MidAmerica Nazarene University


MidAmerica Nazarene University is a private Nazarene liberal arts college in Olathe, Kansas. It was established in 1966.

History

Mid-America Nazarene College was founded in 1966. In 1996 Mid-America Nazarene College formally changed its name to MidAmerica Nazarene University.

Campus

The campus is located at 2030 East College Way, Olathe, Kansas, United States. The land was donated by Robert R. Osborne, a retired banker. Proposed sites for the college also included Wichita, Topeka, and Ottawa, Kansas.

Affiliations

As one of eight U.S. liberal arts colleges affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, the college receives financial backing from the Nazarene churches in its region. Part of each church budget is paid in to a fund for its regional school. Each college is also bound by a gentlemen's agreement not to actively recruit outside its respective educational region. MNU is the college for the North Central Region of the United States, which comprises the Dakota-Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Kansas City, Joplin, and Missouri districts.
MNU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. MNU has been accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1974.

Academics

MNU offers undergraduate degrees in 40 majors, and seven graduate degrees in education and business. More than half of the full-time faculty at Mid-America Nazarene hold doctoral degrees. The academic calendar is on a semester system. There were 1,720 students at the college in 2007, 1,295 of whom were undergraduates. The 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 81.1 percent.

Athletics

The athletic nickname is "Pioneers" and the colors are scarlet, white, and navy blue. MNU has men's and women's varsity teams in nine different sports. The teams compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I Heart of America Athletic Conference. MNU's athletic facilities include Cook Center, Land Gym, MNU Soccer Field, Pioneer Stadium, Robbie Jones Field at Dixon Stadium, and Williams Field.
The men's basketball team won the NAIA Division II basketball championship in 2007 and was the runner up in 2001. The team has been coached by Rocky Lamar since 1986. It placed second in the NCCAA men's basketball championships in 1997 and 1998. Including its NAIA title games it has appeared in the Final Four in 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. It moved up to Division I in 2009. The court in the Bell Family Arena is named “Rocky Lamar Court.”.
The women's basketball team, coached by Jon Lewis, won the NAIA Division I National Basketball Championship in 2016.

Student life

Enrollment comprises approximately 1,300 undergraduate and 200 graduate students, mostly from the North Central United States. Men and women are fairly equal in number. Over 25 percent of undergraduate students are over 25 years old. Members of the traditional undergraduate population who do not live locally with relatives must reside in campus housing. Students also attend chapel services and must follow the college's policy of no smoking, drinking, gambling or sex. Students participate in religious and service organizations, musical and theatrical groups, publications, intramural sports, and varsity sports.

Notable people