| Olivet Nazarene University | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Education with a Christian Purpose |
| Established | 1907 |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Nazarene |
| Endowment | US $13.6 million[1] |
| President | John C. Bowling |
| Provost | Gregg Chenoweth |
| Students | 4,666[2] |
| Undergraduates | 2,600[2] |
| Postgraduates | 2,066[2] |
| Location | Illinois, IL, USA |
| Campus | Suburban 250 acres (1.0 km2) |
| Former names | Miss Mary Nesbitt's Grammar School (1907-1909), Illinois Holiness University (1909-1915), Olivet University (1915-1923), Olivet College (1923-1939), Olivet Nazarene College (1939-1986) |
| Newspaper | The Glimmerglass |
| Colors | Purple and Gold |
| Athletics | 15 Varsity Teams NAIA Division 1 |
| Nickname | Tigers |
| Mascot | Toby the Tiger |
| Affiliations | CCAC MSFA CCCU |
| Website | olivet.edu |
Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a Christian institution of higher education located in the Kankakee, Illinois village of Bourbonnais. Named for Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. It is affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene denomination and is the annual site of the Church's "Regional Celebrate Life" youth gathering for the Central USA Region. It is one of the largest members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
Contents |
| A.M. Hills | 1909-1910 |
| Ezra Franklin | 1910 - Feb. 1912 |
| J.E. Hoover | Feb. - Jun. 1912 |
| E.F. Walker | Jun. 1912-1913 |
| E.P. Ellyson | 1913-1914 |
| John H. Norris | Jun. - Nov. 1914 |
| E.P. Ellyson | Nov. 1914 - Mar. 1915 |
| A.L. Whitcomb | Mar. - Sep. 1915 |
| E.F. Walker | 1915-1916 |
| Benjamin Franklin Haynes | 1916-1917 |
| J.E. Hoover | 1917-1918 |
| M.E. Borders | Mar. - Sep. 1918 |
| C.L. Hawkins | 1918-1919 |
| J.W. Akers | Jan. - ? 1919 |
| J.E.L. Moore | 1919-1922 |
| Newport W. Sanford | 1922-1926 |
| T.W. Willingham | 1926-1938 |
| A.L. Parrott, Sr. | 1938-1948 |
| Selden Dee Kelley | 1948-1949 |
| Harold W. Reed | 1949-1975 |
| A. Leslie Parrott, Jr. | 1975-1991 |
| John Bowling | 1991-present |
Olivet Nazarene University traces its roots to 1907, when the Eastern Illinois Holiness Association[3] started Miss Mary Nesbitt's grammar school in a house in Georgetown, Illinois. In 1908, the school's founders acquired 14 acres[4] in the village of Olivet, and moved the grammar school to the proposed campus.[5] A Wesleyan–holiness community sprang up around the school.[6]
In 1909, the liberal arts college was chartered and named Illinois Holiness University, with A. M. Hills from Texas Holiness University as its first president.[4] It was then given to the Church of the Nazarene in 1912, with E. F. Walker as president, and inherited one of the most populated Nazarene regions in the United States.[4] It was renamed Olivet University in 1915,[7] and again in 1921 to Olivet College.[8]
The economic solvency of the school became a problem in the 1920s, and the trustees were forced to declare bankruptcy in 1926. The school's treasurer, T. W. Willingham, purchased the school back at an auction and was elected president. In 1939, the main building on campus was destroyed by fire.[5] This prompted the school to look for a new location. Under President A.L. Parrott, the school moved in 1940, onto the previous 42-acre (170,000 m2) campus of St. Viator's College.[9] With the move, the school's name was changed to Olivet Nazarene College (ONC).[8] The school's name was changed again in 1986 to Olivet Nazarene University (ONU).[5]
The past twenty years have been marked by a massive change in the culture and image of Olivet. Following the appointment of John C. Bowling as University president, the university began appealing to a more diverse set of students from different Christian denominations. The school began several different construction projects to mark the growth of the school as a whole. The university has also recently subdivided itself into one college and four schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, School of Professional Studies, School of Theology and Christian Ministry, and the School of Graduate and Continuing Studies.
ONU's campus is 250 acres (1.0 km2) in the village of Bourbonnais, Illinois, outside the city of Kankakee, Illinois,[10] with 30 buildings.[11] Four buildings are original from St. Viator College. There are also satellite campuses for adult education in Rolling Meadows, Illinois and Hong Kong.[12]
Since Olivet Nazarene University relocated to Bourbonnais, the campus has undergone several different waves of construction. The campus itself has been valued at $150 million. In addition, within the past two years, there have been numerous construction projects including the construction of the CBetty and Kenneth Hawkins Centennial Chapel, the largest theater in Kankakee County, which seats approximately 3,059 people, and the Student Life and Recreation Center, which is currently under construction.
In total, there are seven academic buildings, two gymnasiums, and six residence halls. The university also has several off-campus apartment buildings. Centennial Chapel plans on showcasing many Christian artists including Bill Gaither and Chris Tomlin.
ONU is one of nine regional U.S. liberal arts colleges[13] affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene.[14] ONU is the college for the "Central USA Region" of the United States.[15] In terms of the Church of the Nazarene, the "Central Region" comprises the Wisconsin, Northwestern Illinois, Illinois, Chicago Central, Northern Michigan, Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northwest Indiana, Northeastern Indiana, Indianapolis, and Southwest Indiana districts, which include Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.[16] 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."[17]
ONU has been accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1956[12] and offers bachelor's degrees in 67 academic majors.[18] The School of Graduate and Continuing Studies offers master's degrees, nontraditional adult degree-completion programs, and a doctor of education degree only offered at Rolling Meadows as well as a master of "professional counseling" degree offered at a site in Hong Kong and distance education for a master in education degree.[12] The 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 70.3 percent.[19]
A report released in April 2008 found that, of the institutions surveyed throughout the U.S. based on data provided under the 1990 Student Right-to-Know Act, ONU had the seventh-largest gap between the average graduation rate for white students and the average graduation rate for black students. White students had an average graduation rate of 56 percent, one point below the national average for all students, while black students at ONU were found to have an average graduation rate of 17 percent, 38 points below their white peers.[20]
In 2007, President John C. Bowling prohibited ONU alumnus and faculty member Richard G. Colling from teaching the general education biology course and banned Colling's 2004 book: Random Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with Creator (Browning Press: ISBN 0975390406), because of "deep concern regarding the teaching of evolutionary theory as a scientifically proven fact."[21] In 2009, the conclusion of an American Association of University Professors (AAUP) investigation[22] found problems with shared governance at ONU and that Colling's rights had been violated[23] when Bowling placed the concerns of the more conservative members of its Nazarene constituency higher than its principles of academic freedom.[24]
There were 4,636 students at the college in 2007, 3,190 of whom were undergraduates.[25] ONU students are from 40 states and 20 countries, and represent 30 Christian denominations.[11] 9 percent of the student population is black.[20]
The university offers over 80 different clubs with many different focuses. All of the clubs and student organizations are sponsered by the Olivet Nazarene University Associated Student Council. Some of the most influential clubs on campus include Capitol Hill Gang, the university's political society, Going Green, an environmentally focused green-initiative group, and the campus chapter of the International Justice Mission.
The school also supports two club sports teams which are loosely affiliated with the university. This first of these is the ONU Men's Volleyball team which was the first sports club to be established. In addition, in 2010, the Black Penguins, a club Ultimate Frisbee team was created and reached the UPA's College Nationals.
The purple and gold colors and the "Tigers" athletic nickname at Olivet Nazarene have existed since 1940, when ONC students first played Bethany Nazarene College (BNC), and intervarsity athletics began with another game between ONC and BNC in 1966.[26] Men's varsity teams include Baseball, Basketball, Cross-country running, football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, and Track and field. Women's varsity sports include Basketball, Cross country running, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track and field, and Volleyball. Since 2002, the Chicago Bears have held their summer training camp there. Originally affiliated with the Division III Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 1974 to 1997, ONU became a charter member of the Mid-States Football Association in 1994, and now competes in both the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the North-Central Region of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).
Notable alumni include Nazarene General Superintendents Jim Diehl and Paul Cunningham, former Eastern Nazarene College president R. Wayne Gardner, who also served on the faculty at both ENC and ONU, writer Justin DiSandro, and Ben Zobrist, the second-baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays.
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