Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Seal of Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Motto	"To Seek to Learn is to Seek to Serve"
Established	1968
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	Nazarene
Endowment	US $12,197,377[1]
President	Daniel J. Martin
Students	2,609
Undergraduates	1,923
Postgraduates	686
Location	Mount Vernon, Ohio, United States 40°22′25″N 82°28′29″W / 40.373719°N 82.474773°W / 40.373719; -82.474773Coordinates: 40°22′25″N 82°28′29″W / 40.373719°N 82.474773°W / 40.373719; -82.474773
Campus	Rural
Former names	Zone A College (1964-1966), Mount Vernon Nazarene College (1966-2002)
Colors	Green and blue
Athletics	NAIA (MCC), NCCAA (D-I East)
Sports	Baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, softball, volleyball
Nickname	Cougars
Mascot	Casey the Cougar
Affiliations	CCCU, NCACS
Website	www.mvnu.edu

Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) is a Christian liberal arts college located in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

History

Presidents

1.	Stephen W. Nease	1968-1972
2.	John A. Knight	1972-1975
3.	L. Guy Nees	1975-1980
4.	William J. Prince	1980-1989
5.	E. LeBron Fairbanks	1989-2007
6.	Daniel J. Martin	2007-present

The result of a 1960 education commission,^[2] Mount Vernon Nazarene was first chartered as the Zone A College of the Church of the Nazarene in 1964 by the church's General Assembly.^[3] The Mount Vernon site was chosen in 1966 for its proximity to a concentrated Nazarene population,^[2] and Mount Vernon Nazarene College (MVNC) opened in 1968 on the old Lakeholm Farm property that had belonged to The Ohio State University.^[4]

The Lakeholm Farm was the former home of Columbus Delano, Secretary of the Interior under Ulysses S. Grant.^[4] Three buildings (Manor, Ice House, and Barn) original to Lakeholm Farm, are still in operation on the campus today. Originally a two-year junior college, and thought to be a feeder school for the much older Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) in Massachusetts,^[5] it became a four-year school in 1970,^[6] was accredited for two-year degrees in 1972 and four-year degrees in 1974,^[7] and graduate degrees in Christian ministry were added in 1991.^[3] It was renamed Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) in 2002.^[8]

Campus

MVNU's main campus is along the southern edge of Mount Vernon, Ohio.^[6] The town was just one of many sites proposed for the college, but it raised $209,000 USD to purchase a 209-acre portion of the Lakeholm Farm before the Church of the Nazarene bought it from The Ohio State University, which owned the property.^[4] The colonial-style buildings were designed to resemble Williamsburg, Virginia.^[9] Nine acres were added by Mary Starr in 1970, and the college acquired a neighboring 128-acre (0.52 km²) farm in 1999.^[10] MVNU also has satellite locations in Columbus, Gahanna, Polaris, Newark, Cincinnati, Mansfield, Marion, and Grove City, Ohio.^[11]

Organization and affiliation

MVNU is one of eight U.S. liberal arts colleges^[12] affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene.^[13] Although its name might suggest that it is the college for the "Mount Vernon" region, no such region currently exists;^[14] MVNU is the college for the "East Central Region" of the United States, which comprises the Northwestern Ohio, North Central Ohio, East Ohio, Southwestern Ohio, Central Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia North, and West Virginia South districts (all of Ohio, part of Kentucky, and most of West Virginia).^[15]

The trustees of the college, organized in 1966, are representatives from each of these Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia districts.^[3] 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".^[16] Until the founding of Mount Vernon Nazarene College in 1968, its region had been part of the Eastern Region associated with the Eastern Nazarene College since the first establishment of Nazarene Educational Regions in 1918. This territorial alteration immediately affected the enrollment at Eastern Nazarene.^[17] MVNU has been accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1972.^[8]

Academics

MVNU has programs for traditional students, graduate students, and working adults. The format of the traditional undergraduate division has led some to call MVNU "a college of the past" because it still utilizes "traditional 'women-oriented' programs" common to schools of the early 20th century, such as home economics and "family and consumer sciences," in spite of its liberal arts college model.^[3] 75% of all degrees awarded are bachelor's degrees^[11] and the 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 72.2 percent.^[18] Student-to-faculty ratio is 16:1 and 60% of full-time professors hold a terminal degree.^[11] Many of the faculty members completed their training at one of the other Nazarene institutions of higher education.^[10]

Student life

There were 2,675 students at the college in 2007, 2,169 of whom were undergraduates.^[19] 9% of students represent racial minorities, 93% of students are from the State of Ohio, over 50% are Nazarene-affiliated, 60% are female while 40% are male, and 78% of students live on-campus.^[11]

"Social dancing" is prohibited,^[3] as are "drinking alcoholic beverages, sexual acts with anyone other than one's spouse," "entertainment that is promiscuous, pornographic, or occult, illegal drugs and misuse of legal prescriptions, and tobacco in any form."^[10] Students and faculty are "expected" to attend chapel services three times each week.^[10]

Athletics

MVNU Cougars logo

MVNU's athletic nickname is the "Cougars." The university competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the Mid-Central College Conference and National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) in the D-I East Region. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, and soccer. Women's sports include basketball, cross-country, soccer, softball, and volleyball.^[11] MVNU was recently accepted into the Mid-Central College Conference.^[20]

Notes and references

1. ^ http://www.mvnu.edu/about/facts.asp
2. ^ ^{a b} Mayle, Paul D.; John Williams Oliver, James Hodges, and James O'Donnell, eds. (2003). Cradles of Conscience: Ohio's Independent Colleges and Universities. Kent State University Press. p. 313. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZyIwMHacJO0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA313. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Balmer, Randall (2002). Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. p. 394. http://books.google.com/books?id=syUupeVJOz4C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA394. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Mayle, Paul D.; John Williams Oliver, James Hodges, and James O'Donnell, eds. (2003). Cradles of Conscience: Ohio's Independent Colleges and Universities. Kent State University Press. p. 315. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZyIwMHacJO0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA315. 
5. ^ Ohio had also been part of the "Eastern Educational Region" since 1918, and Jim Cameron, an Ohio native, referred to Ohio as having been ENC's "largest source of both students and funds" at one time. Cameron, James R. (2000). The Spirit Makes the Difference: The History of Eastern Nazarene College, Part II, 1950-2000. Quincy, Massachusetts: ENC Press. p. 282. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Area Development Foundation of Knox County
7. ^ Mayle, Paul D.; John Williams Oliver, James Hodges, and James O'Donnell, eds. (2003). Cradles of Conscience: Ohio's Independent Colleges and Universities. Kent State University Press. p. 320. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZyIwMHacJO0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA320. 
8. ^ ^{a b} HLC of NAC: MVNU profile
9. ^ Mayle, Paul D.; John Williams Oliver, James Hodges, and James O'Donnell, eds. (2003). Cradles of Conscience: Ohio's Independent Colleges and Universities. Kent State University Press. p. 318. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZyIwMHacJO0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA318. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Mayle, Paul D.; John Williams Oliver, James Hodges, and James O'Donnell, eds. (2003). Cradles of Conscience: Ohio's Independent Colleges and Universities. Kent State University Press. p. 322. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZyIwMHacJO0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA322. 
11. ^ ^{a b c d e} MNVU Fact Sheet
12. ^ LIBERAL ARTS AND THE PRIORITIES OF NAZARENE HIGHER EDUCATION by J. Matthew Price, Ph.D. The Eastern Nazarene College is the only Nazarene institution to retain the "college" moniker. Different states hold different standards for university status, but none of the Nazarene "universities" are research universities. Rather, Nazarene higher education is based on the liberal arts model.
13. ^ Nazarene Educational Regions
14. ^ Eastern and Northwest are the only Nazarene schools to use their regional names. MVNU is named for its location in the town of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The East Central Region was broken away from the Eastern Region.
15. ^ East Central Region
16. ^ Guidelines and Handbook for Educational Institutions of the Church of the Nazarene. Church of the Nazarene International Board of Education. 1997. p. 14. http://www.nazarene.org/files/docs/guide.pdf. 
17. ^ James R. Cameron, The Spirit Makes the Difference: The History of Eastern Nazarene College, Part II, 1950-2000, ENC Press (2000) 282.
18. ^ "Mount Vernon Nazarene University". Guide to Best Colleges. U.S. News and World Report. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/items/7085. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
19. ^ "Search for Schools, Colleges, and Libraries". U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/. Retrieved 2009-04-14. 
20. ^ http://www.mvnu.edu/sports/nazad/news/10-11/nov/mcc.asp

External links

• Official website