College of Idaho

Albertson College of Idaho

Albertson College Seal
Motto	None
Type	Private coeducational
Established	1891
President	Robert Hoover
Undergraduates	Approximately 800
Location	Caldwell , ID , USA
Campus	Urban, suburban, park; 50 acres (4 km²)
Annual Fees	$19,000 (2005–2006)
Mascot	Coyote
Website	www.albertson.edu

Albertson College of Idaho is a liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 800 students located in Caldwell, Idaho.

The college offers 27 majors and 26 minors in its baccalaureate degree program.

Albertson College of Idaho was founded in 1891 by Dr. Rev. William Judson Boone with the support of the Wood River Presbytery. It first opened its doors to students on October 7, 1981. In 1893, it was incorporated under the laws of the State of Idaho and placed in hands of a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. Dr. Boone served as president of the College for 45 years until his death in 1936.

In addition to academics, Albertson sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition for men and women. Men participate in basketball, baseball, soccer, golf, long distance running, swimming and skiing. Women compete in basketball, volleyball, soccer, golf, softball, skiing, long distance running, swimming and tennis.

The College has been accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges since 1922. Its teacher education program has been approved by the Idaho State Department of Education since 1913, and its graduates are eligible for certification in all states participating in the Interstate Certification Compact. The College is accepted by, and the alumnae are eligible for, membership in the American Association of University of Women (AAUW).

Albertson is dedicated to preserving and perpetuating the basic social, religious and economic values of America's rich heritage, viz., the free exchange of knowledge, goods and point of view.

It continues to value and be committed to the biblical faith of its founders, and therefore deplores all forms of oppression -- physical, intellectual, religious, political, economic, sexual, social -- by which one person determines the purpose in life of another. Thus the College's courses in religion are nonsectarian, and its admission policy is formulated without regard to creed, color, race, sex or national origin. The College seeks to build and maintain a society in which everyone is given the opportunity to respond in freedom to the biblical command to love others as oneself.

Although the liberal arts are variously defined, the College views them as the basic components of higher education -- the arts, humanities, and sciences -- whose understand leads to the freedom of a responsible life and to the joy of wonder. A liberal arts education seeks to assist students to gain insights into the nature of general truths that lie behind particulars. The College believes this sort of education provides an answer to the issue of how to prepare students for a variety of known vocational specialties as well as those that have not yet been created. It does so by educating students in principle, in abstraction, in general truth, while not ignoring the claims of particulars.

The College seeks to realize this goal in three ways. The first of these is establishing an appropriate curriculum and encouraging the development of a community of scholars. The curriculum consists of course offerings, independent study and travel programs, fieldtrips and internships in more then 20 disciplines from which students may choose their major and minor. To assure breadth and scope in addition to the concentration of a major, the faculty has established general graduation requirements.

Because the College is careful to maintain a close student-faculty ratio, it is nearly impossible for a student or an instructor to be anonymous. This condition the College sees as indispensable to the creation of a sense of community. In both formal and informal settings, teachers and students have an opportunity to share their concern for academic competence by carring inquiry to the point of exploring how competence comes to be and how knowledge is attained.

In the second place, the College has established six distribution groupings through which undergraduate instruction is given and distribution requirements for graduation are alloted. Representatives of thse groupings are combined in an Academic Council, which scrutinizes departmental requests for the adding of new or dropping of old courses and programs, before passing on such requests for examination by the faulty.

Finally, the calendar is intended to help in the realization of the College's educational goals by creating a framework within which both experimental and conventional approaches to education can take place. During the fall and spring terms, most of the traditional courses are offered. Separating these two terms is the winter session, stressing experimentation, innovation, creative teaching, and imaginative learning. Some teachers use the tutorial method; some use the seminar format; others adopt independent research methods. Even for those faculty who choose a traditional format, the emphasis is on the heuristic nature of scholarship.

Albertson is committed to undergraduate resident students who are seeking a liberal arts education, but also interested in serving the wider community as resources and capabilities allow. The College are consistent with the College's philosophy and competence and thus offers appropriate classes.

Albertson, in its out-of-class programs, strives to be a community that enhances the formal educational program by seeking to help students develop into informed and sensitive individuals who are responsible for their own lives and are contributing members of society. Through the office of the Dean of Students Affairs, the College offers individual counseling and fosters student life programs in residence hall living, student government, religious worship and service, campus activities, intramurals, new student orientation, special events and conferences, social events, club functions, study skills development, off-campus studies programs, and career services.

In 1991, the college changed its name to Albertson College of Idaho to honor alumnus and long-time donor Joe Albertson and his wife Kathryn. The name change remains controversial among many alumni.

Albertson College has faced financial challenges in recent years, largely caused by former President Kevin Learned. During the summer of 2003, Learned resigned and was replaced by Robert Hoover, who had recently left the University of Idaho.

In late 2002, the college announced that it would be reducing tuition by 30 percent for students entering during the fall 2003 semester in order to push enrollment numbers up to an ideal level.

Notable Albertson alumni include two former governors, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, an Academy Award-winning musician, the co-discoverer of vitamin B-12, and the founder of Albertson's Inc. -- including former Idaho governor Robert Smylie, and former lieutenant governor and current congressman C.L. "Butch" Otter.

The personal papers of Robert Smylie and the legislative papers of former senator Steve Symms are located at the college.

Academics

Academic Departments

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physical Education
• Mathematical
• Physical Sciences.
• Art
• English
• Modern Languages
• Music
• Philosophy and Religion
• Theatre
• Anthropology and Sociology
• Business
• Education
• History
• Political Economy
• Psychology

Special Academic Programs

• Asian Studies
• Environmental Studies
• Gipson Scholar Program
• Leadership Program

External links

• The Albertson College of Idaho website
• The Coyote - ACI's Student Newspaper