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Former names | Kentucky Holiness College (1890–1891)[1] Asbury College (1891–2010) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Eruditio et Religio (Latin) |
Motto in English | Learning and Religion |
| Type | Private university |
| Established | September 2, 1890; 135 years ago (1890-09-02) |
Religious affiliation | Christian |
Academic affiliations | Christian College Consortium Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Space-grant |
| Endowment | $53.1 million (2020)[2] |
| President | Kevin J. Brown |
| Provost | Sherry Powers |
Academic staff | 150 |
Administrative staff | 400 |
| Students | 1,854[3] |
| Undergraduates | 1,640 |
| Postgraduates | 214[3] |
| Location | , Kentucky ,United States 37°51′49″N84°39′54″W / 37.8636°N 84.6649°W /37.8636; -84.6649 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Purple & white |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA DIII,NCCAA |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Website | www |
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Asbury University is aprivate Christian university inWilmore, Kentucky, United States.[4] Although it is a non-denominational school, the college is aligned with theWesleyan-Holiness movement[5] and is a member of theWesleyan Holiness Connection.[6] The school offers 50-plus majors across 17 departments. In the fall of 2016, Asbury University had a total enrollment of 1,854: 1,640 traditional undergraduate students and 214 graduate students.[3] The campus ofAsbury Theological Seminary, which became a separate institution in 1922, is located across the street from Asbury University.
Asbury College was established on September 2, 1890, byJohn Wesley Hughes inWilmore, Kentucky.[7] It was originally calledKentucky Holiness College, but the following year was renamed after BishopFrancis Asbury, a circuit-riding evangelist known as the "Father of American Methodism". Bishop Asbury had established the first Methodist school in the United States west of the Appalachians,Bethel Academy, in 1790; its site lies nearHigh Bridge, only about four miles (6 km) south of Wilmore.[8]
After being pushed out as President of Asbury College in 1905, Hughes went on to found another college,Kingswood College, inBreckinridge County, Kentucky. Kingswood College no longer exists. Despite his disappointment over being removed at Asbury, Hughes wrote in his 1923 autobiography:
Being sure I was led of God to establish (Asbury College), it being my college child born in poverty, mental perplexity, and soul agony, I loved it from its birth better than my own life. As the days have come and gone, with many sad and broken-hearted experiences, my love has increased. My appreciation of what it has done, what it is doing, and what it promises to do in the future, is such that I am willing to lay down my life for its perpetuation.
In 1928, Hughes was invited to break ground for Asbury College's new chapel, Hughes Auditorium, which is still in use today.[9]
In 2001 The Kinlaw Library was completed. It was named in honor ofDennis F. Kinlaw and his wife Elsie. It contains over 150,000 items in several collections. There are three floors and most of the collections are on the main and top floors.[10]
The college's immediate past president, Sandra C. Gray, was inaugurated as the seventeenth president of Asbury on October 5, 2007.[11] She was the institution's first female president.
On March 5, 2010, Asbury College becameAsbury University. The current president is Kevin Brown, a former faculty member of the university's Dayton School of Business.[12] He was inaugurated as the eighteenth president on March 6, 2020.[13]
Presidents of the institution include:[14]
Asbury students come from 44 states and 43 countries. A required essay or personal statement and letters of recommendation are considered for admission.[15] In 2024, Asbury University accepted 64.1% of undergraduate applicants, with admission standards considered "challenging" and those admitted having an average 3.65 high schoolGPA. The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, Asbury being test blind school such that standardized scores are "not considered for admission, even if submitted." Those accepted that obtained test scores had an average 1080–1320SAT score or average 21–28ACT score.[16]
Eighty-two percent of the school's faculty hold terminal degrees in their field of study. The university has 59 undergraduate majors and multiple minors and emphases.[17] Internships, exchange programs, study abroad, cross-culture opportunities, missions, and community service opportunities are available and are part of the curriculum in nearly every major.[18] Asbury has a large general education liberal arts requirement ranging from 39 to 57 semester hours.[19] The university also has an Honors Program[20] and online programs.[21] The university has a 12:1 student to faculty ratio and a retention rate of 82 percent on average.[22] Nearly 90 percent of the university's students live on campus.[15]
Programs are divided into five units:
Graduate degrees include: Master's in Business Administration, Graduate Education degrees, Master of Arts in Communication, Master of Arts in Digital Storytelling, Master of Arts in Instructional Design, Innovation & Leadership, Master of Fine Arts in Film/TV Production, and Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting.[24]
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| Master's | |
| Washington Monthly[25] | 221 |
| Regional | |
| U.S. News & World Report[26] | 31 |
| National | |
| Forbes[27] | 565 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[28] | 601–800 |
Out of 136 universities, Asbury University was ranked tied for No.31 in the Regional Universities South category byU.S. News & World Report in their annual Best Colleges rankings in 2025. The institution was also ranked No.14 for Best Value Schools and No.36 in Best Colleges for Veterans both also out of 136 universities.[29]
The Asbury athletic teams are called the Eagles. The university is a member ofNCAA Division III, primarily competing as a member of theCollegiate Conference of the South after having completed a transition from theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) at the end of the 2023–24 academic year.[30] It is also a member of theNational Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Mid-East Region of the Division I level.[31]
Asbury competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports:[32] Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading. Club sports include roundnet, disc golf, and pickleball.
Track & field is the university's most recent varsity program, having begun competition in the 2023–24 academic year.[33]
On March 25, 2021, Asbury was approved to begin an expedited three-year transition intoNCAA Division III from the NAIA. During the transition it was allowed to compete in Division III, but would not be eligible for any NCAA post-season play until 2024. The school announced it would compete in post-season competitions of theNCCAA during the transition.[34][35]
There are more than 20,000 living alumni who live in all 50 US states and at least 80 countries.[36] Notable alumni include:
In addition to these separate denominational groupings, one needs to give attention to the large pockets of the Holiness movement that have remained within the United Methodist Church. The most influential of these would be the circles dominated by Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (both in Wilmore, KY), but one could speak of other colleges, innumerable local campmeetings, the vestiges of various local Holiness associations, independent Holiness oriented missionary societies and the like that have had great impact within United Methodism. A similar pattern would exist in England with the role of Cliff College within Methodism in that context.
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