The University of Sioux Falls (USF) is a private BaptistChristian university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. In fall 2014, the university enrolled a total of 1,142 undergraduate students and 311 graduate students. History Founding and early history On June 5, 1872, pastors and delegates of nine Baptist churches in the Dakota Territory gathered in Vermillion, South Dakota, at the first meeting of the Baptist Association. They adopted the following resolution: "Be it resolved that we take immediate steps for the establishment of an institution among us and that we devote a suitable portion of time at each annual meeting of the consideration of this important subject and give our individual associated influence to encourage a more general and complete education of our youth under distinctly Christian influence." Under the name of Dakota Collegiate Institute, secondary and collegiate programs began on September 8, 1883. The institution's name changed to Sioux Falls University in 1885, with the secondary program called the academy and the collegiate department branded Sioux Falls College. Although the college grew, the academy's enrollment declined, forcing it to close in 1925. Between 1929 and 1931, Sioux Falls College acquired four Baptist schools that had ceased to operate: Des Moines University, Des Moines, Iowa; Grand Island College, Grand Island, Nebraska; Cedar Valley Seminary, Osage, Iowa; and Parker College, Winnebago, Minnesota. With the 1931 merger of Grand Island College with what was still legally Sioux Falls University, the institution's official name became Sioux Falls College. During the Second World War, the college lost its accreditation and offered 200 students, mainly women, two-year degrees. Enrollment surged when the veterans returned home, only to lapse to meager numbers two years later. Financially, the school was in dire straits. Expansion Reuben P. Jeschke (1953–1970) helped regain full, regional accreditation in 1958, and under his leadership enrollment grew from 378 in 1958 to 1,006 in 1968 – a 166 percent increase. The institution's endowment, although modest, also grew, and what Jeschke described as a "near miracle" happened – a history of balanced budgets. The most-visible change during this time was the campus. Jeschke oversaw the building of Mears Library, Salsbury Student Union, Salsbury Science Center, Jeschke Fine Arts Center and three residence halls. In fact, Time magazine featured the college's growth in 1967. The caption read: "Seven Buildings in Seven Years." The subtitle added: "But our