Marian University

Marian College may refer to:

See also

Marian University (Wisconsin)

Marian University, formerly Marian College of Fond du Lac, is a Roman Catholic liberal arts university in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1936 by the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Agnes, who continues to sponsor the University today.

Overview

Marian University enrolled more than 2,180 undergraduate and graduate students in the 2013-14 academic year. Seventy-one percent of students were women. Ninety-four percent of students receive financial aid. Approximately 32% of the undergraduate students live on campus.

History

Marian University opened as Marian College of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on September 8, 1936, with 17 full-time and 25 part-time students, and eight faculty. The Sisters of St. Agnes founded the college in response to a Wisconsin Department of Instruction decision that nuns were not allowed to teach in public schools while wearing their religious habits.

Marian became accredited in elementary education in 1941. The first graduating class in August 1941 had eight nun graduates. The first lay students graduated in 1942. Marian had 86 full-time and 145 part-time students in 1950, who attended classes in a convent next to St. Agnes Hospital. Although founded as a women’s college, the superintendent of Fond du Lac schools attended art and music classes with his wife in 1940. Increasing enrollment caused the college to move to its current 100 acres (40 ha) campus in the mid 1960s, and the college became co-educational in 1970.

Marian University (Indiana)

Marian University is a private, non-profit Roman Catholic university located on a 200 acre campus in Indianapolis, in the US state of Indiana. As of fall 2014, Marian University had 2,771 students in attendance, and a student-faculty ratio of 13:1. Founded in 1851 by the Sisters of St. Francis, the college was originally located in Oldenburg moving to Indianapolis in 1937. Marian was referred to as Marian College from 1936 until 2009, when it was renamed Marian University. Marian is religiously affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Marian University is currently headed by President Daniel Elsener.

History

Marian University was founded in 1851 by the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg as a liberal arts school with a program for training teachers. Under the direction of Father Francis Joseph Rudolph and Mother Theresa Hackelmeier, teachers were trained at Oldenburg for more than a decade before Indiana adopted its first tax-supported normal school.

Originally known as St. Francis Normal, the school became a four-year, state-approved institution which merged with Immaculate Conception Junior College to form Marian College. In November 1936, the Sisters of St. Francis purchased the former James A. Allison estate, “Riverdale,” located in Indianapolis, as a site for Marian College.