| MidAmerica Nazarene University | |
|---|---|
Seal of MidAmerica Nazarene University |
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| Motto | To Learn, to Serve, to Be |
| Established | 1966 |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Nazarene |
| President | Jim Diehl (Interim) |
| Students | 1,720 |
| Undergraduates | 1,296 |
| Postgraduates | 424 |
| Location | Olathe, Kansas, United States |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Former names | Mid-America Nazarene College (1966–1996) |
| Colors | Scarlet, Royal blue, White, |
| Athletics | NAIA (HAAC) |
| Sports | Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Softball, Volleyball |
| 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. It was established in 1966 by the Church of the Nazarene.
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Mid-America Nazarene College (MANC)[1] was founded in 1966.[2] In 1996, Mid-America Nazarene College formally changed its name to MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU).[3]
The 105-acre (42 ha) campus is located in Olathe, Kansas, a suburban city southwest of Kansas City, Missouri.[2][4] The land was donated by Robert R. Osborne, a retired banker.[5] Proposed sites for the college also included Wichita, Topeka, and Ottawa, Kansas.[6]
As one of eight U.S. liberal arts colleges[7] affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene,[8] the 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 is also bound by a gentlemen's agreement not to actively recruit outside its respective educational region.[9] 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.[10]
MidAmerica Nazarene is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU)[11] and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).[12] MNU has been accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1974.[3]
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.[2] There were 1,720 students at the college in 2007, 1,295 of whom were undergraduates.[13] The 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 81.1 percent.[14]
The athletic nickname is "Pioneers" and the colors are scarlet, white, and navy blue.[15] MNU has men's and women's varsity teams in eight different sports. The teams compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).[16] MNU's athletic facilities include Cook Center (men's and women's volleyball, indoor track, volleyball, and basketball in the Bell Family Arena), Land Gym (volleyball, weight training), MNU Soccer Field, Pioneer Stadium (football, track and field), Robbie Jones Stadium (baseball), and Williams Field (softball).
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.[2]
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.”.[17]
Alumnus Randall J. Stephens is a noted author and historian. Vince Snowbarger is a former U.S. Representative from Kansas and former MNU faculty member of note. In 2006 the school received national publicity when Mark Mangelsdorf pled guilty to participating in the February 28, 1982 murder of David Harmon. At the time of the murder Magelsdorf was president of the student body. In his plea he admitted to conspiring with Melinda Harmon, who was then secretary to the school’s dean of students, to kill her husband David Harmon. Melinda initially told police the murder was conducted by two black men who broke into her home. In 2001 she changed her story and was convicted of first degree murder and implicated Mangelsdorf who had gone on to get a Harvard MBA.[18][19][20]
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