Southern Nazarene University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Southern Nazarene University | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Southern Nazarene University logo | |
|
|
|
| Motto: | Character, Culture, Christ |
| Established: | 1899[1] |
| Type: | Private |
| Religious affiliation: | Church of the Nazarene |
| Endowment: | $14,962,759 |
| President: | Loren P. Gresham |
| Provost: | Patrick Allen |
| Staff: | 170 |
| Undergraduates: | 1,800 |
| Location: | Bethany, OK, USA (Coordinates: ) |
| Campus: | Suburban |
| Former names: | Beulah Heights Academy and Bible School, Oklahoma Nazarene College, Bethany-Peniel College, Bethany Nazarene College |
| Sports: | Baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, indoor track, soccer, tennis, track and field, softball, and volleyball |
| Colors: | Black Crimson Gray White |
| Nickname: | Crimson Storm |
| Mascot: | ThunderCat |
| Athletics: | NAIA Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Affiliations: | Council for Christian Colleges and Universities |
| Website: | www.snu.edu |
Southern Nazarene University (also known as SNU and So-Naz) is a Christian liberal arts college located in Bethany, Oklahoma.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
SNU's history is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of several differing institutions.[3] While SNU claims its founding date as 1899, that founding date refers to an institution that merged with what is now SNU. The current campus and college date back to 1906.
[edit] Texas Holiness University (1899)
Texas Holiness University was established in 1899, by one A.M. Hills, at Peniel, a small holiness community outside Greenville, Texas. It was sponsored by the Holiness Association of Texas, but the association disbanded in 1910 after many of its members united with the Nazarenes. The school became a Nazarene institution, supported by the Dallas District. In 1920, Peniel College (as it had been renamed) merged with Oklahoma Nazarene College in Bethany, Oklahoma to form Bethany-Peniel College.
[edit] Arkansas Holiness College (1900)
A school founded by Fannie Suddarth opened in Vilonia, Arkansas opened in 1900. It was thought to have a Free Methodist affiliation but became a part of the Eastern Council of the Holiness Church of Christ in 1906. After the Holiness Church of Christ merged with the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene, the school functioned under the Arkansas District. Arkansas Holiness College, as it was called, merged with the college at Bethany in 1931.
[edit] Mattie Hoke's Bible school (1905)
Mattie Hoke founded a Bible school in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1905. It was supported by a local holiness congregation, later by the Kansas and Nebraska Districts of the Church of the Nazarene. In 1940, its financial situation overwhelmed it and it merged with the college at Bethany.[4]
[edit] Nazarene Bible Institute (1905) and Central Nazarene College (1909)
Another school was established at Pilot Point, Texas in 1905 by the Holiness Church of Christ. After the Holiness Church of Christ merged with the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene in 1908, the school was renamed Nazarene Bible Institute and became an official institution of the Abilene District. Then, in 1911, it was moved to Hamlin, Texas, and took on the name of a Nazarene school there: Central Nazarene College. Central Nazarene College later merged in 1929 with the Bethany-Peniel College.[5]
[edit] Oklahoma Holiness College (1906)
The roots of Oklahoma Holiness College, the original Southern Nazarene University, are in the Oklahoma Orphanage in downtown Oklahoma City, founded by Mattie Mallory. Mallory used her inheritance to buy property north of Oklahoma City, which she named Beulah Heights, and relocated the orphanage there. Later, in 1906, Beulah Heights Academy and Bible School opened. In 1909, the holiness community became Nazarene, and new property was purchased to the west of Oklahoma City. As its church base swelled within the new community known as Bethany, the college’s financial problems proved less threatening than those at other institutions. As historian Timothy Smith wrote, "It eventually outdistanced and absorbed the schools at Hutchinson, Kansas, Peniel and Hamlin, Texas, Vilonia, Arkansas, and Des Arc, Missouri. Bethany became the Nazarene center for the whole Southwest.”[6]
[edit] Recent history
In 1986, the name was changed from Bethany Nazarene College to Southern Nazarene University.[7]
The Transforming Vision Campaign is the first major change to the campus since 1988. There are four major aspects to the campaign: Marchant Center, Centennial Gates, Parker Center, and Science Hall renewal, in addition to a remodel and update of most of educational buildings, wireless network access in every campus building, and new campus art throughout.
[edit] Affiliations
SNU is one of eight regional U.S. liberal arts colleges[8] and universities affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene.[9] SNU is the college for the "South Central Region."[10] In terms of the Church of the Nazarene, the "South Central Region" comprises the Northwest Oklahoma, Northeast Oklahoma, Southwest Oklahoma, Southeast Oklahoma, Texas-Oklahoma Latino, West Texas, South Texas, Dallas, North Arkansas, South Arkansas, and Louisiana districts, which include Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.[11] Each college receives financial backing from the Nazarene churches on its region; part of each church budget is paid into a fund for its regional school. Each college or university is also bound by a gentlemen's agreement not to actively recruit outside its respective "educational region."[12] In 1966, Mid-America Nazarene College was founded in Olathe and given part of SNU's former region. Thus, the South Central Region is smaller than it originally was.
Southern Nazarene is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU)[13] and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).[14]
[edit] Academics
Southern Nazarene is an open admissions college, meaning that all who apply with a high school diploma are accepted without regard to course grades or standardized test scores.[15]
As a liberal arts college, SNU provides students undergraduate degree options in several different fields of interest. It also offers three graduate degrees within seven program areas as well as five professional programs delivered using accelerated modular formats and four associate's degree programs. In 2007, approximately 45% of enrolled students pursued their education in programs using accelerated modular formats (meaning that students attend class one night per week for five or six weeks); 55% of students took classes in traditional course formats.[citation needed]
[edit] Accreditation
SNU has been accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1956.[16]
[edit] Student life
SNU provides several housing opportunities for residential students and various opportunities for student involvement on campus, from athletics to campus publications, theatre, and student government. As a Christian institution, there is also an emphasis on spiritual development.
[edit] Campus publications
The campus newspaper is called The Echo, formerly The Reveille Echo, and is published weekly. The campus yearbook is called The Arrow and is published annually.
[edit] Student government
The Student Government Association (SGA) of SNU coordinates events and services for the students of SNU. The SGA is broken up into five councils: Campus Ministries, Community Relations, Publicity, Social Life, and Student Services.[17] The SGA is responsible for hosting many all school activities that include, Pow Wow (a talent contest), Lipsync, T.W.I.R.P., Heart-Pal, Junior-Senior Banquet, Class Chapels, and Class parties.
[edit] Athletics
SNU is a member of the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) and in Region VI of the NAIA Division I schools. SNU offers 17 sports for men and women, including programs in baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, indoor track, soccer, tennis, track and field, softball, and volleyball.[18] SNU also competes in equestrian events, cheerleading[19], and drumline.[20]
SNU's mascot is the Crimson Storm (and Lady Storm). Until 1999, the mascot was the Redskins, but SNU officials adopted the Crimson Storm in an effort to be more politically correct. In 2003, SNU unvieled the "Thunder Cat," who is present at SNU's home games.
The SNUPY Awards are held annually every spring to honor the achievements of student athletes both on the field and in the classroom.
There are five facilities and sites for athletic competition and training at SNU. These include the Sawyer Center (1998) with a capacity of 5,000, SNU Memorial Stadium (2001) with a capacity of 3,500, the Claud & Bett Cypert Athletic Complex (2000) with a capacity of 1,500 for baseball and 500 for softball, the Wanda Rhodes Soccer Complex (1978) with a capacity of 1,500, and the SNU tennis courts (1985).
[edit] Spiritual development
It is the intent of SNU's administration that spiritual formation pervade the work of the entire university community. Commitment to principles of Christian faith, excellence in learning, and academic integrity are thought to translate into a supportive, caring environment, where close friendships develop and where students and faculty can grow together.
SNU has an Office of Spiritual Development, presided over by a Vice President of Spiritual Development and Dean of the Chapel. Chapel services meet each Tuesday and Wednesday at SNU. The University invites a variety of speakers, and students are encouraged to expand their worldview. Students are required to go to 27 of 30 chapels offered.
[edit] Housing
Dormitories and places of residency include Asbury Apartments for men and women, Bracken Hall for upperclassmen men, Chapman Apartments for juniors, seniors, international students, and married couples, Imel Townhouses for juniors and seniors, Garey Hall for upperclassmen women, Hatley Hall for freshmen and upperclassmen women, and Snowbarger Hall for freshmen and upperclassmen men. Residency requires the purchase of a meal plan from the campus food service, Sodexho.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Texas Holiness University. See History.
- ^ SNU About Page
- ^ "Why These Schools? Historical Perspectives on Nazarene Higher Education," by Stan Ingersol
- ^ In 1966, Mid-America Nazarene College was formed in Olathe, Kansas. Hutchinson and Bethany are 216 miles apart, Olathe and Bethany are 333 miles apart, and Olathe and Hutchinson are 199 miles apart. The three sites form a rather close triangle of decisions made and changed 28 years later.
- ^ The Handbook of Texas ONLINE: Central Nazarene College
- ^ Timothy Smith, Called Unto Holiness, pp. 226–227. found in "Why These Schools? Historical Perspectives on Nazarene Higher Education," by Stan Ingersol
- ^ HLC of NAC: SNU profile. This is a curious development, considering the fact that its name was changed after the creation of Mid-America Nazarene College in 1966 and Mount Vernon Nazarene College in 1968, and the subsequent re-arrangement of educational regions. See the section on Affiliation for more notes.
- ^ Nazarene higher education is based on the liberal arts model.
- ^ LIBERAL ARTS AND THE PRIORITIES OF NAZARENE HIGHER EDUCATION by J. Matthew Price, Ph.D.
- ^ South Central Region
- ^ Although its name might suggest that it is the college for the "Southern" Region, no such region currently exists. Curiously, while the name was changed from Bethany Nazarene College to Southern Nazarene University in 1988 (see History for more notes), Trevecca is still the college for the traditional "American South".
- ^ Nazarene Educational Regions
- ^ CCCU member details
- ^ NAICU member details
- ^ Collegeboard.com on Southern Nazarene
- ^ HLC of NCA: SNU profile
- ^ Student Government Association
- ^ SNU Sports Page
- ^ SNU Cheerleading
- ^ SNU Drumline
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
