Culver Academy
From Culverpedia
The Culver Academies were founded in 1894 as an all-boys school, under the original name of Culver Military Academy, by Henry Harrison Culver in Culver, Indiana, United States. Coeducational since 1971, it is a boarding school featuring a broad college preparatory curriculum, as well as a focus on leadership, wellness, and character education. Culver is one of the largest boarding schools in the United States, with over 750 students, an endowment of over $140 million, and a total campus of more than 1800 acres.
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Organization
The boys continue to be organized as a military academy using a cadet system, while girls are part of an English prefect system. The boys' part of the school is known as Culver Military Academy (CMA), and the girls' part of the school as Culver Girls Academy (CGA). CGA has seven dorms and CMA eight units, divided into three battalions which form the regiment or the Corps. The boys are separated into three artillery units (Battery A, B, and C), three infantry units (A, B, and C), one cavalry Troop, and the Band.
Athletics
The Culver Academies have a rich sports tradition and offer a variety of athletic programs and sports teams. The hockey team is world-renowned, and the boys and girls lacrosse teams have both recently won state tournaments. The boys team won in 2004 and the girls team have won three times, in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Culver's Black Horse Troop is one of the nation's foremost elite horsemanship groups for high school students and is usually invited to participate in the Presidential Inaguration Parade.
Culver Summer Schools and Camps
During the summer months, Culver offers two summer camp programs: Culver Summer Camps and Culver Specialty Camps. They consist of a six-week military leadership training program for children ages nine to 18. Specialty Camp consists of one two-week session conducted during the week after CSS with a focus on a specific sport or activity. These extracurricular programs are attended by about 1200-1300 young people each summer. Although largely made up of Americans, the camps are becoming an increasingly popular destination for children from Latin America and the Middle East. During the summer of 2005, 40% of Culver summer campers hailed from outside the United States.
High-school age attendees attend Culver Upper Camps, a three-summer program founded in 1902 under the name of Summer Naval School and intended as a means to increase enrollment in the winter boarding school, a purpose they still serve. Facilities include 69 sailboats, including a square-rigger "The Ledbetter"; a functioning airfield and fleet of Piper and Cessna aircraft; and a world-class riding hall.
Younger Culver Summer Campers attend Woodcraft Camp.
On August 10,200, one of the academy's Piper Warrior single-engine aircraft crashed into Lake Maxinkuckee shortly after takeoff, killing a second-year aviation student and his instructor. Planes were grounded pending an investigation into the accident. At the present, the flying program is no longer using airplanes and a simulator is being used in their place.
Notable former students
- Bud Adams – co-founder of the American Football League and owner of the Tennessee Titans
- Frank Batten – creator of the Weather Channel
- Ernest K. Gann – author
- James A. Henderson – former Chairman and CEO of Cummins Engine
- Hal Holbrook – actor
- Mike Huffington – former US Congressman for California
- Joshua Logan – film director
- Kevin Charles Dean – NHL hockey player - player file
- Louis Nippert – former part owner of the Cincinnati Reds - obituary
- Walter O'Malley – former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers
- George R. Roberts – co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
- Jon Scieszka – children's author
- Gene Siskel – film critic
- George Steinbrenner – owner of the New York Yankees
- Gary Lee Suter – NHL hockey player - player file
- Miles D. White – Chairman and CEO of Abbott Laboratories
External links
Lots of good places to eat, places to stay, and fun things to Do there.
