Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Last updated
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Oklahoma Wesleyan University seal.svg
Former names
Central Pilgrim College (1905–1968)
Bartlesville Wesleyan College (1968–2001)
Type Private university
Established1905
Religious affiliation
Wesleyan Church
Endowment US$5,461,866 (as of 2014) [1]
President Jim Dunn
Students1,204
Location, ,
U.S.

36°43′03″N95°57′24″W / 36.71750°N 95.95667°W / 36.71750; -95.95667
Colors Navy blue and yellow [2]
   
Nickname Eagles
Sporting affiliations
NAIAKCAC
NCCAA Division I – Central
Website www.okwu.edu
Oklahoma Wesleyan University logo.svg
OKWU's Lyon Chapel and Fine Arts Center OKWU Campus.jpg
OKWU's Lyon Chapel and Fine Arts Center

Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU) is a private university of the Wesleyan church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In 2018, the school had 1006 undergraduate students, with approximately 600 of those on its main campus in Bartlesville. [1]

Contents

History

Oklahoma Wesleyan University was founded by The Wesleyan Church to provide higher education within a Christian environment for Wesleyan youth. Central Pilgrim College, its predecessor, was founded on the campus in Bartlesville, Oklahoma from a series of mergers of several schools: the Colorado Bible College (Colorado Springs, Colorado), the Pilgrim Bible College (Pasadena, California), and the Holiness Evangelistic Institute (El Monte, California). Central Pilgrim College was renamed Bartlesville Wesleyan College in 1968, following a merger of the Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Wesleyan Methodist Church to become the Wesleyan Church. In 1972, the college merged with a Kansas school, Miltonvale Wesleyan College; the resulting school became a four-year college having about 1300 students. [3] In August 2001, Bartlesville Wesleyan College became Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU). [3]

2015 withdrawal from Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

A longtime member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), in 2015 the university withdrew from the organization. OKWU's president cited CCCU's "reluctance to make a swift decision" in response to the decisions of two member schools (Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University) which changed their hiring policies to include same-sex couples, as an unwillingness to defend the biblical definition of marriage. [4]

2016 Title IX lawsuit

On August 15, 2016, OKWU joined a court challenge to a 2011 mandate from the U. S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights requiring colleges and universities adjudicate what they called "a unconstitutional process and standard." Former president Piper stated, in part, that they "refuse to accept any government intrusion that would require OKWU to teach the antithesis of our Christian beliefs concerning sexual behavior" and that OKWU's students "should have the legal right to avail themselves of local law enforcement without their petition being compromised by the intrusion of an OCR-mandated committee of amateurs that contravenes the due process and confidentiality of the legal process." The suit was sponsored by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. [5]

Antecedent schools

The following is a list of antecedent schools: [6]

Timeline

Presidents

Academics

OKWU offers 54 majors through its five schools: its School of Arts & Sciences, School of Ministry & Christian Thought, School of Business, School of Education and Exercise Science, and School of Nursing. [8]

Rankings

In 2019, it was ranked #85 in Regional Universities West, according to U.S. News & World Report . [9]

Athletics

The Oklahoma Wesleyan (OKWU) athletic teams are called the Eagles. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference since the 2015–16 academic year. [10] They are also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Central Region of the Division I level. The Eagles previously competed in the defunct Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) from 1994–95 to 2014–15 (when the conference dissolved). [10]

OKWU competes in 19 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball (added in 2021–22), cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and eSports. [10]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Nazarene</span> Evangelical Christian denomination

The Church of the Nazarene is a Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. With its members commonly referred to as Nazarenes, it is the largest denomination in the world aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and is a member of the World Methodist Council.

The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, generally called entire sanctification or Christian perfection and by the belief that the Christian life should be free of sin. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of evangelical Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those beliefs as central doctrine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference</span> NAIA conference

The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United States, tracing its history to 1890.

The Church of God (Holiness) is an association of autonomous holiness Christian congregations. Originating in the 19th century, it is aligned with conservative holiness movement of Methodism. With respect to ecumenism, the Church of God is a member of the Global Wesleyan Alliance and Interchurch Holiness Convention.

The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Indonesia, and Australia. The church is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and has roots in the teachings of John Wesley. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian doctrine and is a member of the World Methodist Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Wesleyan University</span> Christian liberal arts university

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingswood University</span> Private Christian university in Canada

Kingswood University is an evangelical Christian University associated with the Wesleyan Church, located in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada. It is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education. It is chartered by the province of New Brunswick and authorized to confer degrees in church-related education. The university is also registered with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Association of Christian Schools International, and the Christian Higher Education Canada (CHEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Nazarene University</span> Christian liberal arts college in Oklahoma, U.S.

Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma.

Pilgrim Holiness Church (PHC) or International Apostolic Holiness Church (IAHC) is a Christian denomination associated with the holiness movement that split from the Methodist Episcopal Church through the efforts of Martin Wells Knapp in 1897. It was first organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, as the International Holiness Union and Prayer League (IHU/IAHC). Knapp, founder of the IAHC, ordained and his Worldwide Missions Board sent Charles and Lettie Cowman who had attended God's Bible School to Japan in December 1900. By the International Apostolic Holiness Churches Foreign Missionary Board and the co-board of the Revivalist the Cowmans had been appointed the General Superintendents and the Kilbournes the vice-General Superintendent for Korea, Japan and China December 29, 1905. The organization later became the Pilgrim Holiness Church in 1922, the majority of which merged with the Wesleyan Methodists in 1968 to form the Wesleyan Church.

The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Friends) that emphasize the doctrine of George Fox, as well as River Brethren who emerged out of the Radical Pietist revival, and Holiness Restorationists in the tradition of Daniel Sidney Warner. Schisms began to occur in the 19th century and this movement became distinct from parent Holiness bodies in the mid-20th century amid disagreements over modesty in dress, entertainment, and other "old holiness standards" reflective of the related emphases on the Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine of outward holiness or the Quaker teaching on the testimony of simplicity or the River Brethren and Restorationist teachings on nonconformity to the world, depending on the denomination. Christian denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement share a belief in Christian perfection, though they differ on various doctrines, such as the celebration of the sacraments and observance of ordinances, which is related to the denominational tradition—Methodist, Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist. Many denominations identifying with the conservative holiness movement, though not all, are represented in the Interchurch Holiness Convention; while some denominations have full communion with one another, other bodies choose to be isolationist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazarene Bible College</span> Bible college in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Nazarene Bible College (NBC) is a private Nazarene Bible college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1964, chartered in 1967, and approved by the Colorado Department of Education to grant degrees in 1970. NBC has a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Methodist Church</span>

The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The denomination reported 399 churches in the United States, Mexico, Burma/Myanmar, Canada, Philippines and several European and African nations in 2018, and a total of 34,656 members worldwide.

The Bible Missionary Church, founded in 1955, is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan tradition aligned with the Conservative Holiness Movement. It is headquartered in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference</span>

The Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that competed in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Members of the conference were located in the Midwest United States and were located in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

The Churches of Christ in Christian Union (CCCU) is a Wesleyan-Holiness and Restorationist Christian denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miltonvale Wesleyan College</span> Former educational institution in the United States

Miltonvale Wesleyan College was a two-year college located in Miltonvale, Kansas and was operated by the Wesleyan Church. The school began operation in 1909 under Rev. Silas W. Bond and ceased operation in 1972, when the school merged with Bartlesville Wesleyan College—later to become a part of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

The history of the Church of the Nazarene has been divided into seven overlapping periods by the staff of the Nazarene archives in Lenexa, Kansas: (1) Parent Denominations (1887–1907); (2) Consolidation (1896–1915); (3) Search for Solid Foundations (1911–1928); (4) Persistence Amid Adversity (1928–1945); (5) Mid-Century Crusade for Souls (1945–1960); (6) Toward the Post-War Evangelical Mainstream (1960–1980); and (7) Internationalization (1976-2003).

Khesanio Hall is a Jamaican footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immanuel Missionary Church</span> Methodist denomination

The Immanuel Missionary Church (IMC) is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.

Stefan Lukic is a Serbian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Colorado Hailstorm in USL League One.

References

  1. 1 2 "Oklahoma Wesleyan University". U.S. News – Education Rankings & Advice. U.S. News & World Report LP. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University Brand Guidelines (PDF). August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Linda D. Wilson, "Oklahoma Weslayan University." Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  4. J.C. Derrick (August 31, 2015). "Second school leaves the CCCU". WORLD Magazine. Retrieved August 8, 2016. "We believe in missional clarity and view the defense of the biblical definition of marriage as an issue of critical importance," said Everett Piper, former president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, "The CCCU's reluctance to make a swift decision sends a message of confusion rather than conviction."
  5. "Oklahoma Wesleyan Files Suit Challenging Department of Education". Press Release. Oklahoma Wesleyan. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  6. "OKWU History". Oklahoma Wesleyan University. OKWU. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  7. "Charles Joiner – American Behavioral". American Behavioral Benefits Managers. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  8. "Residential Academic Programs". Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  9. "Oklahoma Wesleyan University". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 "Oklahoma Wesleyan to Join KCAC in Fall 2015". KCAC. Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. June 23, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2016.