Abilene Christian University

Abilene Christian University

Former name	Childers Classical Institute (1906–1920) Abilene Christian College (1920–1976)
Motto	People With A Purpose
Type	Private university
Established	1906
Religious affiliation	Church of Christ
Academic affiliations	CCCU NAICU[1]
Endowment	$675 million (2021)[2][3]
Chancellor	Royce Money
President	Phil Schubert
Provost	Robert L. Rhodes
Academic staff	200
Students	5,731[4]
Undergraduates	3,863
Postgraduates	1,868
Location	Abilene , Texas , United States
Campus	Urban, 208 acres (84 ha)
|u}}rs	Script error: No such module "College color".
Nickname	Wildcats
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FCS – WAC
Mascot	Willie the Wildcat
Website	www.acu.edu

Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as Childers Classical Institute. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Southwestern United States and has one of the 200 largest university endowments in the United States.^[5] Affiliated with Churches of Christ, the university is nationally recognized for excellence in service learning, undergraduate research, and undergraduate teaching.^[6]

History

Abilene Christian University grew from an idea held by A.B. Barret and Charles Roberson to form a school in West Texas. The Churches of Christ in Abilene agreed to back the project. J.W. Childers sold Barret land and a large house west of the town, and lowered the price with the stipulation that the school would be named in his honor. Childers Classical Institute opened in the fall of 1906, with 25 students.^[7] It initially included a lower school starting in the seventh grade.^[8]

When Jesse P. Sewell became president of the institute in 1912, the school began using Abilene Christian College on all its printed material. In 1920, the school paid the Childers family $4,000 and formally changed the name.

The Optimist, the university's student-produced newspaper, was founded in 1912. The Prickly Pear, the school yearbook, was founded in 1916. The campus literary-arts magazine (now The Shinnery Review, formerly The Pickwicker) has been in production since 1933.

In 1927, with the help of a $75,000 contribution from the city of Abilene, the board of trustees purchased 680 acres (280 ha) northeast of Abilene. In addition, residents donated 75 acres (30 ha) of adjoining land. The new campus opened in the fall of 1929.

ACU's Onstead-Packer Bible Studies Building, Chapel on the Hill and Tower of Light seen from Faubus Fountain Lake

From the time of its founding to the present, the university has been governed by a board of trustees made up of members of the Churches of Christ.

Abilene Christian College first received school accreditation in 1951, when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.^[9]

Amberton University, previously Amber University, was created as an extension campus of Abilene Christian University. It was launched in Mesquite, Texas, in 1971, moving to Garland, Texas, in 1974. It became a separate institution as Amber University in 1982, and was rechristened Amberton University in 2001. Like Abilene Christian University, Amberton remains affiliated with the Churches of Christ.

On February 22, 1976, the name of Abilene Christian College was changed to Abilene Christian University. The university celebrated its centennial in the 2005–06 school year. In July 2015, the university signed a lease for an expansion campus located in Addison, Texas.^[10] Called ACU Dallas, the new campus began offering several new graduate programs, including an MBA and Ed.D. in organizational leadership.^[11]

The school established an NPR station, KACU, in 1986. Initially, the community was concerned that the school might use the station for proselytizing, and for the station's first ten years, an advisory board composed of community members served to monitor the station against this possibility.^[12] The JMC Network, a converged student media operation, was created in 2008 to produce all student-led news media. On October 18, 2008, the school hosted a live broadcast of Minnesota Public Radio's long-running A Prairie Home Companion radio show from the campus' Moody Coliseum.^[13][14]

On Wednesday, August 23, 2017, the NCAA Board of Directors voted to pass ACU through to full Division I status, thus making them eligible for postseason play.

Discrimination

The university was officially segregated, for white students only, until 1962,^[15] when Billy Curl became the first black student to enroll.^[16] The university currently bars employees, but not students, from dating people of the same sex.^[17] In 2016 the university recognized an LGBT student association.^[18]

Presidents

• Allen Booker Barret (1906–08)
• H. C. Darden (1908–1909)
• Robertson Lafayette Whiteside (1909–1911)
• James F. Cox (1911–1912)^[2]
• Jesse Parker Sewell (1912–1924)
• Batsell Baxter (1924–1932)
• James F. Cox (1932–1940)
• Don H. Morris (1940–1969)
• John C. Stevens (1969–1981)
• William J. Teague (1981–1991)
• Royce Money (1991 – May 31, 2010)
• Phil Schubert (June 1, 2010–present)

Accreditation

ACU is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. ACU's business programs are professionally accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the Social Work programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, the Education programs are accredited by Teacher Education Accreditation Council and the Marriage and Family Therapy programs are accredited by Commission on the Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education. The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The ACU School of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). ACU Graduate School of Theology is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).

Academic structure

In 2022, ACU announced major changes to the academic structure that resulted in the creation of three new colleges. While the total number of colleges went unchanged, the reorganization was implemented to assist the University in marketing itself as a national university.^[19]

Traditions

• The Prickly Pear. Beginning in 1916, this was the title for Abilene Christian University's (formerly Abilene Christian College) yearbook. The name was taken from Opuntia, a species of cactus native to the Abilene and West Texas area, commonly referred to as "prickly pear". The Prickly Pear ceased publication in 2009.^[20]

Jacob's Dream statue and display on the ACU campus. The artwork is based on Genesis 28:10–22 and graphically represents the scenes alluded to in the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee" and the spiritual "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder" as well as other musical works.

• Sing Song. Since 1956, this annual competition in mid-February has featured student groups of 30–100 people, singing themed a cappella medleys, usually satirical. Originating as a fundraiser for the school, the modern event has developed into a major show for which each group assembles costumes related to their act's theme, such as Peter Pan, the British Royal Guard, Coca-Cola, Adam and Eve, or forest fires. Often the costumes involve a mid-performance quick-change to a second costume—such as the 1987 acts in which grapes turned into raisins or bananas peeled to reveal Carmen Miranda—or elaborate choreography within the risers, as when the 1983 freshman class act recreated a Pac-Man screen and manipulated their costumes so that the character appeared to move around the screen.^[21][22][23] The men of Galaxy and the women of Sigma Theta Chi currently hold the records for most wins of a men's club and women's club, respectively.^[24]
• Summit. Referred to as Lectureship until the 2008 school year. Begun in 1918, this annual program gathers thousands of attendees for lectures and workshops on religious topics connected with a biblical theme that changes each year. After many years of following directly after Sing Song, the lectureship moved in 2006 to a September event, in part to spread out the events that bring the most visitors to campus and also to take advantage of the more stable autumn climate, as winter storms and rain had hindered attendance on multiple occasions.
• Wildcat Week. Formerly called Welcome Week, this event for the integration of incoming first-year and transfer students provides small-group study programs, social activities, and information fairs in the week preceding the beginning of the fall semester.
• Homecoming. Like most residential U.S. universities, the campus hosts a celebration each fall for alumni to return for a parade, class-year and organizational reunions, and musical theater.^[22]
• Chapel. ACU is one of the few Christian colleges that maintains daily required chapel for all undergraduate, full-time students. Chapel is a 30-minute praise and worship time, usually with a featured speaker. Typically, no classes or meetings are scheduled during this half-hour. There are, however, opportunities for chapel exemptions that allow students to need less than the standard 55 chapel credits per semester.^{[citation needed]}
• School colors. The colors purple and white have long been the colors of ACU, standing for the royalty and purity of Christ, respectively.

Abilene Christian University Press

ACU is one of only seven faith-based institutions with a press.^[25] ACU Press, founded in 1983 to print books about Churches of Christ theology, is now a member of the Association of American University Presses, printing books about Christian Higher Education, West Texas History and Christian Living as well as theology.^[26] Along with its trade imprint, Leafwood Publishers, the press publishes an average of 36 titles per year. Among its notable authors are Rubel Shelly, Rick Ostrander, Darryl Tippens, Edward Fudge, Larry M. James and Walt McDonald.

Rankings

In the 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report ranking of American colleges and universities, ACU was one of only 19 U.S. institutions ranked in the top 50 nationally in both Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects and Undergraduate Teaching. US News ranks ACU the following among all colleges and universities:^[29]

Technology and mobile learning

On February 26, 2008, ACU announced that all incoming freshman classes would receive a free Apple iPhone or an iPod Touch. This decision was the result of a study to find out the viability of iPhone and iPod for academic purposes. ACU was reported as the first university in the nation to embrace this opportunity to further education through the use of the new generation of smartphone technologies.^[30] In February 2009, ACU hosted more than 400 academics and technologists from 31 states and 8 countries for its first ConnectEd Summit^[31] on mobile learning. Attendees representing more than 90 schools participated in workshops designed to foster mobile learning programs on their own campuses.

In August 2008,^[32] Campus Technology magazine named ACU "Innovator of the Year" in the mobile learning category for this "ACU Connected" initiative. On February 27, 2009, ACU received the award for Institutional Excellence in Information Communications Technology^[33] from ACUTA and on March 4, 2009, Alcatel-Lucent named ACU a Dynamic Enterprise Award winner and awarded ACU with its first Analyst Choice Award^[34] for its ACU Connected initiative. On June 13, 2009, the New Media Consortium presented ACU with one of three Center of Excellence^[35] awards at its annual summer conference for ACU's efforts in mobile learning.

In August 2022 the ACU applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a construction licence for a molten salt research reactor for which it plans to achieve criticality by December 2025.^[36]

Athletics

Abilene Christian Athletics wordmark

Formerly a charter member of the Division I Southland Conference, Abilene Christian joined the Lone Star Conference (LSC) of Division II of the NCAA in 1973.

In 2012, Abilene Christian received NCAA permission to compete in Division I FCS football and was under consideration for reattachment to the Southland Conference.^[37] On August 25, 2012, Abilene Christian's board of trustees accepted Southland's invitation to rejoin the conference effective with the start of the 2013-14 academic year.

In 2021, ACU left the Southland for the Western Athletic Conference.^[38][39][40] After the 2022 football season, ACU football joined the newly formed United Athletic Conference, a merger of the football leagues of the WAC and the ASUN Conference. The two all-sports conferences had partnered in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.^[41]

In 2007, the LSC included 33 ACU current and former student athletes in its 75-member all-sports team commemorating the conference's 75th anniversary.^[42] Through 2009, ACU is fourth in NCAA history in team national championships won with 57, trailing Division I schools UCLA, Stanford, and USC, and tied with Division III school Kenyon College.^[43]

• The men's track and field program has won 32 NCAA National Track and Field Championships: 19 NCAA outdoor and 13 indoor.^[43]
• The women's track and field program has won 22 national championships: 12 indoor and 10 outdoor.^[43]
• The Wildcats were NAIA national football champions in 1973 and 1977.^[44]
• Before the NCAA invalidated its 2007 season, nine ACU football players were included in the LSC's 75th-anniversary list of top players in conference history.^[42] The school's 2007 victories were vacated by the NCAA in 2009. The NCAA charged "two assistant football coaches helped a pair of players find an English correspondence class to take, enroll in the same course, allowed them to use the coaches' school computers for writing papers and paid to mail the assignments."^[45] The school had scored more than 40 points in 11 of its 13 games and more than 50 points in 7 games and 70 or more points in two games including a 73–76 three overtime loss to Chadron State in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.
• In 2008, the Wildcats "set a record for points in an NCAA (football) playoff game, beating West Texas A&M 93-68 in the second round of the Division II playoffs."
• Ove Johansson kicked the longest field goal in college football history (69 yards) in 1976, 5 yards longer than the current NFL record. (As of 2020) it remains the longest field goal ever kicked in any level of football competition and is an unbroken world record.^[46][47]
• Olympic athletes from ACU include Bobby Morrow, three-time 1956 gold medal winner; Earl Young, 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400 relay; Billy Olson, who made the 1980 and 1988 U.S. teams but did not compete in 1980 due to President Carter's decision to boycott the Games; Yolande Straughn, who competed in 1988 for Barbados; and James Browne, 1988 competitor for Antigua.^[42]
• ESPN and NFL Network analyst and author Sean Adams is a former NCAA All-American athlete for ACU.

Social clubs

The school has a number of student organizations called "social clubs" that are equivalent to a fraternity or sorority on other college campuses; chapters of national Hellenic societies, however, are not permitted. The main goal of these social clubs is to help in service to the surrounding communities and the school itself.^[48] Clubs also participate in intramural sports and Sing Song. There are a total of fourteen social clubs for both men and women.^[49]

Notable alumni

Academia and Religion

• Kent Brantly, doctor with the medical mission group Samaritan's Purse; while treating Ebola patients in Liberia, he contracted the virus
• Don Finto, pastor and author in Nashville, Tennessee
• Edward Fudge, theologian
• Jim Gash, eighth president of Pepperdine University
• V. E. Howard, Church of Christ clergyman who started the radio International Gospel Hour, based originally in Texarkana, Texas^[50]
• Robert Kelley, 11th president of the University of North Dakota
• H. Jeff Kimble, William L. Valentine Professor and Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology
• David Leeson (1978), co-winner of 2004 Pulitzer Prize (previously nominated in 1986, 1990, and 1995)^[51] and winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award^[52]
• Dale Martin, New Testament scholar, Professor Emeritus at Yale University
• Barry McCarty, national radio host and former President of Cincinnati Christian University
• Hugh M. Tiner, second president of Pepperdine University
• R. Gerald Turner, president of Southern Methodist University
• Thomas B. Warren, minister, restoration theologian, and religious philosopher
• M. Norvel Young, third president of Pepperdine University
• Sally Gary, author
• John W. Pilley, American behavioral psychologist best known for his research into canine cognition and language learning with his Border collie

Business

• Gordon Bethune, former CEO of Continental Airlines
• David Sampson, President and CEO of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
• Monty Taylor, cloud computing executive, co-founder of OpenStack

Entertainment and Media

• Nelson Coates, Emmy-nominated film production designer;^[53][54][55] first alumnus to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences^[56]
• Chris Christian, record producer, recording artist, songwriter
• Bonnie Curtis, film producer
• Jody Dean, news anchor of KTVT-TV, Dallas, Texas
• Holly Dunn, country music artist, painter
• Ronnie Dunn, singer and songwriter; one half of Brooks & Dunn
• Micah P. Hinson, singer and songwriter
• Billie Hughes, recording artist and songwriter
• Daniel Johnston, singer and songwriter – attended ACU in his first year of college
• Stephen Mansfield, author who writes about men's issues, leadership, history and modern culture; has appeared on the New York Times best-seller list
• Max Lucado, best-selling Christian author
• TJ McCloud, singer-songwriter; former member of Stephen Speaks
• Aaron Watson, country music singer
• Zane Williams, country artist
• Big Pokey, rapper
• Merritt Tierce, short-story author, story editor, essayist, pro-choice activist, novelist, and television writer.
• Jerry Haymes, recording artist, songwriter, producer
• Gary G. Hamilton, television journalist, on-air host, reporter and producer

Politics and Government

• Jeffrey S. Boyd, Justice of the Texas Supreme Court,^[57][58]
• Janice Hahn, member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; former member of the United States House of Representatives; former Los Angeles City Councilwoman
• Robert Dean Hunter, vice-president emeritus of ACU; member of the Texas House of Representatives, District 71 (1986–2007)
• Robert L. Pitman, lawyer, former United States Attorney; former United States Magistrate Judge; United States federal judge
• Ted Poe, former Harris County, Texas, judge; member of the United States House of Representatives
• Jack Pope, lawyer, judge, and Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice, 1982–1985
• Jack Scott, California state senator; chancellor, California Community College System
• Joe Shirley (1978), President of Navajo Nation
• Lynn Coleman, former United States Deputy Secretary of Energy
• Louie Welch, former mayor of Houston, Texas
• Major General Garrett Harencak, Commander of the U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service
• General Paul J. Selva, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff representing the United States Air Force
• Brantley Starr, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Sports

• Bill Blakeley, former basketball coach at the interscholastic, intercollegiate, and professional levels; ACU Sports Hall of Fame (1992–93)
• James Browne, Olympic long jumper from Antigua
• Randall "Tex" Cobb, professional boxer, actor
• Charles Coody, professional golfer, winner of the 1971 Masters Tournament
• Grant Feasel, former center in the NFL for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks; ACU Sports Hall of Fame (1994–95)
• Greg Feasel, former offensive tackle in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers; Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for the Colorado Rockies; ACU Sports Hall of Fame (2004–05)
• Taylor Gabriel, professional football player for the Chicago Bears
• James Hill, professional football player for the Seattle Seahawks
• Ove Johansson, Swedish-born American football fieldgoal record setter, father of Annika Johansson
• Johnny Knox, former professional football player for NFL team Chicago Bears
• John Layfield, professional wrestler
• Clint Longley, former NFL quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers
• Danieal Manning, former professional football player for Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals
• Lindy McDaniel, former major league relief pitcher
• Cleo Montgomery, former professional football player
• Wilbert Montgomery, former professional football player
• Bobby Morrow, Olympic sprinter, winner of three gold medals in the 1956 Games
• Billy Olson, Olympic pole vaulter (1988 Summer Olympics, U.S. team for boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics); held several world records, including the first 19-foot indoor pole vault; vaulted for Abilene High School and ACU^{[59][60][61][62][63]}
• Billy Gene Pemelton, Olympic pole vaulter
• Johnny Perkins, former professional football player
• Raymond Radway, Former professional football player and national champion on the track team
• Daryl Richardson, former professional football player
• Bernard Scott, former professional football player
• Jeev Milkha Singh (1996), professional golfer from India^[42][64]
• Gilbert Tuhabonye, Burundian Championship runner, genocide survivor, and author
• Charcandrick West, professional football player for the Kansas City Chiefs
• Allen Wilson, football coach
• Earl Young, 1960 Olympic gold medal winner in 4x400 relay
• Art Briles, former head coach at Baylor University
• Rusty Whitt, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Troy University
• Wes Kittley, head coach of Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field

Faculty

• Everett Ferguson, Patristics scholar and noted author
• Douglas A. Foster, Professor of Church History, editor of the Stone-Campbell Encyclopedia
• Michael A. O'Donnell, former Professor of Family Studies; founding executive director of the Southwest Center for Fathering

Campus

• 

  Zona Luce Building – original 1929 school house, now home of the Nursing department

• 

  ACU Police Headquarters on Campus Court

• 

  Sewell Auditorium – built in 1929, original home of daily chapel

• 

  University Church of Christ on EN 16th St

• 

  McDonald Hall for freshman women (replaced by Bullock Hall)^[65]

• 

  Nelson Hall for freshman women

• 

  Gardner Hall for freshman women (replaced by Wessel Hall)

• 

  Sikes Hall for freshman women

• 

  Williams Performing Arts Center, built in 2003

• 

  Brown Library

• 

  ACU Tower of Light and Bible Building Atrium

Notes

• ^[3] When James Cox's wife became ill, his brother, Alonzo B. Cox, filled in for him to finish the term.

References

Bibliography

• Stevens, Dr. John C., No Ordinary University: The History of a City Set on a Hill, Abilene, Texas: Abilene Christian University Press, 1998. ISBN:0-89112-031-9.

External links

[ ⚑ ] 32°28′10″N 99°42′29″W / 32.46944°N 99.70806°W / 32.46944; -99.70806

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