Methodist University, known until 2006 as Methodist College, is a private university that is historically related to the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Methodist University offers more than 80 majors and concentrations in five undergraduate schools and five graduate programs. The school's first doctoral-level program, the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, began enrolling students in fall 2015. A second doctoral-level program, the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program, enrolled its inaugural class in August 2018. Methodist University enrolls a diverse student body from over 41 states and more than 53 countries. These students are involved in more than a hundred clubs and student organizations and 20 NCAA Division III athletic teams. Monarch teams have won 59 team and individual national championships in just under 50 years of competition as well as capturing 116 conference championships and amassing 286 All-Americans and 51 Academic All-Americans. The university has graduated more than 12,000 since its first graduating class in 1964. Methodist University is one of the fastest growing institutions in the southeast, having almost doubled enrollment since 1990. In 2013, Methodist University announced a $35 million capital campaign entitled "Building Excellence: The Campaign for Methodist University", which would fund the new Thomas R. McLean Health Sciences Building, several new athletic facilities, and a major renovation to the Reeves Fine Arts Building, to include Huff Concert Hall, the Union-Zukowski Lobby and Gallery, and the Matthews World Ministry Center. Methodist University celebrated the official end of the Campaign for Methodist University—Building Excellence October 20, 2016. The largest fundraising initiative in the university's history, the campaign surpassed its $35 million goal and raised a record $41,266,820.
Expansion
In 2007 the university opened the new science building and the Nimocks Fitness and Wellness Center. The Gene Clayton Tennis Center was dedicated in 2017, and the Sharon and Ron Matthews World Ministry Center was dedicated in 2018. The school's David McCune International Art Gallery is housed in the William F. Bethune Center for Visual Arts. A new football field house was completed by August 2009.
Athletics
Methodist University teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The Monarchs are a member of the USA South Athletic Conference. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and indoor/outdoor track and field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor/outdoor track and field, and volleyball. Golf is one of the most popular sports at Methodist. The women's golf team has won 25 national titles, winning every national title from 1986 to 2012 except 1990 and 1997, when they finished as the national runner-up both years. The men's team also has 12 NCAA Division III national golf championships and were runners-up three times. The school also holds multiple conference championships in other sports. The baseball team is coached by coach Tom Austin, currently sixth overall among all-time NCAA Division III head coaches and fourth among active Division III head coaches in victories. Tom Austin has been the coach of Methodist University's baseball team since 1980 and is one of 64 college baseball coaches ever to reach a thousand career wins. The Monarch baseball team has reached the NCAA National Tournament 22 times and the Division III College World Series six times, finishing fifth or better each time, including national runners-up in 1995.
