Ashland University

Former name	Ashland College (1878–1989)
Motto	"Accent on the Individual"
Type	Private university
Established	1878 (1878)
Religious affiliation	The Brethren Church
Endowment	$47.6 million (2020)[1]
President	Carlos Campo
Academic staff	188
Students	6,662[2]
Location	Ashland , Ohio , U.S.
Campus	Suburban, 135 acres (55 ha)
Colors	Purple and gold
Nickname	Eagles
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division II – GMAC
Mascot	Tuffy the Eagle
Website	www.ashland.edu

Ashland University is a private Christian university in Ashland, Ohio. The university consists of a 135-acre (55 ha) main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio. Ashland was founded in 1878 as Ashland College. It is affiliated with The Brethren Church.^[3]

In addition to a graduate school, the university consists of four colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Schar College of Education, the Dauch College of Business and Economics, and the Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Ashland Theological Seminary, a division of Ashland University, offers a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree as well as a number of master's degrees. Ashland is classified as a master's university with most graduate research being in a professional field.^[4]

History

On May 28, 1877, a town meeting was held in Ashland, Ohio, where the citizens were to consider a proposal from members of the German Baptist Brethren Church to establish an institution of higher education. The Ashland Press reported that the citizens were promised the college would locate there if their city would raise $10,000.^[5] The church and community fundraising campaign proved to be a success and on Feb 17, 1878, a meeting was held to add up their campaign funds and make final plans. The success of the campaign was announced, the college was chartered on February 20 and a church-related, co-educational institution was established.

In April 1878, the board of trustees decided to purchase the "most desirable plot in town – 28 acres on the hill." The first buildings to be constructed were Founders Hall and Allen Hall, constructed from bricks made on the site. Classes opened at Ashland College on Sep 17, 1879, with somewhere around 60 students and eight faculty members.

The new institution grew slowly during its first few decades, but enrollment reached the 200 mark shortly after the turn of the century. By the 1950s, the college had added many new programs of study and experienced rapid growth from about 300 students to more than 2,500 in 1970.^[6]

By 1972, Ashland faced a financial crisis as a result of a decline in enrollment and stagnating economy. But shortly after this, several new programs, including a master of education and master of business administration, were created and a number of off-campus centers were developed.

In 1989, college officials decided to change the name of the institution to Ashland University. This change to university status reflected more accurately what the institution had become, with total student enrollment around the 5,600 mark and almost evenly divided between graduate and undergraduate students.

Progress has continued on campus since the 1980s with the construction of several new academic buildings, a new Recreation Center, Student Center and Athletic Complex and the Jack W. Liebert Military and Veterans Center. In addition, in 2010, the university acquired MedCentral Health System's College of Nursing in Mansfield and began a campaign to raise money to construct the 49,000 sq ft (4,600 m²) Dwight Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Mansfield. The building opened for classes on June 20, 2014.

Academics

Dauch College of Business and Economics

The Richard E. and Sandra J. Dauch College of Business and Economics building, which includes the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurial Studies wing, opened for classes in January 2004. This 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) building serves as the home for business administration, supply chain management,^[7] economics and MBA programs and features a trading room with Wall Street-style workstations and wall-mounted displays with market news for Ashland University's Eagle Investment Group, an executive education center, computer labs, tiered lecture hall and product development lab.

Accreditation

Ashland University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is authorized by the Ohio Board of Regents to grant bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree. Individual programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the National Association of Schools of Music, the American Association of Theological Schools, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council on Social Work Education, the American Chemical Society, the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Rankings

In 2019 Ashland University was ranked #495 in Top Colleges 2019 by Forbes.^[8]

U.S. News & World Report ranked Ashland University in the Top 200 National University institutions in the 2016 edition of its America's Best Colleges survey. In 2021 Ashland University was ranked #51 in Regional Universities Midwest by U.S. News & World Report.^[9]

Ashland University was named as one of the top 15 over-performing colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in December 2012. The publication looked at data from its Best Colleges 2013, then took peer assessments and compared the information to the actual rankings. Ashland University's performance is 58 places above its peer assessments, placing it among the top 15 over-performing schools in the country.^[10]

Student Life

The university enrolls 7,965 students, 80 percent of whom are undergraduate students. Seventy-nine percent of graduates are employed or pursuing further education six months after graduation. Ninety-nine percent of first-time, full-time freshmen receive some kind of financial aid.

Faculty

There are nearly full-time 200 faculty, and 80% hold the highest degree in their field. The student to faculty ratio is 13:1.

Athletics

Ashland University participates in NCAA Division II for athletics. Ashland's athletic teams are known as the Eagles, and the colors are purple and gold.^[13] Ashland participates in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) since the 2021–22 academic year.^[14] They formerly had competed in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) from 1995–96 to 2020–21; and before that they were a charter member of the American Mideast Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on three different tenures.

Ashland offers athletic scholarships in 11 men's, 12 women's and one co-ed sport – with the men competing in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor and outdoor track, soccer, swimming, tennis and wrestling, and the women competing in basketball, cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball and STUNT. Esports, a co-ed sport, was added in 2018. The university's $23 million athletic complex features a 5,200-seat football stadium, a 1,000-seat stadium for track & field and soccer, and a state-of-the-art training facility. The Niss Athletic Center, which broke ground in 2020, will feature an 80-yard turf field, a 300-meter six-lane track and an eight-lane sprint track, as well as field jump and throwing areas and batting cages.

Ashland students have won more than 650 All-America honors, 56 national championships and one Sullivan Award. With more than 800 student athletes, Eagle athletics has consistently been ranked in the Top 10 of the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings and was the top ranked Division II athletic program in the country in 2015.

Centers

• Ashland Theological Seminary (ATS), a graduate division of Ashland University, is an evangelical seminary located in Ashland, Ohio, with extension campuses in Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit.
• Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs is an academic center at Ashland University, dedicated by Ronald Reagan on May 9, 1983. One emphasis of the center is promoting the study of American history, government, politics, and constitutional interpretation for young people, teachers, and scholars. The Ashbrook Center was established and named in honor of the late Congressman John M. Ashbrook (1928–1982) who represented Ohio's 17th Congressional district for 21 years. Ashbrook was an American politician of the Republican Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from Ohio from 1961 until his death.

Alumni

References

External links

• Official website
• Ashland University Athletics website

40°51′42″N 82°19′23″W / 40.86167°N 82.32306°W / 40.86167; -82.32306