Taylor University

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Taylor University:

Motto Lux et Fides[3]
Established 1846 (details)
Type private coeducational Christian
Endowment $43.8 million[1]
President Eugene Habecker
Faculty 142
Students 1,887
Undergraduates 1,868
Postgraduates 19
Location Upland, IN, USA
Campus small town: 250 acres (1.0 km²) and 668 acres on "west campus" still under development
Athletics 17 NAIA teams,
called Trojans
Colors Purple and Gold
Affiliations interdenominational Christian
Website www.taylor.edu

Taylor University is a private, interdenominational Christian university with campuses located in Upland, Indiana and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian colleges in America.

The 918 acre Upland campus is the main campus, housing nearly 1,900 students from 44 states and 23 countries. [1] Taylor also operates Taylor University Fort Wayne, a 30-acre campus with over 1,040 students from 24 states and six countries. [2]

Taylor University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and the Christian College Consortium. [3]

Contents

Students can select from over 90 undergraduate majors with popular programs including education, business, new media and exercise science.

In 2003, Taylor began offering graduate-level programs again after having dropped such degrees nearly 60 years earlier. [4] Current graduate programs include a Master of Environmental Science and a Master of Business Administration. In 2007, Taylor will begin offering two additional programs, a Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Development and a Master of Arts in Religious Studies.

The concept of "The Integration of Faith and Learning," the idea that knowledge and faith meet their highest potential when coupled together, is a central educational theme at Taylor. The two distinct columns of the Rice Bell Tower on campus and the spotlights that shine up from each of them symbolize this theme to the campus community. [5]

Students, faculty and staff are required to sign the "Life Together Covenant" (LTC) upon joining the University. [6] Community members pledge to adhere to certain standards of conduct and refrain from certain behaviors, including social dancing (excepting marriages taking place off of school property and choreographed or folk dance), premarital sex, smoking, and the consumption of alcohol, with the intention of strengthening the community as a whole. Students cannot register for classes or housing unless they have signed the LTC pledge each semester. The LTC is viewed as not only a covenant, but as a binding contract as well. Penalties for not adhering to the LTC range from "citizenship probation" to expulsion from the university. In addition, those found to be in violation of the LTC usually must also sign in to chapel services held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The Life Together Covenant covers activities and behaviors not only on the Taylor campus, but off-campus as well. This is in sharp contrast to many other private Christian colleges, where rules and conduct are enforced only on campus property, e.g. Bluffton College (Ohio) and Manchester College (Indiana)[citation needed] The purpose is to stengthen the Christian community and to maintain a sense of maturity and accountability.

Chapel services are held three times a week, from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Services are varied, where worship can range from contemporary to something reminiscent of mass. Largely unique among Christian colleges, chapel attendance is required but attendance is on the honor system. [7]

Taylor has been a pioneer in dealing with the unique challenges that face Missionary Kids in their adjustment to American life. The first chapter of Mu Kappa International, a fraternal support organization for Missionary Kids, was founded at Taylor in 1985.

Rice Bell Tower symbolizing the integration of faith and learning
Rice Bell Tower symbolizing the integration of faith and learning

The campus contains eight dormitories. Three dorms are co-educational, with the genders separated by floor: Evan Bergwall Hall, Les Gerig Hall and Swallow-Robin Hall. Two dorms are all-female: Mary Tower English Hall and Grace Olson Hall. Two dorms are all male: Samuel Morris Hall and John C. Wengatz Hall. [8] Swallow Robin Hall was built by Samuel Plato, an architect of the early 20th century. [9]

The newest building is the Kesler Student Activities Center. Named after president emeritus Jay Kesler, the Kesler Center features an indoor track, multi-purpose courts used for intramurals, an exercise room, an aerobics room, and multiple locker rooms. [10]

What is now Taylor University whose main campus is in Upland, Indiana began during 1846 as Fort Wayne Female College in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[11] Fort Wayne Female College was founded by the Methodist Church as an all-female school. During 1855 Fort Wayne Female College started admitting men coeducationally and hence changed its name to Fort Wayne College. During 1890, Fort Wayne College acquired the former facilities of nearby Fort Wayne Medical College that were vacated after Fort Wayne Medical College's merger with Indiana Asbury College, which is another Methodist-affiliated college. Upon completing this acquisition, Fort Wayne College changed its name to Taylor University, in honor of Bishop William Taylor. This explains the otherwise mysterious origin of the name College Street for a street in Fort Wayne that has no apparent modern relation to a college, as this was the location of Fort Wayne Female College, Fort Wayne College, and the 19th-century presence in Fort Wayne of Taylor University, which relocated in 1893.

In order to serve the increasing population of central Indiana between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Taylor University moved to their 250-acre campus in Upland, Indiana in 1893. This campus now serves as the main campus in the Taylor University system. The campus has expanded by acquisition of 668 acres west of the original campus.

History at a glance
Fort Wayne Female College Established 1846
Affiliations Methodist
Type all-female
Location Fort Wayne IN USA
Fort Wayne College Renamed 1855[12]
Type coeducational
Taylor University Renamed 1890
Taylor University Relocated 1893
Location Upland IN USA
Taylor University Fort Wayne Acquired 1992 from Summit Christian College Renamed 1989
Location Fort Wayne IN USA
Fort Wayne Bible College Renamed 1950[2]
Fort Wayne Bible Insititute Established 1904[13]
Affiliations Missionary Church[14]

To re-establish its presence in Fort Wayne after a 99-year hiatus, Taylor University acquired Summit Christian College during 1992. Summit Christian College was previously named Fort Wayne Bible College from 1950 to 1989 and Fort Wayne Bible Institute from its establishment in 1904 to 1989. Prior to acquisition by Taylor University, Summit Christian College was affiliated with the Missionary Church[15] for its entire independent history.

Taylor University Fort Wayne (TUFW) became an extension campus of Taylor University in 1992. [16] With the urban setting of Fort Wayne, Indiana, this campus' academic programs tend to be more vocational and its student body more non-traditional. Reflecting this, of TUFW's 1,040 member student body, approximately 224 students live on campus with the rest commuting or taking courses online. [17]

Popular majors include Biblical Studies and Christian Ministries, Education, English, and Business. [18]

On April 26, 2006, Taylor University received national attention when a University Van was involved in a fatal crash while traveling between the Fort Wayne and Upland campuses. The accident happened when a semi-trailer loaded with flour, traveling northbound, crossed the median and struck the southbound Ford E-350 15 passenger van. Four students and one staff member were killed, and a further three staff and one student were injured.

The crash made further news because there was a case of mistaken identity between two of the victims. Senior Laura J. VanRyn, who actually died on the scene, was mistaken for surviving freshman Whitney Cerak. This was due to a minor resemblance between the two, severe facial injuries to Cerak, and Cerak's family being reluctant to personally identify the body. The Cerak's "funeral" was conducted with a closed casket, and the mistake was not discovered until Cerak identified herself after waking up from a coma over a month later. [19][20]

List of Taylor University People

  1. 1 endowment  America's Best Colleges 2006. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved on January 27, 2006.
  2. 2 FWBI_FWBC  Missionary Worker magazine. October 1950 issue. Published by Missionary Church.
  3. 3 motto  About Us. Taylor University. Retrieved on February 15, 2007.



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