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In [[1927]], with the help of a $75,000 contribution from the city of Abilene, the board of trustees purchased 680 acres (2.8 km²) northeast of Abilene. In addition, residents donated 75 acres (304,000 m²) of adjoining land. The new campus opened in the fall of [[1929]].
In [[1927]], with the help of a $75,000 contribution from the city of Abilene, the board of trustees purchased 680 acres (2.8 km²) northeast of Abilene. In addition, residents donated 75 acres (304,000 m²) of adjoining land. The new campus opened in the fall of [[1929]].


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 University is the largest organization in the United States that requires its students to daily attend a Churches of Christ chapel service. It also enforces this policy by deny educational opportunities to students who do not attend or reach their chapel quota. {{Fact|date=February 2008}}
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 University is the largest organization in the United States that has time set aside each day for chapel.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}


Abilene Christian University first received [[school accreditation]] in 1971 when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]].<ref name="sacs">[http://www.sacscoc.org/dtails.asp?instid=10880 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Abilene Christian University] institutional profile</ref>
Abilene Christian University first received [[school accreditation]] in 1971 when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]].<ref name="sacs">[http://www.sacscoc.org/dtails.asp?instid=10880 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Abilene Christian University] institutional profile</ref>

Revision as of 22:42, 1 March 2008

Abilene Christian University
TypePrivate
Established1906
AffiliationChurches of Christ
EndowmentUS$262 million
PresidentRoyce Money
Academic staff
200
Students4,609
Undergraduates4,151
Location
Abilene
,
Texas
,
USA
CampusUrban, 208 acres (842,000 m²)
AthleticsWildcats
Websitewww.acu.edu

Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute. ACU has an annual enrollment of about 5,000 students from across the United States and 60 nations.

History

Abilene Christian University grew from an idea held by A. B. Barret and Charles Roberson to form a school in West Texas. The Church 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.

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-run 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 (2.8 km²) northeast of Abilene. In addition, residents donated 75 acres (304,000 m²) of adjoining land. The new campus opened in the fall of 1929.

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 University is the largest organization in the United States that has time set aside each day for chapel.[citation needed]

Abilene Christian University first received school accreditation in 1971 when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[1]

On February 22, 1976 the name was changed to Abilene Christian University. The school celebrated its centennial in the 2005-06 school year.

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 26th 2008 it was announced that all incoming freshman class will receive a free Apple iPhone and iPod touch. This was the result of a study to find out the viability of iPhone and iPod for academic purposes.[2]

Mission statement

"The mission of Abilene Christian University is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world."

Traditions

  • Sing Song. Since 1957, this annual competition in mid-February has featured student groups of 30-100 people, singing themed a cappella medleys, usually satirical. Originating as a fund-raiser 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 weight loss, 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.[3][4]
  • Lectureship. 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.
  • Spring Break Campaigns. Hundreds of students participate each year in missionary or community-service programs of 7-10 days in various parts of the United States and, some years, other nearby countries.[3]
  • Welcome Week. Modeled on a program at Baylor University, 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.[3]

Social clubs

Abilene Christian University 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. Other activities social clubs participate in are intramural sports and Sing Song.

Presidents

  • Allen Booker Barret (1906-08)
  • H. C. Darden (1908-09)
  • Robertson Lafayette Whiteside(1909-11)
  • James F. Cox (1911-12)[1]
  • 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-present)

Notable alumni

Notable former students

  • Daniel Johnston, singer and songwriter - attended ACU in his first year of college

Notable Professors


Athletics

Abilene Christian has been in the Lone Star Conference of Division II of the NCAA since 1973.

  • NAIA National Football Champions in 1973 and 1977.
  • Men's Track Program has won 15 outdoor national track championships (four when competing in the NAIA, eleven in NCAA Division II).
  • Men's Track Program has won 9 indoor national track championships (one in NAIA, eight in NCAA Division II).
  • Ove Johansson kicked the longest field goal in college football history (69 yards) in 1976, 6 yards longer than the current NFL record.
  • In the 2006 season, The ACU Wildcats were ranked No. 20 in the nation in the season-ending American Football Coaches' Association Top 25 poll for Division II teams.

Notes

  1. ^ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Abilene Christian University institutional profile
  2. ^ http://www.acu.edu/news/2008/080225_iphone.html
  3. ^ a b c "ACU Traditions, from A to Z," ACU Today, Fall 2000.
  4. ^ Sing Song official site.
  5. ^ Nelson Coates in Internet Movie Database
  6. ^ Jay DeFoore. "Leeson, Diaz Meyer Of DMN And LAT's Cole Win Photo Pulitzers," Photo District News Online, April 5, 2004. Retrieved Aug. 6, 2007.
  7. ^ ACU press release."Pulitzer Prize-winning alumnus David Leeson wins Murrow, Headliner awards," July 19, 2004. Retrieved Aug. 6, 2007.
  8. ^ Loretta Fulton. "Gay Christians face tough choices: Churches deal with question in different ways," Abilene Reporter-News, March 11, 2001. Retrieved Aug. 6, 2007.
  9. ^ Metropolitan Community Church press release. [http://www.wfn.org/2005/01/msg00113.html "Dr. Cindi Love Is New Executive Director of Metropolitan Community," Worldwide Faith News, January 18, 2005. Retrieved Aug. 6, 2007.
  10. ^ ACU Centennial: Billy Olson
  11. ^ Ted Dunnam. "Coaching by Hood vaulted ACU over top," Abilene Reporter-News, June 25, 2000.
  12. ^ All-Time U.S. Rankings — Men’s Pole Vault, ranked #1 in the world for 1982.
  13. ^ Frank Litsky. "Billy Olson is inching ahead on way to a 19-foot vault," The New York Times, February 22, 1982, page C6, column 1 (late city final edition).
  14. ^ Al Pickett. "Abilene has produced more than its share of stars," Abilene Reporter-News, December 24, 1999.

External links

Footnote

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