Central College

Central College is a private liberal arts college located in Pella, Iowa. It is a four-year school affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. Central has a student body of approximately 1,600 undergraduates and a 130 acres (53 ha) main campus. The college is noted for its study abroad program. The Baptist Convention of Iowa founded Central University of Iowa in 1853 and it officially opened on October 8, 1854. The first class totaled 37 people. Central was a Baptist institution until 1916, when it was transferred to the control of the Reformed Church in America. Since 1886, Iowa Baptists had shifted their post-secondary education interests to Des Moines College, and hoped to reduce Central to a feeder school. The college was called...