Champlain College

For other uses, see Champlain College (disambiguation).

Champlain College

Motto	Audeamus
Motto in English	Let us dare
Type	Private
Established	1878
President	Donald J. Laackman
Undergraduates	2,000 full-time
Location	Burlington , Vermont , U.S.
Campus	Residential
Colors	white, blue and green
Mascot	Chauncey T. Beaver
Website	www.champlain.edu
Champlain College Logo

Champlain College is a private, co-educational undergraduate college in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1878, Champlain offers traditional undergraduate and online undergraduate courses, along with online certificate and degree programs and master's degree programs, in more than 80 subject areas. Champlain enrolls 2,000 undergraduate students from 41 states and 22 countries.

History

Founded as Burlington Collegiate Institute by G.W. Thompson in 1878, a series of acquisitions changed the College's name and location multiple times. It was renamed Burlington Business College in 1884, moved to Champlain was founded in 1878, when G.W. Thompson opened Burlington Business School to prepare young men for “the business cares and responsibilities of life.” In 1884, when E. George Evans acquired the school, it became coeducational and changed its name to Queen City Business College. In 1905 it moved to Bank Street, and in 1910 to moved again to Main Street. A. Gordon Tittemore acquired the college in 1920, and renamed it Burlington Business College. In 1958, the College took on its current name and moved to its present location in the Hill Section of Burlington. That year, it offered associate degree programs and enrolled about 60 students.

Champlain College opened its first dormitories, Jensen and Sanders Halls, in 1965. It started new programs in social services in the 1970s, opened the Willett Foster Hall, home to the Engineering Technology Division, in 1982, and added the Hauke Family Campus Center in 1989. Champlain offered its first bachelor's degree programs in Business and Accounting in 1990; three years later it began its first online education programs. In 2002, Champlain launched its first master’s degree program in Managing Innovation & Information Technology. The College's library, the Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Information Commons, opened in 1998 and in 2004 the school dedicated the S.D. Ireland Family Center for Global Business & Technology, now home to the Stiller School of Business. The following year, the IDX Student Life Center opened. Also in 2005, David F. Finney was inaugurated as the Champlain's seventh president, and the College added a Master of Business Administration as its second master's degree.

In 2006, President David F. Finney launched several new initiatives, including the Emergent Media Center; the Champlain College Center for Digital Investigation, now called the Senator Patrick Leahy Center for Digital Investigations; and the Conference and Event Center. Champlain also introduced two new scholarship programs: the New American Student Scholarship, for students with refugee or asylum status, and the Vermont First Scholarship for first-generation college students from Vermont, and the College launched its BYOBiz program, which promotes student entrepreneurship.

In 2007 the College opened a study-abroad campus in Montreal, Canada, followed by second study-abroad campus in Dublin, Ireland in 2008. Later that year, Champlain established the Core Division, followed by the Life Experience & Action Dimension (LEAD) program in 2009.

In 2010, Champlain began offering an MFA in Emergent Media and a BS in Environmental Policy, and introduced the Center for Financial Literacy and the Champlain College Publishing Initiative. That same year, Roger H. Perry Hall was renovated. Perry Hall received LEED Platinum certification in 2012, and now houses the Advising and Registration Center, Admissions, Financial Aid, Public Relations, and serves as a general purpose Student Welcome Center. In October 2012, Champlain College received the largest gift in the college’s history, a gift of $10 million from the Stiller Family Foundation that established the Stiller School of Business and helped fund the Perry Hall Welcome and Admission Center, as well as to begin work on the Center for Communications & Creative Media, which is set to open in fall 2015. In fall of 2013, Champlain was prominently featured in an article in The Atlantic, "What Would an Ideal College Look Like? A Lot Like This," as part of the magazine’s “American Futures” series, which looked at American cities that are home to intriguing innovations and entrepreneurship.

President David F. Finney retired in June, 2014, and Donald J. Laackman, president of Harold Washington College, became Champlain’s eighth president in July 2014.

Presidents of Champlain College

1. G.W. Thompson (1878–1883)
2. E. George Evans (1884–1919)
3. A. Gordon Tittemore (1920–1955)
4. C. Bader Brouilette (1956–1976)
5. Dr. Robert A. Skiff (1977–1991)
6. Dr. Roger H. Perry (1992–2004)
7. Dr. David F. Finney(2005–2014)
8. Donald J. Laackman (2014–present)

Demographics

Champlain College enrolls 2,000 undergraduate students from 41 states and 22 countries. 62% of students are male and 38% female. The College has a 12:1 student/faculty ratio, and the average class size at Champlain is 17, with a maximum class size of 30.

Campus

Burlington, Vermont

Champlain College’s campus in the residential Hill Section of Burlington, Vermont encompasses almost 50 buildings in about 2.5 city blocks. First-year students live in 19 restored Victorian-era houses, all within walking distance of campus. Champlain also houses students in apartment-style suites and contemporary lodging. The campus is 22.5 acres (9.1 ha).

Campus academic buildings include the Hauke Family Campus Center; the S.D. Ireland Family Center for Global Business & Technology, home of the Stiller School of Business; the Miller Information Commons; Joyce Hall, Wick Hall, Foster Hall and the Gallery.

All Champlain students have full access to campus computer labs, 3D animation and game production labs, multimedia classrooms and editing suites, a digital photography lab and darkroom, the Metz Studio Barn, the Emergent Media Center and the Senator Leahy Center for Digital Investigation. In 2014, Champlain opened its Makers’ Lab and plans to open the Communication & Creative Media building in 2015.

International Campuses

Champlain College has international academic centers in Dublin, Ireland and Montreal, Canada.

Champlain College’s Montreal campus opened in 2007 on Rue Sherbooke Est. The academic center has classrooms, computer labs, a kitchen and a student lounge. Students live in the Université du Québec à Montréal’s (UQAM’s) dorm with local and international students.

Champlain opened its Dublin campus in 2008 on 43 Leeson Street Lower, near Dublin’s Georgian Office District. The academic center has four classrooms, Mac and PC computer labs, a lounge and two kitchens. Students live in the St. Augustine Apartments.

Academics

Champlain College's "Upside Down Curriculum" allows students to take in-depth courses in their major starting in the first semester.

Undergraduate education

Champlain awards bachelor's degrees in over 30 fields of study, including Computer and Digital Forensics, and Radiography. Some of the most popular undergraduate programs include Business, Graphic Design, and Electronic Game Programming.

Starting with the class of 2011, general education was taught in the form of an interdisciplinary core curriculum. Each course brings together three or four discrete disciplines with the use of various literature and open-ended discussion topics. First-year courses focus on the self, second-year on the community, and third year on global topics. Through courses such as Rhetoric, Concepts of the Self, and Concepts of Community, students gain a background in the liberal arts and sciences.

In the fall of 2008, incoming students began to participate in an out-of-the-classroom life skills program. This life skills program, called the Life Experience and Action Dimension or LEAD, is part of Champlain's Education in 3-D initiative. LEAD aims to build knowledge in four areas: understanding personality styles, building inclusive community, lifelong career management, and financial sophistication. This knowledge is intended to enable students to adapt to changing environments, make good decisions in difficult situations, and pursue short and long-term goals successfully. LEAD requirements are completed outside of class in groups led by student Peer Advisers. The groups are established based on where they live on campus (commuters are in a group of their own). Completion of the LEAD activities is required in order for students to register for their classes the next semester.

One part of the Core is the Global Module. This is a discussion forum between Champlain students and students from other countries. The module contains a guided discussion on important issues. The Global Module is required.

Rankings

Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's “The Best 379 Colleges: 2015 Edition” and Princeton Review’s “Guide to 332 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition.” U.S. News & World Report included Champlain’s online and graduate degree programs in its“Best Online Education Programs Report.” Champlain was named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges in 2014 and ranked in the top tier of 2015 Regional Colleges in the North.

In September 2013, U.S. News & World Report named Champlain the number one "Up-and-Comer" regional college in the North in its 2014 edition of "America's Best Colleges".

Awards

The College has received sustainability awards, including:

• Winner of College/University Category, Way to Go Commuter Challenge (Fall 2013)
• Inclusion The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges (2012, 2013, 2014)
• Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence (2012)
• Honorable Mention for Large Employer, Way to Go Commuter Challenge(2011, 2012, 2013)
• Best Workplaces for Commuters (2008-2013)
• LEED Platinum for Perry Hall (2011)
• LEED Gold for Aiken Hall (2010)

Online programs

The college also offers a variety of programs online. Some associate's and bachelor's degrees, as well as certificates, can be obtained through online courses. Champlain offers 9 master's degrees, which heavily incorporate online learning.These degrees include Business Administration, Early Childhood Education, Emergent Media, Digital Forensic Management, Digital Forensic Science, Health Care Administration, Law, Managing Innovation & IT, and Mediation & Applied Conflict Studies. In 2009, Online Educational Database (OEDb) ranked the college third out of 44 institutions that offer most of their degree programs online. In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked Champlain College in the top 25% of US colleges offering online bachelor's degrees.

Programs Abroad

The college has campuses abroad in Montreal and Dublin.

Campus

The center of campus, with Lake Champlain in the background.

Champlain's campus consists of 42 buildings on about 2.5 city blocks in the residential Hill Section of Burlington, Vermont. Most of the student residence halls are renovated Victorian-era houses. Aside from Victorian style residence halls, Champlain College also offers Transitional Housing. These are apartment style suites with four bedrooms per suite. A shuttle is available to the campus. In 2008, Champlain opened its newest residence, Lakeview Hall, housing approximately 80 students. About 750 students reside on campus, others occupy off-campus college housing, and many live independently. There are 22 residence halls.

The IDX Student Life Center has the dining hall, gym, fitness center, lounge and game room.

Academic buildings include the Hauke Family Campus Center, the S.D. Ireland Family Center for Global Business & Technology, and the Miller Information Commons. Facilities available include 3D animation and game production labs, multimedia classrooms and editing suites, and a photo lab and darkroom.

International campuses

Champlain students have the opportunity to study abroad at the College's international campuses.

• Montreal, Canada: Champlain College of Vermont opened in the fall of 2007. Facilities include classrooms, a lab, student lounge, and kitchen. Student housing is provided by the Université du Québec à Montréal.

• Dublin, Ireland: Champlain College Dublin Centre opened in the fall of 2008. The Academic Center contains classrooms, a computer lab, and lounge, with residency nearby.

Student Activities

There are student-run clubs including Book Club, Community Book Program, Champlain Heritage Society, Champlain Theatre, Children’s Club, Dance Team, Drama, an Improvisational theatre, Performance Poetry Club, Vermont Symphony Orchestra Partnership, Champlain Running Team, Champlain Parkour & Freerunning (PK/FR), Champlain Current (campus newspaper), Criminal Justice Club, Computer Networking & Information Security (CNIS), Deliberative Dialogue, Digital Forensics (DFA), Rock Climbing Club, Disney Program, E-gaming Club, Open Source/Free Software Club (FIREHOSE), Heritage Society, International Club, Ski & Ride Club, Speak Easy, Speaker Series, Student Activities Committee (CHAMP), Student Government Association (SGA), Wellness Programs, Web Radio Station, and Willard & Maple (literary magazine).

There are a variety of intramural sports including Basketball, Dodgeball, Golf, Floor Hockey, Ice Hockey, Flag Football, Lacrosse, Soccer, Table Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Wiffleball, Volleyball, XC/Road Racing, and Quidditch as well as Men's Division III and Women's Intercollegiate Rugby.

The Center for Service and Civic Engagement is a community service and civic engagement based club that participates in a number of activities such as Tent City (a fundraiser to raise homeless awareness and money for COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter), and the DREAM program (a mentoring program for underprivileged children).

There is a Student Government Association.

See also

• List of colleges and universities in Vermont
• Champlain Regional College, an unrelated institution in Canada.

External links

• Official website
• Princeton Review