13 May HU’s Nursing Program Fully Accredited

Huntington University’s four-year-old nursing program has received full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The program was awarded a five-year accreditation with no compliance concerns, the most a first-time program may receive under the guidelines of the accrediting body.

The Bachelor of Science in nursing degree is built upon Christian principles and is strengthened by a broad curriculum in the liberal arts. The program provides students with extensive on-campus and off-campus clinical experiences as well as in-depth training in human anatomy and physiology, chemistry and core courses in the liberal arts. The university’s state-of-the-art, 93,000-square-foot Science Hall houses the nursing lab complete with simulated patients.

10 May HU Launching New Writing Program Next Fall

Huntington University is launching a new bachelor’s degree program in writing during the fall 2011 semester.

The program–a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with an emphasis in writing– will offer new stand-alone classes in poetry and fiction along with a writing capstone. These courses will add to the existing writing curriculum, which includes creative nonfiction as well as history and structure of the English language. Uniquely, students will also have the opportunity to learn journalism through courses offered in the communication department, including introduction to news writing and advanced reporting and news writing.

“This major addresses a growing interest in creative writing for English students while also pushing them to develop skills in written journalism,” said Dr. Todd Martin, professor of English. “The value of the program is that students will be exposed to a variety of types of writing that will enhance any career they decide to pursue.”

10 May HU Seniors Donate Outdoor Basketball Court

Huntington University broke ground May 9, 2011, for a new outdoor basketball court–a gift from the senior class. The full-size court with two hoops will be located next to the Klopfenstein Tennis Courts on the southwest side of the Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex.

The cost came mostly from the senior class with the support of the Student Senate and the Student Activities Board. The remaining balance was raised through efforts of the Advancement Office and local businesses.

President G. Blair Dowden and Chris Dowden, first lady of the university, were present to accept the gift.

The project will be completed by Ironclad Excavating in Roanoke, Ind., with the help of a generous gift from Ironclad’s owners, Jenny and Junior Geiger. The basketball court will be finished this summer.

05 May 2011 Forester Night Awards

The 40th annual Huntington University Forester Night was held May 3. This is when awards are given out for lots of things.

The Forester of the Year awards, voted on by the students, went to:

• Male Forester of the Year: Philip Black, a senior theater performance major from Fort Wayne, Ind.
• Female Forester of the Year: Gloria Bonilla, a senior public relations major from La Ceiba, Honduras. (Gloria attended the United Brethren Bethel school in La Ceiba, but is not from a United Brethren church there.)

The 2011 Outstanding Scholar Award was given to Jared Grandlienard, a senior mathematics major from Bluffton, Ind.

Dr. David Alexander, assistant professor of philosophy, was named the 2011 Professor of the Year.

The 2011 Impact Initiative Scholarship was given to Chad Shellabarger, a sophomore nursing student from Rockford, Ohio. The award is presented by the Student Senate to a student who has had an impact on the university and the greater community. The student receives a $1000 scholarship for his or her junior and senior years.

Twenty seniors were also honored by their respective departments with Outstanding Senior Awards, which are voted on by faculty. You can read about all of those recipients, and see photos of them, on the Huntington University site.

13 Apr EXCEL Program Launching Degree in Marketing

Beginning in the fall of 2011, the EXCEL Adult Degree Programs at Huntington University will offer a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing.

The new degree program will be available at EXCEL’s onsite campuses in Huntington and Columbia City, Ind. The program will include several courses unique to the marketing major, including advertising and salesmanship, digital marketing, public relations and social media, market research, and graphic design for marketing.

Classes are enrolling now. For more information, call 800-600-4888 or visit huntington.edu/EXCEL.

EXCEL offers online and evening classes tailored to the schedule of working adults. Onsite classes are held one night per week, one subject at a time in Huntington, Columbia City, and Wabash, Ind. Classes last 5-8 weeks and lead to an associate degree in organizational management or Christian ministry. Bachelor’s degrees in accounting, business administration, human resource management, not-for-profit leadership or nursing (RN to BSN) are also available in this adult-friendly format.

01 Apr 333 Graduates to Receive HU Degrees May 14

Huntington University’s annual Commencement exercises are coming up in May. This is the 113th edition.

Date: May 14, 2011
Time: 3 pm.
Location: Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex.

The university will award 333 graduates with master’s, bachelor’s, or associate degrees.

The commencement exercises and the baccalaureate sermon are open to the public, and no tickets are required.

The Commencement speaker is Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, president of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich. His address is titled “True Identity” and will focus on Matthew 4:18-22. He is a nationally known speaker and author of more than 20 books including “Jesus Nation,” “The Trouble with Jesus,” “Simply Jesus and You” and “Radical Reliance.” From 1987 to 2005, he served as the president of Moody Bible Institute, and as the teaching pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in suburban Chicago 2005-2008 prior to assuming the presidency at Cornerstone.

Three honorary doctorate degrees will be awarded to:

• Dr. Joseph Stowell, the Commencement speaker (Doctor of Divinity).
• Theodore L. Bendall, a Huntington attorney whose firm has provided legal counsel to Huntington University since 1968 (Doctor of Laws).
• Phillip G. Howard, president and co-owner of InterDesign, which has served as the university’s architect for over 30 years and is responsible for most of the buildings on the campus (Doctor of Commercial Science).

Rev. Bill Fisher, Huntington University dean of Christian Faith and Life, will present the baccalaureate sermon at 10:30 a.m. in the fieldhouse. His message is titled “Sticky Business” and will focus on a passage from John 15. Fisher became Huntington University’s dean of Christian faith and life in 1993.

You can read more about from the official university press release.

28 Mar An Award for Becker Hall Renovations

Huntington University has been selected as a recipient of the 2011 BCA Excellence in Construction Awards for the renovations to Becker Hall.

Becker Hall, formerly known as the Administration Building, is the university’s first building. It was erected in 1897 and has acted as classroom, gymnasium, chapel, and administrative space over the years.

During the summer of 2010, renovations were made to the basement and lobby, including donations from Fetters Construction of period-like wood trim and ceramic tile for the lobby. The biggest renovations were to Davis Hall, on the third floor of the building. It now supports a film studio with a greenscreen, a stadium-seat theater, faculty offices, editing rooms, and an equipment cage. The addition of a new elevator completed the renovations during the fall of 2010. The building will still serve in its current administrative role, but now also houses the future of the digital media arts program.

The project was recognized in the “Renovation – Under $2 million” category from the Building Contractors Association. Fetters Construction submitted the project for consideration.

“Receiving this award helps to confirm that we achieved our goal of trying to emphasize the heritage of the building while enhancing its ability to meet current program needs,” said Tom Ayers, vice president for business and finance/treasurer.

The renovations to Becker Hall are part of the larger $21 million “Together: The Campaign for Huntington University” that will also expand the Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex and grow the University Fund and endowment.

19 Mar HU’s Online Programs Recognized in Ten Best

Huntington University has been ranked sixth in the nation for Online Christian Colleges & Universities for 2011. Huntington offers online degree programs through its EXCEL Adult Degree Programs and the graduate school.

The rankings were compiled by The Best Colleges, a publication that reviews publicly available data and then produces independent ranking assessments of colleges in various disciplines. Rankings were based on schools that exemplified a Christ-centered education and met other criteria–graduation and retention rates, education quality, financial issues, reputation, and other factors.

Best Colleges wrote, “With strong showings in every category we measured, Huntington University online is one of the top online Christian universities around.”

Huntington’s oline programs are designed to fit into the busy schedules of adult students. EXCEL offers associate degree programs in Christian ministry and organizational management, in addition to bachelor’s degree programs in business management, human resource management, and not-for-profit leadership. The graduate school offers master’s degree programs in youth ministry leadership and education in an online hybrid format.

The Top Ten Online Christian Colleges were:

1. LeTourneau University (Longview, Tex.)
2. Liberty University (Lynchburg, Va.)
3. Azusa Pacific Uniersity (Azusa, Calif.)
4. Northwestern College (St. Paul, Minn.)
5. Malone University (Canton, Ohio)
6. Huntington University (Huntington, Ind.)
7. Crown College (Bonifacius, Minn.)
8. Ohio Christian University (Circleville, Ohio)
9. Dallas Baptist University (Dallas, Tex.)
10. Northwest Christian University (Eugene, Ore.)

18 Mar HTV News Takes Second in National Competition

HTV News, Huntington University’s television station, won second place in the “TV Studio Production” category from the National Religious Broadcasters Association.

Students Katrina Helmer, a senior broadcasting major from Noblesville, Ind., and Brendon Shick, a senior film studies and broadcasting double major from Grand Rapids, Mich., are listed as producer and director. They were presented with certificates at the national NRB convention in Nashville in February.

HTV News also took second place in the 2011 IASB College Broadcasting Competition Awards for the “Television Newscast” category. Shick won third place in the Television Spot Production category for that same competition.

HTV is a weekly news program written, directed, produced and edited by Huntington University students.

17 Mar Huntington University Launches New Web Site

Huntington University launched a new website on March 16, 2011. It was the culmination of a ten-month project.

“One of the goals of this project has been to update our ‘front door to the world’ with fresh imagery and contemporary layouts that instantly convey the excellence of a Huntington University education,” said John Paff, executive director of communications. “We also wanted to make it easier for faculty and staff to participate in the ongoing editing and updating of our web content.”

The website was built from the ground up with a new server environment running Ektron CMS400.NET, a robust content management system used by many major corporations and universities.

Thousands of pages and tens of thousands of individual files were painstakingly moved from the old site to the new web system by a diligent team of staff and students, Paff said. Once this phase was complete, more than 50 meetings were scheduled before public launch to enable faculty and staff to carefully review every section of the new web site.