History and Importance of Iowa State University

Founded on a land grant from the United States government, Iowa State University has been an important feature of Iowa’s culture and history since 1868. ISU was one of the first colleges of the nation to allow both male and female students, a breakaway from the usual male-only policies of the day. Intended as an educational resource for the sons and daughters of the farmers of Iowa, ISU has become one of the nation’s leaders in college-based technological and biological research and development.

Iowa State University serves well over 25,000 students. The beautiful ISU campus is regularly ranked as one of the nation’s top landscapes, and includes a number of buildings and facilities on the U.S. government’s Historical Places roster. One of the most prominent features of the campus is the Campanile bell tower, located on the road leading by Lake LaVerne near the Memorial Union building.

Today, Iowa State University is leading a national effort to revitalize and modernize it's mission of service for the 21st century. and has set the goal to become the best land-grant university in the nation.

Some interesting facts about Iowa State University:

• Iowa State University is the birthplace of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer--the first electronic digital computer.
• The College of Business's transportation and logistics program is one of the top five such programs in the United States, according to the Journal of Business and Logistics and Journal of Transportation.
• In 1999, Iowa State had 149 educational, research and economic development agencies and educational institutions in 50 foreign nations. For example, College of Design students can pursue their interests in architecture and art and design in the Rome Studies Abroad program.
• Iowa State University is the headquarters for the Whole Earth Telescope (WET), a worldwide network of optical telescopes.
• More Iowa high school graduates enroll at Iowa State each year than any other higher education institution in Iowa.
• Iowa State's central campus was one of only three university campuses to make the American Association of Landscape Architect's 1999 centennial listing of "Medallion Sites."
• Iowa State holds the nation's largest public collection of sculptures by Christian Petersen, who was artist-in-residence at ISU from 1934 to 1955.

Revised 7/30/04