Manchester University (Indiana)


Manchester University is a private liberal arts university associated with the Church of the Brethren and two campuses, one in North Manchester, Indiana, and another in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The university's main campus is in North Manchester with the Fort Wayne campus hosting the university's pharmacy and pharmacogenomics programs. Total enrollment is approximately 1,600 students.

History

Manchester University was founded in Roanoke, Indiana, as the Roanoke Classical Seminary in 1860 by the United Brethren Church. David N. Howe served as the last president of Roanoke Classical Seminary, which was moved to North Manchester to become North Manchester College. He served as Manchester College's first president from 1889–1894 and is known as the founder. The school was renamed Manchester College in 1889 when it moved to North Manchester. In 1932, Manchester merged with Mount Morris College of Mount Morris, Illinois, a Methodist seminary founded in 1839. Manchester is a college of the Church of the Brethren.
The Peace Studies Institute and Program for Conflict Resolution—the first undergraduate peace studies major in the U.S., was established at Manchester in 1948. The program was chaired by Kenneth Brown from 1980 until 2005.
The Manchester College Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
In 2012, Manchester changed its name from Manchester College to Manchester University to reflect the growing number of graduate programs offered. Manchester also expanded & opened its second campus featuring its state-of-the-art pharmacy school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2012. Manchester is the first university to offer a Master's degree program in pharmacogenomics.

Academics

Manchester University operates on a 4-1-4 academic calendar in its College of Undergraduate Studies. Students working toward a bachelor's degree can choose from seventy-two major fields of study and thirty-one minor fields. Students working toward an associate degree can choose from four major fields of study. Manchester also offers master's degrees in two fields of study and a doctorate degree in Pharmacy.

Accreditation

Manchester University as a whole has been accredited by The Higher Learning Commission continuously since 1932 and was a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools prior to its dissolution in 2014.

Department of History and Political Science

The Department of History and Political Science is one of the oldest and most prestigious programs of study at Manchester, housing the Mock Trial and Model United Nations organizations. Well-known graduates include G. John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and co-faculty director of the Princeton Project on National Security; and Steven Shull, '65, university research professor at the University of New Orleans. Distinguished faculty have included Professor of Political Science Robert Johansen, founder of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and president of the World Policy Institute ; and Professor of Medieval History Andrew Cordier, one of the co-founders of the United Nations and president of Columbia University.
Manchester benefited from Cordier's faculty position as, through its relationship with him, Manchester also became the only college in the United States to hold NGO status with the United Nations, a distinction Manchester still holds. This has allowed the institution to attract a number of renowned public figures and policy makers to its campus, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Barry Goldwater, Ralph Nader, and Jesse Jackson.

Campus

Student culture

All students classified as first-years, sophomores, or juniors must live on campus unless they live within 40 miles of Manchester University with their parents or are married. There are no fraternities or sororities at Manchester, and the University is a partially dry campus with alcohol being permitted at certain events.
Manchester University has five residence halls:
Students in their senior year are permitted to live off campus, and often live in named, themed houses that may persist through several years of occupants.
Manchester also offers more than sixty student clubs and organizations, including:
In 2012–13, Manchester students contributed over 47,000 hours of community service, earning the University a spot on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth-straight year. The University's chapter of Indiana Reading Corps is one of the largest in the state, logging more than 3,000 hours tutoring elementary school children. Habitat for Humanity also is a major recipient of campus service.
Washington Monthly magazine ranks Manchester 14th among the nation's baccalaureate colleges for its “contribution to the public good.”

Buildings

The university president's residence, named , is located on the North end of campus and is passed on from president to president.
The principal nonresidential buildings on the campus of Manchester University are:
Note: The new Academic Center is a renovation of the former Holl-Kintner Hall, and contains classrooms, faculty offices and an admissions Welcome Center.

Athletics

Manchester University teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The Spartans are a member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Men's sports include swimming, diving, baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include swimming, diving, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

Notable faculty