2008-09 Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2008-09 Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Campus buildings and facilities


The campus is located on the southern edge of Orange City, the county seat of Sioux County in northwest Iowa. Orange City, with a population of 5,700, is within easy driving distance of two larger cities-Sioux City and Sioux Falls-and within reasonable distance of two cultural centers- Minneapolis and Omaha.

The oldest building on the campus, Zwemer Hall, was built in 1894 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Restored in 1997, it houses the administrative offices of the college.

Eighty percent of Northwestern’s classrooms have been built or renovated since 1986. This includes DEMCO Business/Economics Center; Kresge Education Center; Granberg Hall, which houses the English department; and Van Peursem Hall, the main academic building.

The DeWitt Theatre Arts Center, opened in 2003-04, includes two theatres with high-tech acoustical, lighting and mechanical systems: a traditional proscenium-style theatre with fixed seating and a stage at the end, and a convertible black box theatre allowing for a variety of production styles. The building also includes a costume shop, design studio, scene shop, faculty offices, orchestra pit, classroom, dressing and makeup rooms, storage for props, box office, and substantial lobby.

The Thea G. Korver Visual Arts Center, opened in 2003-04, includes an art gallery, faculty offices, and studio rooms for ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, painting/design, photography/art history, and computer graphics.

Christ Chapel/Performing Arts Center and DeWitt Music Hall has a 1,000-seat auditorium, music classrooms, offices, practice rooms and performance areas. It has won several architectural awards for its grandeur and functionality.

The Bultman Center for Health, Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics, opened in 1995, houses the physical education, health services and athletic departments. The building includes a 2,200-seat gymnasium, classrooms and offices, athletic training facilities, large weight/exercise room, locker rooms and a wrestling/aerobics room. It is adjacent to the Rowenhorst Student Center and DeWitt Physical Fitness Center, consolidating all of the college’s physical activity dimensions near the hub of campus activity.

Remodeled in 2007, the Rowenhorst Student Center features a café,bookstore, post office, wellness center, classrooms, and offices for student development, international and multicultural affairs, student government, and student activities. The DeWitt Physical Fitness Center, used for intramural sports, includes a 176-meter indoor track, four handball/racquetball courts, three basketball and four volleyball courts, two indoor tennis courts, and two badminton/pickleball courts.

Residence halls are within easy walking distance of all buildings on the campus; they include Colenbrander, Heemstra and West Halls for men, and Smith, Hospers and Stegenga Halls for women. Cafeteria facilities in the DeWitt Center adjoin Smith Hall. Other campus housing includes six apartment buildings and a number of cottages.

The Learning Resource Center serves as the technological hub of the campus and features an assortment of the latest audio and visual equipment. It houses a wide variety of computer software and hardware, including the Gateway High Performance Computing Laboratory. It also is the “home base” for the campus-wide fiber-optic PC network. Approximately 230 workstations are available for student use, including computer rooms in all residence halls. Each residence hall room is wired for access to the computer network and the Internet.

Ramaker Library, conveniently located near the residence halls and classroom buildings, contains over 200,000 entries accessible through a computerized search and circulation system. The library’s Dutch Heritage Room houses genealogical resources, Northwestern’s archives and Dutch artifacts.

Noteboom Cottage houses Northwestern’s modern foreign languages department.

Near Christ Chapel, DeVries Cottage houses Northwestern’s public relations office.

The James L. Franken Center for Faith, Learning and Living, remodeled in 2004, provides offices for the college’s campus ministry program and Career Development Center.

Northwestern provides program accessibility and reasonable accommodations for persons defined as disabled. The student development staff evaluates student needs, gives advice, and provides support in every way possible. Faculty members endeavor to accommodate disabled students in each class on an individual basis. For more information, call 712-707-7200.