ASHLAND UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1878, 'Ashland University' is a private, comprehensive institution committed to challenging and supporting students intellectually, spiritually, socially, culturally and physically. The 120-acre campus is located in Ashland, Ohio and contains 44 modern buildings including a new 110,000-square-foot Recreation and Rybolt Sport Sciences Center, a new Dwight Schar College of Education, a new Richard E. and Sandra J. Dauch College of Business and Economics, and a renovated Kettering Science Center. The institution was founded by and still affiliated with the Brethren Church. Judeo-Christian values are the foundation of the educational and social environment of the university.
In addition to its traditional undergraduate studies, AU offers an evening and weekend program with classes one night per week and on Saturdays; a master of American history and government; a master of fine arts in creative writing, a master of business administration degree program; a master of education degree program; a doctor of education degree program; master’s degrees and doctorate in theology through Ashland Theological Seminary; a BSN program for registered nurses, and a bachelor’s plus program for students with a non-education degree who want to teach.

Contents

Students and Faculty

Accreditation

Athletics

Notable Alumni

Campus

External links

Students and Faculty

Ashland University is home to 2,150 full-time, undergraduate students. Eighty-five percent of these students are from Ohio, while students also come from 27 other states and 31 countries. The University’s total enrollment is 6,500 students, and this includes graduate programs in business, education and theology and the off-campus centers in Cleveland, Columbus, Massillon and Elyria.
There are 200 members of the faculty, and 80% hold the highest degree in their field. The student to faculty ratio is 15:1.
Ashland University takes great pride in its philosophy of “Accent on the Individual” and offers a learning environment in which students can expect personal attention from professors and staff who genuinely care about them and their development. Professors, not graduate assistants, teach the classes and labs.
The University features a strong academic reputation, offering more than 60 majors including toxicology/environmental science, hotel and restaurant management and radio/TV, which are unusual for an institution this size. In addition, it offers most traditional liberal arts majors as well as a wide range of majors in business and education. The education program, which offers pre-K through doctorate level courses, is one of the largest among independent and state institutions in Ohio. Academic programs are enhanced by an Honors Program and the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.

Accreditation

Ashland University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is authorized by the Ohio Board of Regents to grant bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Individual programs are accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the National Association of Schools of Music, the American Association of Theological Schools, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council on Social Work Education, the American Chemical Society, the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Athletics

Nothing compares with the excitement and enthusiasm of college sports, and Ashland University has one of only three NCAA Division II athletic programs in Ohio.
Ashland offers athletic scholarships in 10 men’s and 10 women’s sports – with the men competing in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor and outdoor track, soccer, swimming and wrestling, and the women competing in basketball, cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and volleyball.
Ashland University has a rich heritage in intercollegiate athletics, one that is paved with a “tradition of champions.”
Ashland is a strong advocate of the student-athlete, as evidenced by the more than 475 student-athletes competing in the 20 sports.
The University participates in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The GLIAC consists of schools from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Michigan, and is considered one of the premier Division II conferences in the nation.
In the final 2006-2007 NCAA Division II Directors' Cup standings, Ashland University was ranked 13th. Those all-sport standings include all NCAA Division II institutions from around the country. AU was one of the smallest schools in the Top 25.

Notable Alumni

Robin Meade ’91 --
Lead News Anchor for CNN Morning Show "Robin & Company" and
Miss Ohio 1993
Dwight Schar ’64 --
Chairman, President and CEO
Northern Virginia/Ryan Homes
Bon-Moo Koo ’72 --
Chairman, LG Group
One of largest companies in Korea
Dr. Peter Linneman ’73 --
Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate, Finance and Public Policy
Wharton School of Business
Blair Mintz ’79 --
(TV’s Len Cannon)
Former Correspondent – NBC Dateline and
Substitute Anchor – NBC Nightly News/MSNBC
Dwier Brown ’80 --
Actor
Field of Dreams, The Thorn Birds
Jerry Ruyan ’68 --
Chairman and CEO,
Hemagen Diagnostics
Thomas Gill 1908 --
Was credited in a 1930 Chicago Tribune article as one
of seven men who participated in the discovery of Pluto.
Gil Dodds ’41 --
Set the American record for the mile in 1942 and in 1943
was honored with the prestigious Sullivan Award.
Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- Founder of
American Atheists. http://www.nndb.com/people/862/000022796/

Campus

Follow the Eagles -- Ashland University's 120-acre campus is dotted with cast iron purple eagles guarding the campus today. The tradition started in the early 1940s when students stole the eagles from J.I. Case Company tractor dealerships as a symbol to represent Ashland University's athletic teams - the Ashland University Eagles. The thievery continued on and off until the mid 1960s when University officials signed an agreement with Case officials and received the mold to cast its own eagles and a 20-foot cast iron eagle named "Old Abe." Today, the four-foot eagles are still a part of campus life, with students depositing coins in the slots of their heads for good luck on exams. Also, the eagles remain a favorite target of photos for students and campus visitors.

External links

★ Ashland University official site

★ City of Ashland, Ohio official site

★ Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce official site

★ Brethren Church official site