Southwestern Adventist University

Coordinates: 32°23′49.44″N 97°19′38.52″W / 32.3970667°N 97.3273667°W / 32.3970667; -97.3273667

Southwestern Adventist University
Type Parochial
Established 1893
President Kenneth L. Shaw[1]
Location Keene, Texas, United States
Campus Rural
Website www.swau.edu

Southwestern Adventist University is one of 13 colleges and universities in the United States affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is owned by the Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and is classified as a small school with an approximate undergraduate enrollment of 800. Its setting is rural, and the campus size is 150 acres.[2]

The university has received full accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools through 2016.[3] It is religiously accredited by the Adventist Accrediting Association.[4] The nursing program is approved by the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners.[5]

Southwestern offers certificate, associate, bachelor’s, and master's degrees. The University student to faculty ratio of 12:1 and the size of classes, 76.9% of classes at Southwestern have fewer than 20 students, give students opportunity to interact with professors.[6]

History

Southwestern Adventist University was founded in 1893 as Keene Industrial Academy. The purchase of property for the school was financed by Seventh-day Adventists in the Dallas area. The first school building was completed in 1894 which was also used as a church. School opened with 56 students. The university adopted its current name in 1996.[7]

Geography and the People

Southwestern Adventist University is located at the town of Keene, Texas, six miles northeast of Cleburne.[8][9] Keene has been described as an Adventist "company" town. On Saturdays, the Sabbath for Adventists, most stores in town are closed.[10]

The Keene Seventh-day Adventist church has several thousand members. It is the Southwestern Adventist University church.[10]

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in America is divided into administrative units called unions, and most of these unions have a college. Most of these colleges were founded in the 1890s, a period of intense activity in Adventist history.[10]

The university evolved through several stages from Keene Industrial Academy to its present university status. At its beginning, it sold acreage to Adventist families and industries, and is now the largest Adventist community in the Southwestern Union, which includes Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico.[10]

Programs

During Fall 2014, Southwestern began to offer a Fire Science degree. The program is the only one of its kind among Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities. Graduates of this program will receive a degree, as well as several technical certifications that will allow them to become employed by fire departments around the nation.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ url=http://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/%E2%80%8Bsouthwestern-adventist-university-names-new-president
  2. ↑ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/southwestern-adventist-3619
  3. ↑ "Southwestern Adventist University: institutional details". Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Post-secondary institutions accreditation status" (PDF). Adventist Accrediting Association. October 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "Texas approved professional nursing education programs: 2011" (PDF). Texas Board of Nurse Examiners. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  6. ↑ "Southwestern Adventist University Academic Life". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  7. ↑ "Our History". Southwestern Adventist University. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Capace, Nancy (1999). KEENE, City. Encyclopedia of Texas (1999 edition). St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers. p. 412. ISBN 0-403-09729-0.
  9. ↑ Davis, J. Frank, (State Supervisor, Texas Writers' Project) (1940). Texas, A Guide to the Lone Star State. The Texas State Highway Commission. p. 538.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Martin, William (January 1981). "The church of what's happening: ... Seventh-day Adventists have made Keene a company town.". Texas Monthly. Austin, Texas: Mediatex Communications Corporation. 9 (1): 124, 125. ISSN 0148-7736. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  11. ↑ Force, Darcy. "Southwestern Adventist University News". Southwestern Union Record. Southwestern Union. Retrieved 05/04/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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