Indiana Wesleyan University - History

History

The University mission states: "Indiana Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered academic community committed to changing the world by developing students in character, scholarship, and leadership." IWU's original campus, well recognized in Indiana for teacher education and a college of business, was known first as Marion Normal College (1890–1912) and then reopened as Marion Normal Institute (1912–1918).

In 1918 the Marion Normal Institute relocated to Muncie, Indiana, and merged with the Indiana Normal Institute to form what would eventually become known as Ball State University. Because the Indiana Conference of The Wesleyan Methodist Church operated the Fairmount Bible School 10 miles (16 km) south of Marion, a group of local citizens asked them to move to the vacant property and open a normal school in Marion. So from 1918–1919 the conference raised $100,000 to endow the school, moved the Fairmount Bible School to Marion, and added a new teacher education program to become Marion College. The actual year of incorporation was 1919; however, the first classes were not offered until the fall of 1920, which became the official year of inception.

From 1920 to 1988, Marion College operated as a developing liberal arts institution with growing programs, offering the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science degrees since the first graduating class of 1921. A Master of Arts in Theology was begun in 1924 and offered continuously until 1950. Master’s degree programs were initiated again in 1979 in Ministerial Education and Community Health Nursing. Master’s degree programs were begun in Business in 1988, in Primary Care Nursing in 1994, and in Counseling in 1995.

A new administration was initiated by the Board of Trustees with the presidency of Dr. James Barnes in 1987. The name of the institution was changed to Indiana Wesleyan University in 1988, reflecting the influence of the institution across the state - well beyond the boundaries of the city of Marion, its connection with The Wesleyan Church and Christian higher education, and the development of increasing numbers of graduate programs.

Having already established a liberal arts college, in 1983, University leadership decided to begin offering courses and degrees to working adults during evening hours and Saturdays, forming what would eventually become the College of Adult and Professional Studies (CAPS). This decision proved to be very successful and massively affected IWU’s future, eventually eliminating the school's sizable debt and funding the revitalization and expansion of the Marion campus, transforming the college into a major evangelical Christian university. To this day, the CAPS provides the majority of the funding used in campus renovation and construction projects, keeping student tuition at a relatively low level compared with other similar colleges.

Enrollment in the CAPS has grown substantially since 1985 when the first courses were offered. IWU has grown by more than 200 percent since 1990 to educate more than 15,000 students, over 12,000 of whom are taking courses online or at IWU's CAPS educational centers in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Site-based classes are held at 11 education and conference centers: Indianapolis (2), Fort Wayne, Shelbyville, Kokomo, and Columbus, Indiana; Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; and Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dayton, Ohio. Classes are also held at more than 80 off-campus locations in Indiana.

On July 1, 2006, Dr. Henry Smith succeeded Dr. James Barnes as president of IWU. Dr. Barnes served as president from 1987–2006 and is credited with transforming IWU from a small, struggling Christian college into one of the largest and most successful evangelical Christian universities in the world. Dr. Barnes served as the University's first Chancellor from 2006-2010. In 2010, the Student Center was renamed the Barnes Student Center, in his honor.

In 2008, the Board of Trustees approved a motion to begin the process of establishing Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University, an evangelical seminary affiliated with both the University and the Wesleyan Church. In 2009, the seminary was approved and accredited and opened for the fall 2009 semester. It currently offers the Master of Divinity degree along with other graduate theological degrees and will eventually have its own building, after the University received a substantial donation from the Green family, owners of the Hobby Lobby corporation. Wesley is the first officially affiliated seminary in the history of the Wesleyan Church.

IWU is currently the fastest-growing university and the largest private university in Indiana. Among the 105 members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (the main organization of evangelical colleges in the U.S. and Canada), IWU is its largest member with more than 15,000 students enrolled as of September 2008. The next largest member, Azusa Pacific University, has approximately 8,000 students. The University currently employs more than 200 full-time faculty, over 1,000 full-time administrative and staff members, and more than 1,000 adjunct faculty members. The University currently has an endowment of $67.8 million and an operating budget of $173 million.