University of Mount Union

Updated on Feb 03, 2024

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Motto Sit Lux Established 1846 Endowment $131 million Undergraduate tuition and fees 27,990 USD (2015) Total enrollment 2,253 (2011) Phone +1 800-992-6682		Type Private liberal arts Religious affiliation United Methodist President Dr. Dick Merriman Acceptance rate 73.6% (2014) Mascot MUcaw Colors White, Purple
Address 1972 Clark Ave, Alliance, OH 44601, USA Notable alumni Larry Kehres, Pierre Garçon, Dom Capers, Cecil Shorts, Philander C Knox Similar John Carroll University, Baldwin Wallace University, Ohio Northern University, Muskingum University, Otterbein University Profiles Facebook YouTube Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn

The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio. For more than a century the college has been officially connected with the Methodist Church. It is now affiliated with the East Ohio, West Ohio and Western Pennsylvania Conferences of the United Methodist Church. Mount Union has been ranked for 14 consecutive years as a top college in the Midwest and is also ranked as a "Best Buy" for regional liberal arts colleges in the Midwest.

Mount Union has an enrollment of 2,209 undergraduate students, divided approximately equally between men and women. Students represent more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an alumni base of more than 13,000 graduates located around the world.

History and profile

Mount Union was founded in 1846 by Orville Nelson Hartshorn as "a place where men and women could be educated with equal opportunity, science would parallel the humanities and there would be no distinction due to race, color or sex." In approximately 1911, Scio College of Scio, Ohio merged with Mount Union, moving faculty to the Mount Union campus and abandoning the Scio campus.

Mount Union College was renamed the University of Mount Union effective August 1, 2010.

Academic programs

85 percent of the faculty at Mount Union have earned a doctoral or terminal degree with graduate training at universities in the United States and Europe.

Mount Union offers 60 majors and 53 minors of academic coursework in keeping with the liberal arts tradition. Students are encouraged to explore a variety of departments and majors to discover potential talents and interests. Through general education course requirements, students are able to familiarize themselves to a variety of majors and minors. Students are also encouraged to meet their academic departmental adviser, to find guidance in deciding what majors and minors are most advantageous.

The University also offers pre-professional programs in pre-health professions (pre-medicine), pre-law, nursing, and pre-ministry as well as Army ROTC.

Graduate programs

Mount Union offers a master of science in Physician Assistant studies, Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Master of Arts in educational leadership.

Athletics

Mount Union school colors are purple and white and competes in the Ohio Athletic Conference and in NCAA Division III athletics. The teams are nicknamed Purple Raiders, and the school's mascot is MUcaw, a purple macaw.

Mount Union sponsors 11 men's varsity teams: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, track & field, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, lacrosse and wrestling. The school also sponsors 10 women's varsity teams: basketball, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, track & field, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis and volleyball.

Club sports include bowling, and intramural Sports include flag football, dodgeball, innertube water polo, ultimate frisbee, sand volleyball, 2 person golf scramble, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, indoor soccer, indoor volleyball, 2 on 2 basketball, badminton, and pickleball. Mount won the NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship in 1974 under Coach Jim Wuske, and in 2014 Mount Union won the NCAA Men's Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships under Coach Kevin Lucas [1] .

Football

Mount Union's football is currently led by head coach Vince Kehres. Under Vince's father Larry Kehres, who retired after the 2012 season with the highest winning percentage in college football history, Mount Union has won a record 12 Division III national championships—all since 1993. Mount Union holds the all-division record for consecutive victories at 55 from 2000-2003, which ended with their loss to St. John's University (Collegeville, MN) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl (Division III National Championship) on December 20, 2003. Mount Union previously held the all divisions mark at 54 consecutive games until losing in the semifinals on December 12, 1999 to Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ). During both the 55 and 54 game streaks Mount Union won 3 consecutive National Championships. Since both streaks were connected—from 1997–2003 Mount Union won 109 of 110 games played. The Purple Raiders won 110 consecutive regular-season games between 1994 and 2005 (which was ended by conference foe Ohio Northern University on Oct 22, 2005), posted 14 undefeated regular seasons, won 16 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, and had the best overall record in the 1990s (120–7–1, an overall winning percentage of 0.941).

National Championships: 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015 "Mount won the NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship in 1974 under Coach Jim Wuske, and in 2014 Mount Union won the NCAA Men's Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships under Coach Kevin Lucas [2] ."

Student life

Mount Union's communications students can reach out to their student body through the school's radio station, 91.1 WRMU "the Radio Voice of Mount Union" or the campus paper the Dynamo, "A source of Light and Power since 1889."

One of the more popular programs for students at the University of Mount Union is the music program. Students can get involved in many kinds of bands or choirs, including Concert Choir, Mount Union Alliance Chorale, Opera Workshop, Alliance Symphony Orchestra, Repertory Strings, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and more.

The Theatre Department puts on two productions every fall, and varying productions in the spring. Every spring semester alternates between a musical and a straight play every year for the main stage show, and every spring there are also student-directed one-acts. Theatre productions are open to all students, regardless of major or class rank.