Abilene Christian University

About

Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institution. It was founded in 1906 as Childers Classical Institute. It is affiliated with Churches of Christ.

The Churches of Christ in Abilene founded it as a Christian university for West Texas. Childers Classical Institute opened in 1906, with 25 students. It initially included a lower school starting in the seventh grade. 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 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.

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. 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. Called ACU Dallas, the new campus began offering several new graduate programs, including an MBA and Ed.D. in organizational leadership.

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

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)

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.

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).

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.