Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (area population 143,157 in 2008). The Morningside College Historic District, which includes most of the campus, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Morningside College officially became Morningside University on June 1, 2021.

History

thumb|Morningside College in the 1910s. The building on the left is known today as Lewis Hall, while on the right is Charles City Hall

thumb|Lillian Dimmitt House (1921)

A group of Sioux City business leaders and Methodist ministers established the University of the Northwest in 1889 to provide educational, cultural and economic growth in the community. The location of the campus was the northern section of the farm of Edwin C. Peters, the founder of the suburb of Morningside. The university was plagued with financial problems, and it became a victim of the financial Panic of 1893. It closed in 1894, the same year that the Methodist Episcopal Church incorporated Morningside College and took over the campus. Charles City College in Charles City, Iowa, was a German Methodist college that was absorbed into Morningside College in 1914.

Historic district

Part of the campus has been set aside in 1997 as a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Roadman Hall was built in the mid twentieth century. It houses about 150 students. The dormitory is named after Earl Roadman, president of the college from 1936 to 1956. In 2005, two apartment-style dormitories opened for upperclassmen, the Waitt and Poppen Halls. Lags Hall, a third apartment-style facility, was added in 2007.

Additions since 2005

In 2005, the Hickman Johnson Furrow Library was renovated and a central campus green space and new maintenance facilities were built for $26 million.

The first addition came in the form of the central campus Hilker Green Space, which opened in 2007. The space is designed as a split-level area featuring the grand two-level Lieder Family Fountain. Walkways and a access path cut through the upper-lawn making their way by Lewis Hall connecting the Hickman Johnson Furrow Learning and Olsen Student Centers. Near Eppley Auditorium, the Buhler Outdoor Performance Center was built.

A softball complex was added in Fall 2005.

Notable alumni

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  • Shirley Booz, dancer and model
  • George Everett "Bud" Day, a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and recipient of the Medal of Honor.
  • Kory DeHaan, MLB outfielder
  • Catelin Drey, state senator
  • Anthony Fieldings, football player
  • Ira N. Gabrielson, first director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Stanley L. Greigg, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from northwestern Iowa
  • Matthew C. Harrison, 13th and current president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
  • Daryl Hecht, Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
  • Jerry Johnson, football player
  • William G. Kirchner, Minnesota state legislator
  • Gayle Knief, football player
  • Utu Abe Malae, Gubernatorial Candidate in American Samoa
  • Herb McMath, former NFL defensive tackle
  • Al McIntosh, editor who was featured in Ken Burns' The War
  • Emory Parnell, actor
  • Pauline Phillips and Eppie Lederer, identical twin sisters of the notable newspaper columns "Dear Abby" and "Ask Ann Landers", are Morningside College alumni. Known as the "Friedman twins" during their time at Morningside, they wrote for the school's long-running newspaper, the Collegian Reporter
  • Cory Roberts, President, CEO, and Chairman of the board of Propath
  • Harry E. Siman, member of the Nebraska Legislature
  • Trent Solsma, football player
  • Paul Splittorff, baseball player
  • Samuel A. Stouffer, sociologist
  • Harry Webber, football player
  • Brandon Wegher, football player
  • Carl O. Wegner, Minnesota state legislator

References

  • Official athletics website