Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College.In its 2011 edition of America's Best Colleges, Grinnell was ranked 19th among all liberal arts colleges in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, tied with Smith College. Grinnell's open curriculum encourages students to take initiative and to assume responsibility for their own courses of study.
In 1843, eleven Congregational ministers, all of whom trained at Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, set out to proselytize on the frontier. Each man pledged to gather a church and together the group or band would seek to establish a college. When the group arrived in Iowa later that year, each selected a different town in which to establish a congregation. In 1846, they collectively established Iowa College in Davenport. A few months later, Iowa joined the Union.
Grinnell College is nationally recognized as a leading undergraduate institution. In July 2006, The New York Times included Grinnell in its profile of the 20 colleges and universities of "established or rising scholarship" which are fast becoming viable alternatives to Ivy League institutions, and is considered one of the 30 Hidden Ivies. Grinnell was ranked 14th in the Washington Monthly rankings, now 20th, which focus on key outputs such as research, dollar value of scientific grants won and certain types of public service. Grinnell is a member of the Eight of the Best colleges (along with Claremont McKenna College, Colorado College, Connecticut College, Haverford College, Kenyon College, Macalester College, and Sarah Lawrence College), which is "a group of eight highly selective, nationally recognized liberal arts colleges." According to U.S. News and World Report rankings, Grinnell is the #18 liberal arts college in the United States. The College has been consistently ranked in the top 16 liberal arts colleges in the nation since the publication began in 1983.