trujillo, four-time NAIA All-American wrestler; professional mixed martial artist *

Kamaru Usman Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian and American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and retired folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Champions ...

, professional mixed martial artist, former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Welterweight Champion Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

Wilbur Young Wilbur Eugene Young, Jr. (April 20, 1949 – July 5, 2014) was an American professional football player who was a defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins. He a ...

, professional football player

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{authority control Quaker universities and colleges Liberal arts colleges in Iowa Education in Mahaska County, Iowa Oskaloosa, Iowa Historic districts in Mahaska County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Mahaska County, Iowa Educational institutions established in 1873 National Register of Historic Places in Mahaska County, Iowa University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa 1873 establishments in Iowa Private universities and colleges in Iowa