MidAmerica Nazarene University

MidAmerica Nazarene University
Former names
 Mid-America Nazarene College (1966–1996)
Motto To Learn, to Serve, to Be
Type Private
Established 1966
Affiliation Nazarene
President David Spittal
Students 1,907 (Fall 2014)[1]
Undergraduates 1,438 (Fall 2014)
Postgraduates 469 (Fall 2014)
Location Olathe, Kansas, U.S.
38°52′27″N 94°46′59″W / 38.874160°N 94.783120°W / 38.874160; -94.783120Coordinates: 38°52′27″N 94°46′59″W / 38.874160°N 94.783120°W / 38.874160; -94.783120
Campus Suburban
Colors Red, White, Blue
              
Athletics NAIA – HAAC
Nickname The Pioneers
Mascot Pioneer
Affiliations CCCU, NAICU, NCACS
Website www.mnu.edu

MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) is a Christian liberal arts college in Olathe, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1966 by the Church of the Nazarene.

History

The Chapel at MidAmerica.

Mid-America Nazarene College (MANC)[2] was founded in 1966.[3] In 1996, Mid-America Nazarene College formally changed its name to MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU).[4]

Campus

The 105-acre (42 ha) campus is located at 2030 East College Way, Olathe, Kansas, United States.[3][5] The land was donated by Robert R. Osborne, a retired banker.[6] Proposed sites for the college also included Wichita, Topeka, and Ottawa, Kansas.[7]

Affiliations

As one of eight U.S. liberal arts colleges[8] affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene,[9] the college receives financial backing from the Nazarene churches in its region; part of each church budget is paid into a fund for its regional school. Each college is also bound by a gentlemen's agreement not to actively recruit outside its respective educational region.[10] MNU is the college for the North Central Region of the United States, which comprises the Dakota-Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Kansas City, Joplin and Missouri districts, which include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri.[11]

MidAmerica Nazarene is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU)[12] and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).[13] MNU has been accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1974.[4]

Academics

MNU offers undergraduate degrees in 40 majors, and seven graduate degrees in education and business. More than half of the full-time faculty at Mid-America Nazarene hold doctoral degrees. The academic calendar is on a semester system.[3] There were 1,720 students at the college in 2007, 1,295 of whom were undergraduates.[14] The 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 81.1 percent.[15]

Athletics

The athletic nickname is "Pioneers" and the colors are scarlet, white, and navy blue.[16] MNU has men's and women's varsity teams in nine different sports. The teams compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).[17] MNU's athletic facilities include Cook Center (men's and women's basketball, and volleyball in the Bell Family Arena), Land Gym (intramurals), MNU Soccer Field, Pioneer Stadium (torn down summer 2012), Robbie Jones Field at Dixon Stadium (baseball), and Williams Field (softball).

Student life

Interior of sanctuary of College Nazarene Church on campus.

Enrollment comprises approximately 1,300 undergraduate and 200 graduate students, mostly from the North Central United States. Men and women are fairly equal in number. Over 25 percent of undergraduate students are over 25 years old. Members of the traditional undergraduate population who do not live locally with relatives must reside in campus housing. Students also attend chapel services and must follow the college's policy of no smoking, drinking, or gambling. Students participate in religious and service organizations, musical and theatrical groups, publications, intramural sports, and varsity sports.[3]

The men's basketball team won the NAIA Division II basketball championship in 2007 and was the runner up in 2001. The team has been coached by Rocky Lamar (a 1976 MNU graduate) since 1986. It placed second in the NCCAA men's basketball championships in 1997 and 1998. Including its NAIA title games it has appeared in the Final Four in 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. It moved up to Division I in 2009. The court in the Bell Family Arena is named “Rocky Lamar Court.”.[18]

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ncahlc.org/component/com_directory/Action,ShowBasic/Itemid,/instid,1293/
  2. ↑ HLC of NCA confirms hyphen in original name and its removal after renaming.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Mid-America Nazarene College." Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 22 April 2009
  4. 1 2 HLC of NCA: MNU profile
  5. ↑ MidAmerica Nazarene University: About
  6. ↑ Victoria Sizemore Long. (1997, April 6). Philanthropy organization plans to honor three in area Retired banker who helped hospital, school among them :[Metropolitan Edition]. Kansas City Star,p. F.3. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand database. (Document ID: 14721148).
  7. ↑ Collins, Terry and Downs, Stacy. (1997, January 1). Olathe at 140: Proud heritage, promising future :[Johnson County Edition]. Kansas City Star,p. 1. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand database. (Document ID: 13834037).
  8. ↑ J. Matthew, Price. "Liberal Arts and the Priorities of Nazarene Higher Education" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-07-10. Nazarene higher education is based on the liberal arts model. Eastern Nazarene is the only Nazarene institution to retain the "college" moniker, although no Nazarene school fits the standard national definition of a "research university".
  9. ↑ "Nazarene Educational Regions" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-07-10. See Church of the Nazarene: Organization for more information on regions.
  10. ↑ Guidelines and Handbook for Educational Institutions of the Church of the Nazarene (PDF). Church of the Nazarene International Board of Education. 1997. p. 14.
  11. ↑ "North Central Educational Region" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-07-10. ENC and NNU are the only Nazarene schools to remain true to their regional names, although MidAmerica is geographically descriptive.
  12. ↑ "CCCU Members". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  13. ↑ "NAICU Members - E". Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  14. ↑ "Search for Schools, Colleges, and Libraries". U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  15. ↑ "MidAmerica Nazarene University". Guide to Best Colleges. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  16. ↑ College Tookit: MidAmerica Nazarene University
  17. ↑ MNU Pioneers Website
  18. ↑ 2009-10 Coaches: Rocky Lamar - mnusports.com - Retrieved March 10, 2010

External links

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