The College of Idaho

The college was conceived in 1884 when the Presbyterian Church's Wood River Presbytery , meeting in Shoshone , formed a commission to examine the possibility of establishing a Presbyterian college somewhere in the Idaho Territory. The commission found support for such a venture and in 1890 the Presbytery accepted an offer from a group of Caldwell citizens led by William Judson Boone, to locate the institution in that community. The college was founded 135 years ago in 1891 by William Judson Boone with the support of the Wood River Presbytery. The college first opened its doors to students on October 7, 1891. Nineteen students showed up at The College of Idaho for the first classes in 1891. The first classes were held downtown in the Caldwell Presbyterian Church. A year later the college moved into its own downtown building before moving to its present site on the east side of town in 1910 when Henry and Carrie Blatchley donated 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land. Sterry Hall, a classroom and administration building, and Finney Hall, the first residence hall, were built that year. Two years later Voorhees residence hall was built, which would be the second of five total residents halls. In 1893, it was incorporated under the laws of the state of Idaho and placed in the hands of a self-perpetuating board of trustees . Boone served as president of the college for 45 years until his death in 1936. In 1991, the college's board of trustees unanimously voted to change its name to Albertson College of Idaho to honor alumnus and long-time donor Joe Albertson (1906–1993) and his wife Kathryn (1908–2002). [ 8 ] The couple, who founded one of the country's largest supermarket chains, Albertson's Inc. , met in a chemistry class at C of I and were generous benefactors of the college. At the time of the name change, the enrollment was 640 students.

[ 9 ] On October 10, 2007, college president Bob Hoover announced that the name would revert to The College of Idaho, with the mutual agreement of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, to promote acceptance and gain financial backing from alumni who were unhappy about the original name change. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] This coincided with a $50 million donation by the foundation to the college.

The college offers 30 undergraduate majors, 28 undergraduate minors, four graduate programs, and a variety of collaborative programs through 17 departments. Popular majors include business, biomedical sciences, psychology, and exercise science. [ 2 ] [ 12 ] Quick facts Academic rankings, Baccalaureate ... Academic rankings Baccalaureate Washington Monthly [ 13 ] 80 Regional U.S. News & World Report [ 14 ] 4 Close The college has been accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities or its predecessor 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 Women (AAUW). Collaborative programs Collaborative programs between The College of Idaho and other institutions offer degrees from both with students spending three to four years at C of I and two to three years at the cooperating university. Collaborative programs in health professions include: nursing , clinical lab science , speech and language pathology and audiology , physical therapy , occupational therapy , pharmacy , pharmaceutical science and public health . Other collaborative programs include engineering and law .

PEAK (2010-2025) PEAK was the college's unique undergraduate curriculum. It was intended to allow students to graduate with an academic major and three minors in four years or two majors and two minors if they choose. [ 15 ] The curriculum was implemented in the fall of 2010. It was made up of four different peaks: humanities & fine arts, social sciences & history, natural sciences & mathematics, and professional foundations & enhancement. Each student under this curriculum is required to major in one of the four peaks, while minoring in the other three allowing a broad base of study with limited general education requirements. [ 16 ]