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Former names | Decatur College and Industrial School of the James Millikin University (1901–1953) |
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| Motto | In His Plenitudo Vis (In These, the Fullness of Strength) |
| Type | Private university |
| Established | 1901; 124 years ago (1901) |
| Accreditation | HLC |
Religious affiliation | Presbyterian |
| Endowment | $94.3 million (2020)[1] |
| President | Dean Pribbenow |
Academic staff | 235 (full and part–time)[2] |
Total staff | 1,393 (full and part-time) |
| Students | 1,807 (Fall 2022)[3] |
| Undergraduates | 1,708 (fall 2022) |
| Postgraduates | 99 (fall 2022) |
| Location | ,, US 39°50′33″N88°58′30″W / 39.8425°N 88.975°W /39.8425; -88.975 |
| Campus | City, 75 acres (30.3 ha) |
| Colors | Blue and white |
| Nickname | Big Blue |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division III –CCIW |
| Website | www |
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Millikin University is aprivate university inDecatur, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1901 by Decatur businessmanJames Millikin and is affiliated with thePresbyterian Church (USA).[4]
Millikin was initially established on April 30, 1901, through a partnership with the then-Lincoln University, an existing college inLincoln, Illinois also affiliated with theCumberland Presbyterian Church. At this time, the charter for Lincoln University, which had been in existence since February 1865, was modified to create a new overarching university, theJames Millikin University. This new institution had two subsidiary units: Lincoln College, the newly renamed, Lincoln-based campus formerly known asLincoln University, and theDecatur College and Industrial School, a new campus to be established in Decatur. This arrangement leveraged the existing resources of Lincoln University to establish a wholly new college in Decatur. The combined, two-campus institution took the name of its primary advocate,James Millikin.
Millikin's campus in Decatur, however, would not officially open until September 15, 1903. Its dedication was presided over by presidentTheodore Roosevelt.
James Millikin University maintained its two-campus model until 1952, when the two units separated to become two wholly independent institutions; the Decatur campus renamed as just Millikin University while the Lincoln campus remained known as Lincoln College. The charter of independent Millikin was approved by the state on July 23, 1953.[5]
Millikin confers undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, and post-graduate certificates and degrees. Its most popular undergraduate majors, based on number out of 403 graduates in 2022, were:[6]
In 2024, Millikin University accepted 75.4% of undergraduate applicants, with admission standards considered moderate, applicant competition considered very low, and with those enrolled having an average 3.4 high schoolGPA. The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, but they will be considered when submitted. Those enrolled that submitted test scores had an average 1070SAT score (31% submitting scores) or an average 23ACT score (14% submitting scores).[7]
In 2025,U.S. News & World Report ranked Millikin University tied for No.14 out of 94 schools in "Regional Colleges Midwest", No.22 in Best Value Schools, and tied for No.44 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, noting that the university had a student-faculty ratio of 10:1, 74.5% of classes had fewer than 20 students, had an average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, of 71%, and that the university considered a student's GPA an important academic factor with an applicant's high school class rank and letters of recommendation considered.[8]
In 2024,Washington Monthly ranked Millikin University 45th among 223 colleges that award almost exclusively bachelor's degrees in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.[9]
TheDecaturian is the bi-weekly student newspaper. Its first issue appeared in 1903; issues up to 1951 are archived online.[10]
WJMU is Millikin University's student-operatedfreeform format radio station. In addition to its musical responsibilities, WJMU also creates its ownpublic service announcements, liners, news, Millikinsports programming and promotional materials.[11]
In 1922, a license was issued for a new AM broadcasting station, operating on a wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz).[12][13] This station was randomly assigned the call letters WBAO, which came from a sequential roster of available call signs. It maintained a limited schedule of broadcasts.[14][13] On May 25, 1928, theFederal Radio Commission (FRC) issuedGeneral Order 32, which notified 164 stations, including WBAO, that "From an examination of your application for future license it does not find that public interest, convenience, or necessity would be served by granting it."[15] On September 1, 1928, the FRC listed "Stations WJBL and WBAO" as one of the "consolidations which have been approved by the commission, or imposed on the stations by the commission".[16] WBAO was formally deleted on October 1, 1928,[13][17] and it was announced that programs previously broadcast by that station would now be heard overWJBL.[18]
Since their first year of athletics in the 1903–04 academic year and prior to joining the NCAA Division III and the CCIW in the 1946–47 season, Millikin primarily competed as an Independent of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Millikin University teams have since participated in theNational Collegiate Athletic Association'sDivision III. The Big Blue are a member of theCollege Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).[19] Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, wrestling, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, triathlon, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
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Williams, 41, and the other elected officials who won Tuesday night will be sworn in on May 7
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