Manchester University (formerly Manchester College) is a private liberal arts university associated with the Church of the Brethren and two locations, a residential campus in North Manchester, Indiana, and a second location in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which hosts the university's doctorate programs in pharmacy; master's programs in pharmacogenomics, athletic training, and nutrition and nutrigenomics; and an accelerated second degree program in nursing.[3] Total enrollment is approximately 1,200 students.[4]
Manchester University (formerly Manchester College) was founded in Roanoke, Indiana, as the Roanoke Classical Seminary in 1860 by the United Brethren Church. David N. Howe served as the last president of Roanoke Classical Seminary, which was moved to North Manchester to become North Manchester [Manchester] College. He served as Manchester College's first president from 1889 to 1894 and is known as the founder.[5] The school was renamed Manchester College in 1889 when it moved to North Manchester. In 1932, Manchester merged with Mount Morris College of Mount Morris, Illinois, a Methodist seminary founded in 1839. Manchester is a college of the Church of the Brethren.
The Peace Studies Institute and Program for Conflict Resolution—the first undergraduate peace studies major in the U.S., was established at Manchester in 1948.[6] The program was chaired by Kenneth Brown from 1980 until 2005.[6][7]
In 2012, Manchester changed its name from Manchester College to Manchester University to reflect the growing number of graduate programs offered.[9] Manchester also expanded & opened its second location featuring its state-of-the-art pharmacy school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2012.[10] Manchester is the first university to offer a master's degree program in pharmacogenomics.[11]
Academics
Manchester University operates on a 4-1-4 (four month semester- January Session- four month semester) academic calendar in its College of Undergraduate Studies. Students working toward a bachelor's degree can choose from seventy-eight major fields of study and thirty-four minor fields. Students working toward an associate degree can choose from two major fields of study. Manchester also offers master's degrees in five fields of study and a doctorate degree in pharmacy.
The Department of History and Political Science is one of the oldest and most prestigious programs of study at Manchester,[citation needed] housing the Mock Trial and Model United Nations organizations. Well-known graduates include G. John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and co-faculty director of the Princeton Project on National Security; and Steven A. Shull, '65, university research professor at the University of New Orleans. Distinguished faculty have included Professor of Political Science Robert Johansen (Class of 1962; faculty 1967–74), founding Fellow of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and president of the World Policy Institute (1978–1982); and Professor of Medieval History Andrew Cordier (Class of 1922; faculty 1926–1944), one of the co-founders of the United Nations and president of Columbia University (1968–1970).
Manchester benefited from Cordier's faculty position as, through its relationship with him, Manchester also became the only college in the United States to hold NGO status with the United Nations, a distinction Manchester still holds.[13] This has allowed the institution to attract a number of renowned public figures and policy makers to its campus, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Barry Goldwater, Ralph Nader, and Jesse Jackson.[citation needed]
Campus
A view across Manchester University's mall on its North Manchester campus
All students classified as first-years, sophomores, or juniors must live on campus unless they live within 40 miles of Manchester University with their parents or are married. There are no fraternities or sororities at Manchester, and the university is a partially dry campus with alcohol being permitted at certain events.[14]
Manchester University has five residence halls:
East Hall is a traditional-style hall that houses up to 224 men and women and is designated for first-year students.
Garver Hall is a traditional-style hall houses up to 275 men and women with a majority of the hall being restricted to first-year students.
Helman Hall is a suite-style hall that houses up to 129 men and women classified as sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
Oakwood Hall is a suite-style hall that houses up to 129 men and women classified as sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
Schwalm Hall take offline in 2021
East Street Apartments houses students classified as sophomores, juniors, or seniors, with priority given to seniors.
Students in their senior year are permitted to live off campus, and often live in named, themed houses that may persist through several years of occupants.
Manchester also offers more than thirty student clubs and organizations.[15]
Service
In 2012–13, Manchester students contributed over 47,000 hours of community service, earning the university a spot on the president's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth-straight year. The university's chapter of Indiana Reading Corps is one of the largest in the state, logging more than 3,000 hours tutoring elementary school children. Habitat for Humanity also is a major recipient of campus service.[4]
Washington Monthly magazine ranks Manchester 14th among the nation's baccalaureate colleges for its “contribution to the public good.”[16]
Buildings
The university president's residence, named Tall Oaks, is located on the North end of campus and is passed on from president to president.[17]
The principal nonresidential buildings on the campus of Manchester University are:
Science Center
Funderburg Library
Cunningham Academic Center
Clark Computer Center
Otho Winger Memorial Hall
Physical Education and Recreation Center (PERC)[18]
Note: The Academic Center is a renovation of the former Holl-Kintner Hall, and contains classrooms, faculty offices and an admissions Welcome Center.[20]
Note: The Administration Building was razed in 2022.
Athletics
Manchester University teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The Spartans are a member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC). Men's sports include swimming, diving, baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include swimming, diving, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, wrestling, cheer and volleyball.
A burgeoning esports team began intercollegiate play in 2020 and competes in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and the Great Lakes Esports Conference (GLEC).
Donald F. Durnbaugh, professor and author of church history, moderator of Church of the Brethren annual conference, editor of the Brethren Encyclopedia
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