Midland University

Midland University
Established 1883
Type Private university
Affiliation Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
President Jody Horner
Location Fremont, Nebraska, United States
Mascot Warriors
Affiliations GPAC
Website www.midlandu.edu

Midland University is a private liberal arts college with an approximate enrollment of 1,300 students. The 33-acre (13 ha) academic and residential campus is located in Fremont, Nebraska, 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Omaha, Nebraska. The university offers over thirty undergraduate bachelor's degrees and three graduate master's degrees, including Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Education in Leadership, and Master in Professional Accounting.

Fielding athletic teams known as the Midland University Warriors, the college is a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The university’s official colors are navy blue, orange, and white. The university offers several extracurricular activities, including 27 varsity athletic teams, leadership and service groups, clubs, and organizations, as well as fraternities and sororities.

Known as Midland Lutheran College from 1962-2010, the university is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The university ranked 69 in the Regional Colleges Midwest Rankings of the 2015 U.S. News & World Report ranking of colleges.[1]

Early history

Midland University was founded as an educational institution in 1883, and was originally named Luther Academy. The original building, located in Wahoo, Nebraska, was dedicated on November 10, 1883, the 400th anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth.[2] The current university is also a product of Midland College, an institution founded in 1887 by the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.[3] Midland College, originally located in Atchison, Kansas, moved to the university’s current location in Fremont, Nebraska in 1919.[4] Luther Academy, later named Luther College, combined with Midland College as Midland Lutheran College in 1962.[4]

Modern history

Midland Lutheran College was renamed Midland University in 2010. Along with the name change, the institution also changed its official colors from black and orange to navy blue, orange, and white.[5]

In 2010, the institution added five new varsity and club teams, including men's and women's wrestling, men's and women's bowling, competitive cheer/dance, and women's lacrosse.[5]

In 2012, it added varsity men's and women's shotgun sports. In 2013, the university added varsity men's and women's ice hockey.[6] These additions brought the school's total number of varsity sports programs to 27 as of 2013.[6]

Athletics

Midland University athletic teams are known as the Warriors. The school is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) for most sports. It currently sponsors 27 varsity sports programs, including 12 men's teams, 13 women's teams ,and co-ed cheer and dance programs. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, football, golf, shotgun sports, soccer, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and wrestling. Women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, golf, lacrosse, shotgun sport, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), volleyball, and wrestling. In addition to featuring most traditional sports, Midland has added women's lacrosse, men's and women's bowling, men's and women's wrestling, shotgun sports, and men's and women's hockey since 2010.[5]

Academics

Midland University offers bachelor's degrees in more than thirty fields of study as well as three master's degrees.

In 2010, the school claimed to have a graduate placement rate of 100% for nursing students and 90% for education students.[7]

In addition to offering Master of Education in Leadership and Master of Professional Accounting degrees, the university announced the offering of an MBA program in 2012.[8]

In 2012, the school's accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission, placed it "on notice", expressing "concerns related to the University's finances and planning and its processes for assessment and utilization of student learning outcomes". The HLC called for Midland to file final reports in 2014, demonstrating that these concerns had been resolved.[9]

Student activities

Midland University offers over 45 student clubs and organizations and several intramural sports offerings, including basketball, sand-volleyball, dodgeball, ultimate-frisbee, and softball. The university has seven social fraternities and sororities: Beta Sigma Psi fraternity; Iota Phi Theta fraternity; Sigma Rho fraternity; Kappa Phi fraternity; Phi Omega sorority; Pi Epsilon sorority; and Tri Phi sorority.[10] Other student organizations include Phi Beta Lambda – Students in Free Enterprise (PBL- SIFE), Student Art Association, Campus Crusades for Christ, Student Education Association, Blue Key, Cardinal Key, Anderson Scholar Leaders, Student Ambassadors, Short Attention Span, and the Midland Newspaper.

Notable alumni

References

  1. "Midland University". U.S. New & World Report Education. U.S. New & World Report. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. Christensen, W., & Wilhite, A. (2007). With Fervent Prayers and Buoyant Hopes. (p.3). Fremont, NE: Midland Lutheran College
  3. Christensen, W., & Wilhite, A. (2007). With Fervent Prayers and Buoyant Hopes. (p. 123). Fremont, NE: Midland Lutheran College
  4. 4.0 4.1 Christensen, W., & Wilhite, A. (2007). With Fervent Prayers and Buoyant Hopes. (p. 65). Fremont, NE: Midland Lutheran College
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Midland Lutheran College now Midland University". Associated Press. September 12, 2010.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "MU announces addition of men's, women's ice hockey". Fremont Tribune. May 29, 2013.
  7. Midland University Office of Admissions, Aug., 2010, statistics
  8. http://www.omaha.com/article/20120610/NEWS01/706109947
  9. http://www.ncahlc.org/download/_PublicDisclosureNotices/Midland_University.pdf
  10. "MU Student Handbook 2011-2012". MyMidlandU Intranet. pp. 45-6. Retrieved 2013-05-09.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Midland University.

Coordinates: 41°26′15″N 96°29′26″W / 41.437418°N 96.490645°W