MOUNT VERNON NAZARENE UNIVERSITY

'Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU)' is a co-educational Christian liberal arts college located on a 401-acre campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio. It is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

Contents

Affiliation

History

Academics

Notes and references

External links

See also

Affiliation

As one of eight U.S. liberal arts colleges^[1] and universities affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene,^[2] MVNU is the college for the "East Central Region"^[3] of the United States. Although its name might suggest that it is the college for the "Mount Vernon" region, no such region currently exists.^[4] In terms of the Church of the Nazarene, the "East Central Region" is comprised of the Northwestern Ohio, North Central Ohio, East Ohio, Southwestern Ohio, Central Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia North, and West Virginia South districts, which include all of Ohio, part of Kentucky, and most of West Virginia. 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."^[5]

History

Mount Vernon began as a junior college^[6] and feeder school for Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) in the 1960s. ENC was at an all-time high in enrollment during this period, largely in part thanks to enrollment and financial support from the Nazarene districts of Ohio. Until the founding of Mount Vernon Nazarene College in 1968, Ohio was included as part of the Eastern Region and therefore associated with ENC. The loss of regional enrollment and support existing since 1918 caused an immediate drain on the enrollment and finances of ENC.^[7]

Academics

Programs are available for traditional students, graduate students, and working adults. There are several "campuses" besides that of Mount Vernon. These include: Gahana, Polaris, Newark, Cincinnati, Mansfield, Lima, Marion, and Grove City.^[8]

Notes and references

1. Eastern Nazarene College is the only Nazarene institution to retain the "college" moniker. Different states hold different standards, but none of the Nazarene liberal arts colleges fit the standard national definition of a ''research university''.
2. ''LIBERAL ARTS AND THE PRIORITIES OF NAZARENE HIGHER EDUCATION'' by J. Matthew Price, Ph.D.
3. East Central Region
4. Eastern and Northwest are the only Nazarene schools to use their regional names. Mount Vernon is named for its location in the town of Mount Vernon, Ohio.
5. Nazarene Educational Regions
6. Despite having been given the smallest Nazarene region in the United States, Mount Vernon grew from a junior college to a four-year college in short amount of time. This was in large part due to the Bible Belt mentality in this part of the country, to which MVNU is very near, and its proximity to similar districts on other regions, like the Eastern Region.
7. James R. Cameron, ''The Spirit Makes the Difference: The History of Eastern Nazarene College, Part II, 1950-2000'', ENC Press (2000) 282.
8. MNVU Fact Sheet

External links

★ Official MVNU Website

See also

★ Nazarene International Education Association

★ List of Church of the Nazarene schools