Cottey College
Encyclopedia
Cottey College, located in Nevada
, Missouri
is a private, two-year women's college
that also offers select baccalaureate degree programs. It was founded by Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard in 1884, and is currently owned and supported by the P.E.O. Sisterhood
, a philanthropic women's organization.
Cottey College has traditionally offered only the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Science degrees. Starting in Fall 2011, Cottey began offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in the following programs: English, Environmental Studies, and International Relations and Business (see International Business at Cottey College
). The new four-year degree programs are highly interdisciplinary, and students are encouraged to pursue a hybridized course of study that includes coursework from each of the three new programs. The new BA programs are housed in Cottey's Institute for Women's Leadership and Social Responsibility.
For students pursuing an Associate's degree, the type of degree a student receives is based upon the core curriculum and distribution requirements she completes. Students choose subjects of their interest and/or intended major. For Associate's degree students, there is no obligation to declare a major while at Cottey; however, students usually complete prerequisites or requirements for their future field of study. Over 95% of graduates transfer to four-year institutions, including Smith College
, Stephens College
, Salem College
, and Mount Holyoke College
.
Cottey has a student to faculty ratio of 10:1, and the average class size is 13. It is not uncommon to have courses with fewer than 10 students. Faculty includes both men and women, with 94% holding the terminal academic degree
in their field. The college's mission is stated in the college Catalog: "Cottey College will educate qualified women in the arts and sciences to prepare them for transfer to programs beyond the associate's degree by enhancing their intellectual ability, their store of knowledge, their personal skills, and thereby their capacity for contribution to society and their chosen .
The college has a nationally recognized leadership program known as LEO. The Center for Women's Leadership provides structured leadership training for current students and women from the area, as well as high school students.
Cottey is situated on 66 acres (26.7 ha) of land in Nevada
, Missouri
a rural town of about 9,000 people. The main campus is situated on 11 city blocks. Five blocks south of this is B.I.L. Hill, a 33 acres (13.4 ha) wooded area owned and used by Cottey for recreation, concerts, bonfires, picnics, suite nights, and other traditions.
The official colors of Cottey are yellow and white. Additionally, the senior class color is navy blue and the freshmen class color is "baby" blue. The senior class mascot was originally known as "Hermann the duck" and was adopted by the senior class in 1924. The current senior mascot is known as Hermitrude the duck
, while the freshmen class chooses their own mascot every year (see Past Freshmen Mascots). The daisy
was chosen by the first Cottey students to represent their school, and plays an important role in traditions like convocation
and commencement
.
, Bulgaria
, France
, Zimbabwe
, and nine other nations.
Cottey students live in one of three campus halls (P.E.O., Reeves, and Robertson), each having between 10 and 14 suite
s with several bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchenette arranged around a living room. Student rooms have typical college furnishing. Suites have between 8 to 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.
after they acquired the college.
Reeves Hall was built in 1949 on the site where a prior Cottey dorm, 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 dorm 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 dorm from 1884 to 1939.
s teams are called the Comets and compete in intercollegiate basketball
, volleyball
, and softball
(beginning in spring 2009). Currently, the swimming team,Swimmin' Women, competes largely as exhibition, since no other two-year colleges in the area have swimming
programs. Cottey's teams compete in Region XVI of the National Junior College Athletic Association
playing teams in their region, as well as teams from community colleges in eastern Kansas
.
. Since then, they have taken each senior class to one of several European destinations: Paris
, Madrid
, London
, Rome
, and Florence
. For all of these trips, airfare and hotel stays are paid for by the college. In 2009, students will have the choice of going to Italy
, Guatemala
, or New Zealand
. Due to the broadening of Cottey's destinations, what was originally dubbed their "European Experience" is now called an "International Experience." In 2010, the Senior Class was offered the option of going on the traditional trip to London, England, or on an alternative trip to New Zealand at an additional cost. The class of 2011 will be not be offered the alternate trip to New Zealand; instead, they will be given the option to go for a week-long journey throughout Japan.
Until the 1960s, first-year students were known as juniors and second-year students as seniors ("cSc"). In 1967, juniors became known as freshmen ("fcc"). Seniors have passed down denim
jackets with duck
s painted on the back for approximately 40 years; most traditions, however, remain surprises to the freshmen.
Individual residence halls (P.E.O., Reeves and Robertson) have specific songs as well. These songs have also changed over the years.
P.E.O. Hall Songs
since 1875, Alice (as she was called) decided it was time to establish the school she'd always wanted. She had $3,000 saved, and her sisters Dora and Mary lent her nearly $3,000 of their own savings to begin her school.
Several towns bid for the opportunity to host the new girls' school, including Fort Worth
, Texas
and several towns in Missouri
. After much thought, Alice accepted Nevada
's offer, even though it wasn't the most generous. Nevadans donated 6 acres (2.428 ha) of land upon which Alice erected a three-story brick building, which came to be known as Main Hall.
Vernon Seminary opened its doors in 1884 as a primary, intermediate, and collegiate school. In those early years, before educational standardization in the U.S., placement depended more upon accomplishment than age. In 1886 the school's name was officially changed to "Cottey College," and by 1932, only the college department remained.
In 1927, Alice offered the college to the P.E.O. Sisterhood
on the condition that they raise a $200,000 endowment for the school (about $2.5 million in 2008 dollars). The P.E.O.s accepted, and have since owned and operated Cottey College.
Nevada, Missouri
Nevada is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2011 census. It is the county seat of Vernon County. Nevada is the home of Cottey College, a junior college for women operated by the P.E.O. Sisterhood....
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
is a private, two-year women's college
Women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States are single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that exclude or limit males from admission. They are often liberal arts colleges...
that also offers select baccalaureate degree programs. It was founded by Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard in 1884, and is currently owned and supported by the P.E.O. Sisterhood
P.E.O. Sisterhood
The P.E.O. Sisterhood is an international women's organization of about 250,000 members with a primary focus on providing educational opportunities for female students worldwide. The Sisterhood is organized with chapters throughout the United States and Canada, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa....
, a philanthropic women's organization.
Cottey College has traditionally offered only the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Science degrees. Starting in Fall 2011, Cottey began offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in the following programs: English, Environmental Studies, and International Relations and Business (see International Business at Cottey College
International Business at Cottey College
The International Business program at Cottey College is part of the BA degree program in International Relations and Business and prepares students to successfully operate businesses in today's global economy...
). The new four-year degree programs are highly interdisciplinary, and students are encouraged to pursue a hybridized course of study that includes coursework from each of the three new programs. The new BA programs are housed in Cottey's Institute for Women's Leadership and Social Responsibility.
For students pursuing an Associate's degree, the type of degree a student receives is based upon the core curriculum and distribution requirements she completes. Students choose subjects of their interest and/or intended major. For Associate's degree students, there is no obligation to declare a major while at Cottey; however, students usually complete prerequisites or requirements for their future field of study. Over 95% of graduates transfer to four-year institutions, including Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, Stephens College
Stephens College
Stephens College is a women's college located in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833 as the Columbia Female Academy. In 1856, David H. Hickman turned it into a college,...
, Salem College
Salem College
Salem College is a liberal arts women's college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina founded in 1772. Originally established as a primary school, it later became an academy and finally a college. It is the oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college...
, and Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
.
Cottey has a student to faculty ratio of 10:1, and the average class size is 13. It is not uncommon to have courses with fewer than 10 students. Faculty includes both men and women, with 94% holding the terminal academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in their field. The college's mission is stated in the college Catalog: "Cottey College will educate qualified women in the arts and sciences to prepare them for transfer to programs beyond the associate's degree by enhancing their intellectual ability, their store of knowledge, their personal skills, and thereby their capacity for contribution to society and their chosen .
The college has a nationally recognized leadership program known as LEO. The Center for Women's Leadership provides structured leadership training for current students and women from the area, as well as high school students.
Cottey is situated on 66 acres (26.7 ha) of land in Nevada
Nevada, Missouri
Nevada is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2011 census. It is the county seat of Vernon County. Nevada is the home of Cottey College, a junior college for women operated by the P.E.O. Sisterhood....
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
a rural town of about 9,000 people. The main campus is situated on 11 city blocks. Five blocks south of this is B.I.L. Hill, a 33 acres (13.4 ha) wooded area owned and used by Cottey for recreation, concerts, bonfires, picnics, suite nights, and other traditions.
The official colors of Cottey are yellow and white. Additionally, the senior class color is navy blue and the freshmen class color is "baby" blue. The senior class mascot was originally known as "Hermann the duck" and was adopted by the senior class in 1924. The current senior mascot is known as Hermitrude the duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
, while the freshmen class chooses their own mascot every year (see Past Freshmen Mascots). The daisy
Bellis perennis
Bellis perennis is a common European species of Daisy, often considered the archetypal species of that name. Many related plants also share the name "Daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as Common Daisy, Lawn Daisy or occasionally English daisy. It is...
was chosen by the first Cottey students to represent their school, and plays an important role in traditions like convocation
Convocation
A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....
and commencement
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
.
Residential Life
Students generally represent over 40 states and 15 different countries. In the 2007-2008 school year, international students came from JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, and nine other nations.
Cottey students live in one of three campus halls (P.E.O., Reeves, and Robertson), each having between 10 and 14 suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
s with several bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchenette arranged around a living room. Student rooms have typical college furnishing. Suites have between 8 to 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. SisterhoodP.E.O. Sisterhood
The P.E.O. Sisterhood is an international women's organization of about 250,000 members with a primary focus on providing educational opportunities for female students worldwide. The Sisterhood is organized with chapters throughout the United States and Canada, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa....
after they acquired the college.
Reeves Hall was built in 1949 on the site where a prior Cottey dorm, 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 dorm 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 dorm from 1884 to 1939.
Athletics
Cottey's sportSport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s teams are called the Comets and compete in intercollegiate basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
(beginning in spring 2009). Currently, the swimming team,Swimmin' Women, competes largely as exhibition, since no other two-year colleges in the area have swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
programs. Cottey's teams compete in Region XVI of the National Junior College Athletic Association
National Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association , founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is held as Divisions and Regions. The current NJCAA holds 24 separate regions.-History:The idea for the NJCAA was...
playing teams in their region, as well as teams from community colleges in eastern Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
International Experience
In 2000, Cottey College took their senior class on a weeklong trip to London, England over spring breakSpring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
. Since then, they have taken each senior class to one of several European destinations: Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. For all of these trips, airfare and hotel stays are paid for by the college. In 2009, students will have the choice of going to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, or New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Due to the broadening of Cottey's destinations, what was originally dubbed their "European Experience" is now called an "International Experience." In 2010, the Senior Class was offered the option of going on the traditional trip to London, England, or on an alternative trip to New Zealand at an additional cost. The class of 2011 will be not be offered the alternate trip to New Zealand; instead, they will be given the option to go for a week-long journey throughout Japan.
Traditions
Traditions have historically played an important role in Cottey residential life. Without other forms of entertainment, the women of Cottey College created and passed down many traditions, which are one of the distinguishing marks of the college today. Participation in traditions today is optional.Until the 1960s, first-year students were known as juniors and second-year students as seniors ("cSc"). In 1967, juniors became known as freshmen ("fcc"). Seniors have passed down denim
Denim
Denim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century...
jackets with duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s painted on the back for approximately 40 years; most traditions, however, remain surprises to the freshmen.
Passdowns
One of the most prominent of Cottey's traditions is the passing down of objects from seniors to freshmen. Each suite has passdowns, which are unpacked at the beginning of the schoolyear and placed on special shelves in the common area. In addition, each student is given passdowns through several traditions during the year. These are usually kept secret from the freshmen until the event. Duck Jackets are passed down at the end of each year.Founder's Day
Each year Cottey College hosts a reunion of its classes on a weekend around the birthday of Virginia Alice Cottey in the end of March. The event is marked with many traditions, performances, a grand dinner and fireworks, as well as fundraising efforts.List of Traditions
|
|
|
|
Past Freshmen Mascots
Listed beside their graduating year.
|
Piglet -Livestock:* Piglet , the young of the domestic pig* Suckling pig, often consumed as food* Roasted piglet, a Serbian dish of roast meat, not necessarily pork-Other:* Piglet , the fictional character from A. A... Snapping turtle The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico... Dragon A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern... Alligator An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator .... Fox Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to... Swan Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae... Seal (musician) Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an... Monkey A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys... Giraffe The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant... Fox Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to... Phoenix (mythology) The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians.... |
Cottey Songs
Singing traditional Cottey Songs is an important part of student life. Many songs have been passed down from class to class for many years. Some songs have been altered (both in melody and lyrics) from generation to generation. While some songs are reserved for special traditions or Holidays, many are often enjoyed without occasion.Individual residence halls (P.E.O., Reeves and Robertson) have specific songs as well. These songs have also changed over the years.
List of Songs
|
|
|
P.E.O. Hall Songs
|
|
|
Beginnings
Cottey College was opened by Virginia Alice Cottey in 1884, and was originally called "Vernon Seminary." After teaching at Central College in LexingtonLexington, Missouri
Lexington is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,453 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies about 40 miles east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
since 1875, Alice (as she was called) decided it was time to establish the school she'd always wanted. She had $3,000 saved, and her sisters Dora and Mary lent her nearly $3,000 of their own savings to begin her school.
Several towns bid for the opportunity to host the new girls' school, including Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and several towns in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. After much thought, Alice accepted Nevada
Nevada, Missouri
Nevada is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2011 census. It is the county seat of Vernon County. Nevada is the home of Cottey College, a junior college for women operated by the P.E.O. Sisterhood....
's offer, even though it wasn't the most generous. Nevadans donated 6 acres (2.428 ha) of land upon which Alice erected a three-story brick building, which came to be known as Main Hall.
Vernon Seminary opened its doors in 1884 as a primary, intermediate, and collegiate school. In those early years, before educational standardization in the U.S., placement depended more upon accomplishment than age. In 1886 the school's name was officially changed to "Cottey College," and by 1932, only the college department remained.
In 1927, Alice offered the college to the P.E.O. Sisterhood
P.E.O. Sisterhood
The P.E.O. Sisterhood is an international women's organization of about 250,000 members with a primary focus on providing educational opportunities for female students worldwide. The Sisterhood is organized with chapters throughout the United States and Canada, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa....
on the condition that they raise a $200,000 endowment for the school (about $2.5 million in 2008 dollars). The P.E.O.s accepted, and have since owned and operated 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. Cottey experienced a slow decline in enrollment during the 1990s and into the 2000s, which they are presently attempting to reverse.Paranormal Activity
Tales of ghostly happenings at Cottey have been told for decades. The most propagated story is of hearing a piano being played in Main Hall or Rosemary Hall at night, when no one else is there. The music is usually attributed to the ghost of Vera Neitzert, a high school student who attended Cottey in 1920. In May of that year she was cooking candy in a chafing dish in Main Hall when her nightclothes caught fire. She incurred serious burns all over her body and died a few days later in the Amerman Sanitorium, which stood where the Blanche Skiff Ross Memorial Library is today. While she didn’t die on Cottey’s campus, her ghost is said to roam Main Hall and Rosemary Hall (before it was razed due to a failing foundation) and will wander all over the campus. Others believe that the piano is being played by Madame Blitz, head of Cottey’s music department at the turn of the 20th century. As well, in 1904, a Mme. Blitz drank carbolic acid and died in her home across the street from Cottey, and her spirit is still said to walk the campus.Notable Alumnae
- Dr. Carol Belt '73 - Meteorologist; Completed AstronautAstronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Training as a major in the United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. - Jo Anne Youtz McFarland '67 - College President; First woman appointed to head a Wyoming Community College
- Carol LittletonCarol LittletonCarol Littleton is an American feature film editor. Her work includes E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Big Chill and Body Heat...
'62 - Oscar-nominated editor of the film E.T.E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote... - Kelley Smith Tunney '60 - Former Vice President, Associated Press; First female general manager of the Associated Press
- Marilyn Harris SpringerMarilyn Harris (writer)Marilyn Harris is an American author best known for her seven-novel "Eden"series, an historical saga about the Eden family of England. Theseries contains This Other Eden ; The Prince of Eden ;...
'51 - Best-selling author of the Eden series and Hatter Fox. - Francine Irving NeffFrancine Irving NeffFrancine Irving Neff was the 35th Treasurer of the United States, serving from June 21, 1974 to January 19, 1977...
'46 - Treasurer of the United States from 1974–1977 - Dora Dougherty Strother - Women Airforce Service PilotWomen Airforce Service PilotsThe Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...
, one of first two women to pilot a B-29B-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
. - Jetta Carleton '34 - author of New York Times Bestseller The Moonflower Vine (1962)
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.
- 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
- Cottey College
- P.E.O. International - Cottey College
- Cotteyphile Cottey history, memories, and community