Abilene Christian University

Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute. ACU has a fall 2011 enrollment of 4,558 students, including 787 graduate students, from across the United States and 60 nations.

Mission statement

"The mission of Abilene Christian University is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.  This mission is achieved through:

• exemplary teaching, offered by a faculty of Christian scholars, that inspires a commitment to learning;
• significant research, grounded in the university's disciplines of study, that informs issues of importance to the academy, church, and society;
• meaningful service to society, the academic disciplines, the university, and the church, expressed in various ways, by all segments of the Abilene Christian University community.

"

History

Abilene Christian University grew from an idea held by A. B. Barret and Charles Roberson to form a school in West Texas. The Churches of Christ in Abilene agreed to back the project. J. W. Childers sold Barret land and a large house west of the town and lowered the price with the stipulation that the school would be named in his honor. Childers Classical Institute opened in the fall of 1906, with 25 students.^[2]

When Jesse P. Sewell became president of the institute in 1912, the school began using "Abilene Christian College" on all its printed material. In 1920, the school paid the Childers family $4,000 and formally changed the name.

The Optimist, the university's student-produced newspaper, was founded in 1912. The Prickly Pear, the school yearbook, was founded in 1916. The JMC Network, a converged student media operation, was created in 2008 to produce all student-led news media. The campus literary-arts magazine (now The Shinnery Review, formerly The Pickwicker) has been in production since 1933.

In 1927, with the help of a $75,000 contribution from the city of Abilene, the board of trustees purchased 680 acres (2.8 km²) northeast of Abilene. In addition, residents donated 75 acres (304,000 m²) of adjoining land. The new campus opened in the fall of 1929.

From the time of its founding to the present, the university has been governed by a board of trustees made up of members of the Churches of Christ. Abilene Christian University has historically been the largest organization in the United States that has time set aside each class day for chapel. Chapel attendance is required, absent an approved exemption, and those students failing to meet the requirement over a period of more than one semester may be subject to suspension.^[3]

Abilene Christian College first received school accreditation in 1971 when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.^[4]

Amberton University, previously Amber University, was created as an extension campus of Abilene Christian University. It was launched in Mesquite, Texas in 1971, moving to Garland, Texas in 1974. It became a separate institution as Amber University in 1982, and was rechristened Amberton University in 2001. Like Abilene Christian University, Amberton remains affiliated with the Churches of Christ.

On February 22, 1976 the name was changed to Abilene Christian University. The University celebrated its centennial in the 2005-06 school year.

The school established an NPR station, KACU-FM, in 1986. Initially, the community was concerned that the school might use the station for proselytizing, and for the station's first 10 years, an advisory board composed of community members served to monitor the station against this possibility.^[5] On October 18, 2008, the school hosted a live broadcast of NPR's long-running "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show from the campus' Moody Coliseum.^[6][7]

An extensive history of the university and its involvement in the world has been consolidated into a single volume work by Dr. John C. Stevens, a former ACU president. The book is called No Ordinary University. As part of the university's Centennial celebration, a coffee-table book called The ACU Century was compiled. It contains images and stories from the university's first 100 years.

Presidents

• Allen Booker Barret (1906–08)
• H. C. Darden (1908–1909)
• Robertson Lafayette Whiteside (1909–1911)
• James F. Cox (1911–1912)^[6]
• Jesse Parker Sewell (1912–1924)
• Batsell Baxter (1924–1932)
• James F. Cox (1932–1940)
• Don H. Morris (1940–1969)
• John C. Stevens (1969–1981)
• William J. Teague (1981–1991)
• Royce Money (1991 – May 31, 2010)
• Phil Schubert (June 1, 2010– )

Accreditations

ACU is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. ACU's business programs are professionally accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). ACU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). ACU Graduate School of Theology is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).

Traditions

• The Prickly Pear. Since 1916, this has been the titled for Abilene Christian University's (formerly Abilene Christian College) yearbook. The Prickly Pear ceased publication in 2009.^[8]

• Sing Song. Since 1956, this annual competition in mid-February has featured student groups of 30-100 people, singing themed a cappella medleys, usually satirical. Originating as a fundraiser for the school, the modern event has developed into a major show for which each group assembles costumes related to their act's theme, such as Peter Pan, the British Royal Guard, Coca Cola, Adam and Eve, or forest fires. Often the costumes involve a mid-performance quick-change to a second costume — such as the 1987 acts in which grapes turned into raisins or bananas peeled to reveal Carmen Miranda — or elaborate choreography within the risers, as when the 1983 freshman class act recreated a Pac-Man screen and manipulated their costumes so that the character appeared to move around the screen.^[9][10][11]
• Summit. Referred to as Lectureship until the 2008 school year. Begun in 1918, this annual program gathers thousands of attendees for lectures and workshops on religious topics connected with a biblical theme that changes each year. After many years of following directly after Sing Song, the lectureship moved in 2006 to a September event, in part to spread out the events that bring the most visitors to campus and also to take advantage of the more stable autumn climate, as winter storms and rain had hindered attendance on multiple occasions.
• Spring Break Campaigns. Hundreds of students participate each year in missionary or community-service programs of 7–10 days in various parts of the United States and, some years, other nearby countries.^[10]
• Welcome Week. This event for the integration of incoming first-year and transfer students provides small-group study programs, social activities, and information fairs in the week preceding the beginning of the fall semester.
• Homecoming. Like most residential U.S. universities, the campus hosts a celebration each fall for alumni to return for a parade, class-year and organizational reunions, and musical theater.^[10]
• Chapel. ACU is one of the few Christian colleges that maintains daily required chapel for all undergraduate full-time students. Chapel is a 30-minute praise and worship time, usually with a featured speaker. The whole campus stops classes and activities for chapel.

ACU ConnectEd: Mobile Learning Initiative

On February 26, 2008, ACU announced that all incoming freshman classes would receive a free Apple iPhone or an iPod Touch. This decision was the result of a study to find out the viability of iPhone and iPod for academic purposes. ACU was reported as the first university in the nation to embrace this opportunity to further education through the use of the new generation of smartphone technologies.^[12] In February, 2009, ACU hosted more than 400 academics and technologists from 31 states and 8 countries for its first ConnectEd Summit ^[13] on mobile learning. Attendees representing more than 90 schools participated in workshops designed to foster mobile learning programs on their own campuses.

In August 2008,^[14]Campus Technology magazine named ACU "Innovator of the Year" in the mobile learning category for this "ACU Connected" initiative. On February 27, 2009, ACU received the award for Institutional Excellence in Information Communications Technology ^[15] from ACUTA and on March 4, 2009, Alcatel-Lucent named ACU a Dynamic Enterprise Award winner and awarded ACU with its first Analyst Choice Award ^[16] for its ACU Connected initiative. On June 13, 2009, the New Media Consortium presented ACU with one of three Center of Excellence ^[17] awards at its annual summer conference for ACU's efforts in mobile learning.

Athletics

• Formerly a charter member of the Division I Southland Conference, Abilene Christian has been in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) of Division II of the NCAA since 1973. In 2007, the conference included 33 ACU current and former student athletes in its 75-member all-sports team commemorating the conference's 75th anniversary.^[18] Through 2009, ACU is fourth in NCAA history in team national championships won with 57, trailing Division I schools UCLA, Stanford, and USC, and tied with Division III school Kenyon College.^[19]
• The men's track and field program has won 32 NCAA National Track and Field Championships: 19 NCAA outdoor and 13 indoor.^[19]
• The women's track and field program has won 22 national championships: 12 indoor and 10 outdoor.^[19]
• The Wildcats were NAIA national football champions in 1973 and 1977.^[20]
• Before the NCAA invalidated its 2007 season, nine ACU football players were included in the LSC's 75th-anniversary list of top players in conference history.^[18] The school's 2007 victories were vacated by the NCAA in 2009. The NCAA charged "two assistant football coaches helped a pair of players find an English correspondence class to take, enroll in the same course, allowed them to use the coaches’ school computers for writing papers and paid to mail the assignments."^[21] The school had scored more than 40 points in 11 of its 13 games and more than 50 points in 7 games and 70 or more points in two games including a 73-76 three overtime loss to Chadron State in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.
• In 2008, the Wildcats "set a record for points in an NCAA (football) playoff game, beating West Texas A&M 93-68 in the second round of the Division II playoffs."[7]
• Ove Johansson kicked the longest field goal in college football history (69 yards) in 1976, 6 yards longer than the current NFL record. As of 2009 it remains the longest field goal over kicked in any level of football competition and is an unbroken world record.^[22]
• Olympic athletes from ACU include Bobby Morrow, three-time 1956 gold medal winner; Earl Young, 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400 relay; Billy Olson, who made the 1980 and 1988 U.S. teams but did not compete in 1980 due to President Carter's decision to boycott the Games; Yolande Straughn, who competed in 1988 for Barbados; and *James Browne, 1988 competitor for Antigua.^[18]
• ESPN and NFL Network analyst and author Sean Adams is a former NCAA All-American athlete for ACU.

Social clubs

The school has a number of student organizations called "social clubs" that are equivalent to a fraternity or sorority on other college campuses; chapters of national Hellenic societies, however, are not permitted. The main goal of these social clubs is to help in service to the surrounding communities and the school itself.^[23] Clubs also participate in intramural sports and Sing Song.

Current Social Clubs

Men's Social Clubs

• Gamma Sigma Phi
• Frater Sodalis
• Pi Kappa
• Trojans
• Sub T-16
• Galaxy

Women's Social Clubs

• Sigma Theta Chi
• Ko Jo Kai
• Alpha Kai Omega
• GATA
• Delta Theta

Notable alumni

• Gordon Bethune, former CEO of Continental Airlines
• Bill Blakeley, former basketball coach at the interscholastic, intercollegiate, and professional levels; ACU Sports Hall of Fame (1993)
• James Browne, Olympic long jumper from Antigua
• Nelson Coates, Emmy-nominated film production designer^[24][25][26] and the first alumnus to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences^[27]
• Randall "Tex" Cobb, professional boxer, actor
• Bonnie Curtis, film producer
• Jody Dean, news anchor of KTVT-TV, Dallas, Texas
• Holly Dunn, country music artist, painter
• Janice Hahn, member of the United States House of Representatives and former Los Angeles City Councilwoman
• James Hill, professional football player
• Robert D. Hunter, member of the Texas House of Representatives, District 71, (1986–2006)
• Ove Johansson, Swedish-born American football fieldgoal record setter, father of Annika Johansson
• Annika Johansson, stage actress, daughter of Ove Johansson
• H. Jeff Kimble, William L. Valentine Professor and Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology
• Johnny Knox, professional football player for NFL team Chicago Bears
• John Layfield, professional wrestler
• David Leeson (1978), co-winner of 2004 Pulitzer Prize (previously nominated in 1986, 1990, and 1995)^[28] and winner of the Edward R. Murrow and National Headliner Awards^[29]
• Max Lucado, best-selling Christian author
• Dr. Abraham J. Malherbe, Buckingham Professor Emeritus of Theology at Yale University
• Danieal Manning, professional football player for NFL team Houston Texans
• Barry McCarty, National radio host and former President of Cincinnati Christian University
• Dr. Dale B. Martin, Woolsey Professor of Religious Studies, Director of Graduate Studies, Yale University
• TJ McCloud, singer-songwriter, former member of Stephen Speaks
• Bobby Morrow, Olympic sprinter, winner of three gold medals in the 1956 Games
• Wilbert Montgomery, professional football player
• Billy Olson, Olympic pole vaulter (1988 Summer Olympics, U.S. team for boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics); held several world records, including first 19-foot indoor pole vault — vaulted for AHS and ACU^{[30][31][32][33][34]}
• Cline Paden (1947), Church of Christ missionary, founder of Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock
• Johnny Perkins, professional football player
• Ted Poe, former Harris County, Texas, judge; member of the United States House of Representatives
• Kevin Price, host of the Houston Business Show on 1070 KNTH and publisher of US Daily Review
• David Sampson, President and CEO of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
• Bernard Scott, professional football player
• Jack Scott, California state senator; chancellor, California Community College System
• Joe Shirley(1978) President, Navajo Nation,
• Jeev Milkha Singh (1996), professional golfer from India^[18][35]
• Randall L. Speck, Partner, Kaye Scholer, LLP law firm
• Paul Stelzer, Co-Director of the Heart Valve Center and a senior surgeon in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, and a Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, whose experience with the Ross procedure is considered among the most extensive in the world.^[36]
• Gilbert Tuhabonye, Burundian Championship runner and genocide survivor, author
• R. Gerald Turner, president of Southern Methodist University
• Thomas B. Warren, Minister, Restoration Theologian, and Religious Philosopher
• Aaron Watson, country music singer
• Allen Wilson, football coach
• Earl Young, 1960 Olympic gold medal winner in 4X400 relay
• [8] Alison Tetrick Starnes, professional cyclist

Notable former students

• Clint Longley, former NFL quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers
• Ronnie Dunn, singer and songwriter - one half of Brooks & Dunn
• Bernard Scott, running back for the Cincinnati Bengals
• Johnny Knox, wide receiver for the Chicago Bears
• Micah P. Hinson, singer and songwriter
• Daniel Johnston, singer and songwriter - attended ACU in his first year of college
• Ali Starnes, Professional Cyclist

Notable professors

• Everett Ferguson, Patristics scholar and noted author
• Douglas A. Foster, Professor of Church History, editor of the Stone-Campbell Encyclopedia
• Forrest McCann, professor emeritus of English, hymnologist
• Gary D. McCaleb, professor of management and founder of Center for Building Community; former mayor of Abilene
• Michael A. O'Donnell, (former) Professor of Family Studies and Founding Executive Director of the Southwest Center for Fathering

Notes

External links

• Official website

Footnote

• ^[9] When James Cox's wife became ill, his brother, Alonzo B. Cox, filled in for him to finish the term.