Office of Public Relations
Missouri Baptist University
One College Park Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141-8698
314.392.2307 / fax 314.392.2265
www.mobap.edu / pr@mobap.edu
For Immediate Release
RE: Missouri Baptist College Becomes University
Missouri Baptist College Becomes University
August 29, 2002
The designation of the institution from “college” to “university” was formally announced by President Lacey at the student chapel on August 29, 2002.
The name change more accurately positions MBU as a Christian institution of high quality and broad impact in both undergraduate and graduate degree levels. This, in turn, will help the institution attain its premier mission to enrich its students' lives spiritually, intellectually, and professionally.
The change reflects the growth in the diversity of the academic programs and the increasing complexity of the institution. Historically and categorically, “college” described an institution or scholars focused upon a single group of closely related academic programs, both in discipline and level.
MBU currently maintains four full-service campuses in the St. Louis metropolitan area — three of which are degree granting and the other as a two-plus-two arrangement with Jefferson College. The enrollment in the University’s various programs exceeds 3,200 students, including MBU’s graduate offerings, adult evening program, and EXCEL dual-credit programs.
MBU’s graduate program offers courses at all four locations with over 500 students enrolled in the program’s third year of offering. This fall the addition of the Educational Administration program distinctly defines MBU as the only Missouri school to offer all three Master of Science in Education programs: Educational Administration, Counselor Education, and Classroom Teaching.
Furthermore, the university stature is especially important in positioning in a global environment. The use of "college" to describe a post-secondary institution is uniquely American, an early colonial term that causes confusion today with international secondary schools. MBU attracts students from more than twenty countries with highest concentration from Argentina, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico.
MBU continues to focus primarily on instruction. While faculty members perform and oversee research, student learning and personal development remain the focus of faculty efforts.
The institution continues to uphold its mission and build on heritage, even in its growth. MBU is not seeking for a change in identity, but to accurately communicate the nature and scope of the Missouri Baptist University experience. The commitment to the distinctives that have characterized MBU for decades are as strong as ever.
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Missouri Baptist University is a premier Christian university in Saint Louis, offering graduate and undergraduate studies in over thirty specialized fields and nine degrees. MBU's education and fine arts programs are nationally known in addition to business, religion, administration of justice, and more. MBU is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Missouri with an enrollment of over 4,500 students at five locations in the bi-state region — West County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County and the new Illinois extension at Lewis and Clark Community College.
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