Carleton College

: This article is about the Minnesota college. For the former Carleton College in Ontario, see Carleton University.

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Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, USA, was founded on November 14, 1866, by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches as Northfield College. In 1871, the name was changed in honor of benefactor William Carleton of Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Related Topics:
Northfield - Minnesota - USA - November 14 - 1866 - Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches - 1871 - William Carleton - Charlestown, Massachusetts

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The school is an independent, non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college with about 1,900 students. The College respects its historical ties and gives continuing recognition to them through membership in the Council for Higher Education of the United Church of Christ. Its current president is Robert A. Oden.

Related Topics:
Coeducational - Liberal arts - United Church of Christ - Robert A. Oden

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Several of Carleton's properties deserve some historical recognition. Carleton's Goodsell Observatory, built in 1887, is on the national registry of historic places. The Carleton College Cowling Arboretum created from lands purchased in the 1920s during difficult financial times by then president Donald J. Cowling, was first called "Cowling's Folly" and later called his legacy. It consists of approximately 880 acres (3.6 km²) of forest, floodplain, and many miles of trail. Finally, an intricate series of heated underground tunnels connect most campus buildings, though they have not been in general use since 1988 due to concerns related to environmental conditions within the tunnels, safety (OSHA has rules about confined spaces, such as tunnels), and security.

Related Topics:
1887 - Carleton College Cowling Arboretum - 1920s - 1988 - OSHA

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Carleton is nationally recognized as a substantial academic force. It is consistently ranked in the U.S. News and World Report's college rankings within the top five U.S. liberal arts schools. Carleton competes in quizbowl and won the 1999 National Academic Quiz Tournaments undergraduate championship. In 2002 and 2004, the team from Carleton received Best Delegation at the Harvard World Model United Nations competition.

Related Topics:
U.S. News and World Report's - Quizbowl - 1999 - National Academic Quiz Tournaments - 2002 - 2004

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Carleton's varsity sports teams are competitive, but none has won such national acclaim as the student-run frisbee clubs; most notably, the Carleton Ultimate Team (CUT) and Syzygy are national forces. CUT has qualified yearly for nationals since 1990, and won the National Championship in 2001 after several years of being the "perennial bridesmaid." Syzygy qualified for nationals fourteen of fifteen years (1989-2002, 2004), winning the National Championship in 2000.

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Additionally, Carleton is home to the nation's oldest student-run pub, The Cave. Founded in 1927 in the basement of a residence hall, it still hosts live music shows and other events several times each week. Northfield's music lovers are further served by KRLX, the College's format-free student-run radio station, which broadcasts continually when school is in session.

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