Cottey College
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Cottey College is a
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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 st ...
in
Nevada, Missouri Nevada ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vernon County, Missouri, Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,386 at the 2010 census, and 8,254 in the 2018 estimate. The local government has a council-manager model. Histo ...
. 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
. 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 266 students enrolled in 2023. 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 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 Lexington is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Lexington is in western Missouri, within the Kansas City metropolitan area, approximately east of Kansas C ...
, 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
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,
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, and several towns in
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
. After much thought, Cottey accepted the offer of
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
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 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
, 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 has 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 in the 2018–19 school year, international students came from 20 different countries. Cottey students live in one of three campus halls (P.E.O., Reeves, and Robertson), each having between 10 and 14
suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite' ...
s. 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 it acquired the college. Reeves Hall was built in 1949 on the site where a prior Cottey dormitory, 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 dormitory 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 dormitory 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 international experience trip in 2000, each second-year class has traveled to one of several destinations:
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,
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,
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, or
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. 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 and 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 higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...
(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 12 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States. History The ...
(AMC) since the 2022–23 academic year. 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) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...
(NJCAA). The Comets also 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.


Notable alumnae

* Jetta Carleton '33 – writer of ''The Moonflower Vine'' (1962), a ''New York Times'' Bestseller *
Dora Dougherty Strother Dora Jean Dougherty Strother (also known as Dora Dougherty McKeown or Dora Strother McKeown; November 27, 1921 – November 19, 2013) was an American aviator best known as a Woman Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and B-29 Superfortress demonstrati ...
'41 – Women Airforce Service Pilot, one of the first two women to pilot a
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* Mary Edelen '65 – former member of the
South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided ...
* Marilyn Harris Springer '51 – best-selling writer of the ''Eden'' series and ''Hatter Fox'' *
Ruby Kless Sondock Ruby Kless Sondock (born April 26, 1926) is a former Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. She was the first woman to serve on the Texas Supreme Court. Sondock initially attended the University of Houston Law Center in order to become a ...
'44 – first woman justice on the
Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court o ...
*
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), '' The Big Chill'' (1983), ''Places in the Heart'' (1984), '' Silverado'' (1985), '' The A ...
'62 – film editor, nominated for an
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for ''
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...
'' *
Judith McCulloh Judith McCulloh (August 16, 1935 – July 13, 2014) was an American folklorist, ethnomusicologist, and university press editor. Early life and education McCulloh was born in Spring Valley, Illinois, on August 16, 1935 to Henry and Edna Binkele. ...
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
,
ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...
, and university press editor * Judith P. Morgan – painter *
Francine I. Neff Francine Irving Neff (December 6, 1925 – February 9, 2010)
'46 –
Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...
, 1974–1977


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
online
* 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 website

Official athletics website
{{authority control 1884 establishments in Missouri Buildings and structures in Vernon County, Missouri Education in Vernon County, Missouri Liberal arts colleges in Missouri NJCAA schools Private universities and colleges in Missouri Two-year colleges in the United States Universities and colleges established in 1884 Women in Missouri Women's universities and colleges in the United States