Buena Vista University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Storm Lake, Iowa Storm Lake is a city in and the county seat of Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,269 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 10,076 in the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Located along ...

, United States. Founded in 1891 as Buena Vista College, it is affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

. The university's campus is situated on the shores of Storm Lake, a natural lake. Buena Vista University offers 42 undergraduate majors at its Storm Lake campus. Seventeen additional locations throughout

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and online serve working adult and graduate students.

History

At its inception, the college was housed in the Storm Lake Opera House, where it remained for only a year. Old Main, the college's first building, opened in 1892, and was occupied by faculty and students until it burned down in 1956. Major construction projects in the 1950s and 1960s extended the college, which soon included three

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

, a library, and a number of classroom buildings.

Academics

The various major study areas of Buena Vista University are grouped within four schools, each of which is administered by a dean. *Harold Walter Siebens School of Business *School of Education *School of Liberal Arts *School of Science Buena Vista University also offers pre-professional programs. Specific course requirements vary with each particular professional and school area and are worked out in detail with the faculty advisor. The William W. Siebens American Heritage Lecture Series addresses American freedoms. Speakers have included former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter; former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Shimon Peres of Israel, F. W. de Klerk of South Africa, Margaret Thatcher and John Major of Britain; Madeleine Albright, Gen. Colin L. Powell, Walter Cronkite, Carl Sagan, Sir John Marks Templeton, Michael Gartner, Harry Blackmun, Bob Woodward, David Gergen, Jehan Sadat, Vicente Fox, and Paul Volcker. Bvucampusfromlake

In 2009, the military science program began at BVU, the only such program in Western Iowa. The mission of the program is derived directly from the regulations governing the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (AROTC) which are issued by the Army Cadet Command and Army Training and Doctrine Command. Army ROTC is an elective curriculum students take along with their major program of study. The program is designed to give students tools, training and experiences that will help them succeed in any competitive environment. Buena Vista University's degree completion programs offer educational opportunities across the state of Iowa at its off-campus locations. These sites are on the campuses of community colleges with which BVU has established partnerships. Locations include sites in Carroll, Council Bluffs, Creston, Denison, Fort Dodge, Emmetsburg, Estherville, Spencer, Spirit Lake, LeMars, Marshalltown, Mason City, Newton, Ottumwa, and West Burlington.

Athletics

Buena Vista University competes in 21 intercollegiate sports at the varsity level. The university is an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

institution and a member of the

American Rivers Conference The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. From 1927 until August 9, 2018, it was known officially as the Iowa Intercollegia ...

(formerly the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). Teams that compete at BVU include baseball, men's and women's basketball, cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling. Roughly one out of every four BVU students participate in intercollegiate athletics. Buena Vista's mascot is the Beaver. The origins of the Beaver as the Buena Vista mascot go back to the early 1900s, when the football team was called the BVers. In the spring of 1921, a Buena Vista student combined that nickname with the name of the then-popular soft drink Bevo to create the nickname the Beavers. Buena Vista's softball team appeared in one

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

in 1971.

Notable alumni

* Bob Amsberry, college women's basketball coach *

Nate Bjorkgren Nate Bjorkgren (; born June 20, 1975) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of South Da ...

, professional basketball coach * Ken Carlson, member of the

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 ...

* Jim Doran, professional football player *

Jim Fanning William James Fanning (September 14, 1927 – April 25, 2015) was an American-Canadian catcher, manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. Often called "Gentleman Jim", Fanning was the first general manager of the Montreal Expo ...

, professional baseball player and manager * Ryan Grubb, college football coach * Carlos Martinez, professional football player * Nelle Peters, architect *

Randy Rahe Randy Michael Rahe (born June 12, 1960) is an American former college basketball coach who was the head men's basketball coach at Weber State University. He was hired on March 23, 2006, as the 9th coach in Weber State's 47-year history. Rahe an ...

, college football coach * Jesse Schmidt, professional football player * Shelly M. Shelton, Republican member of the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member distri ...

* Mark Thompson, politician * Andre D. Wagner, photographer *

Lindsay Peoples Wagner Lindsay Peoples (born October 17, 1990) is an American editor serving as editor-in-chief of ''New York'' magazine's '' The Cut'' since 2021. She is the former editor-in-chief of ''Teen Vogue'', and was the youngest editor-in-chief of any Condé ...

, journalist

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{authority control Private universities and colleges in Iowa Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Universities and colleges established in 1891 Education in Buena Vista County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Buena Vista County, Iowa Tourist attractions in Buena Vista County, Iowa 1891 establishments in Iowa Storm Lake, Iowa