Ohio Christian University

Ohio Christian University
Former names
 Mount of Praise Bible College, Circleville Bible College
Type Private
Established 1948
Affiliation Churches of Christ in Christian Union
President Dr. Mark A. Smith
Students 3,300
Location Circleville, Ohio, United States
39°36′45″N 82°54′19″W / 39.612638°N 82.905146°W / 39.612638; -82.905146Coordinates: 39°36′45″N 82°54′19″W / 39.612638°N 82.905146°W / 39.612638; -82.905146
Campus Rural
Colors Blue and silver         
Athletics NAIA – KIAC
Nickname Trailblazers
Affiliations Churches of Christ in Christian Union
Website www.ohiochristian.edu

Ohio Christian University (OCU) is a private college in Circleville, Ohio. The school is denominationally affiliated with the Churches of Christ in Christian Union.

History

The school was founded in 1948 as Mount of Praise Bible College, which met at the Mount of Praise Campground, where the Churches of Christ in Christian Union held annual revivalist camp meetings. The primary objective of the bible college was to train ministers for the Churches of Christ in Christian Union denomination. It later became Circleville Bible College. In 2006, the college changed its name to Ohio Christian University and received regional accreditation.

Over the past several years, the University has seen tremendous growth. In Fall 2011, total enrollment reached 2,382 with about 600 on campus and the rest online or at satellite locations.[1][2]

Former presidents

Everett A. Keaton (1948-1952)

Guy C. Johnson (1952-1953)

Richard G. Humble (1953-1956)

Glen Johnson (1956-1959)

Morton W. Dorsey (1959-1964)

Melvin Maxwell (1964-1980)

Douglas Carter (1980-1989)

David Van Hoose (1989-1994)

John Conley (1995-2005)

Campus

The university sits on the outskirts of Circleville, Ohio and has been expanding. Classes are located in the Maxwell Center, Johnson Hall, and the science and logistics center. Students reside as freshmen in York Hall and Moore Hall. From there, they may choose to live in Lewis Moats Hall, New Hall, an offsite residence named Terrace, or townhouses.

Since 2008, Maxwell Center has expanded by adding the science and logistics center and a student development center. The university has plans to develop the traditional campus further in the next five years.

Academics

The school offers the Bachelor of Arts, Associate of Arts and Master of Arts in professional fields of study. It also offers an Adult and Online Degree Program. Their online counseling degrees are the most affordable in the United States.[3] It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Ohio Christian University's Adult and Online Degree Programs offer associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. OCU offers online education and evening or weekend classes at campuses in Ohio and Georgia. Ohio campus locations include Dublin, Columbus, Pataskala, Grove City, Lancaster, Circleville, Chillicothe, Nelsonville and the campuses of Southern State Community College in Wilmington, Washington Court House, Hillsboro and Sardinia. The Georgia campus is located in Milner.

Accreditation

Student life

The Student Activities Council (SAC) offers activities throughout the school year. Among the more popular activities are Friday Night Live, a live variety show written and performed by students. Performed in Detty Chapel, the night is usually hosted by an alumnus or faculty member. Another popular activity is midnight breakfast, an event scheduled at the beginning of final examinations week, catered by favorite staff and faculty.

Chapel is housed in Detty Chapel and is offered twice every Tuesday and Thursday. Students come to worship with a live student band and hear a message by the chaplain or special guest. There is a required number of times that every student must attend while enrolled at Ohio Christian.

A Student Development Center houses dining facilities, the office of Student Development, the department of psychology, and several classrooms. In addition, there is a full Christian bookstore, a coffee shop, and an arcade.

The Trailblazers, as the school's athletic teams are called, compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the River States Conference (RSC). Men's sports include baseball, soccer, basketball, cross country, and golf. Women's sports include volleyball, basketball, soccer, cross country, and softball.

Athletics

Ohio Christian was accepted by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for membership beginning with the 2015-16 school year.[4] The athletic program has been a member of the RSC (known before 2016–17 as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) since that time.

Men's Soccer

The men's soccer program was started in 1980 and was coached by Mike Walters. The first 30 years of the program saw very little success on the field where the best record was posted in 1983 (7-7-0). In 1999, the program cease to exist and didn't start back up until 2004 by a handful of students. In 2008, OCU was under the helm of Josh Murton who led the team to its best record in school history (10-5-1). In 2009, more success came as OCU went 17-6-1 and finished 3rd in the NCCAA Division 2. Then in 2010 OCU again out did itself as they lost in the National Championship to Clearwater Christian College, 0-2. They finished the season 14-9-0 playing their toughest schedule in school history, yet they finish #2 in the Nation. In 2011, the men broke the school record for winning percentage (.783) with a record of 17-4-2. Losing in the final four to Northland International University (WI) ended their title hopes. The 2012 and 2013 seasons saw restructuring years for the program yet success still came as both years they won more than 10 games while also winning regional titles. In 2012, they again lost to Northland International in the semifinals and in 2013 they finished 5th in the nation. 2014 was the final year for OCU in the NCCAA Div. 2 and the men made it to the National Championship once again. Losing to Maranatha Baptist University (1-2), the men took the program to a 14-9-0 record with the most difficult schedule OCU has played.

YEAR BY YEAR RECORDS
YEAR W-L-T Pts GF GA +/- Head Coach Assistant Coach(s)
2014 14-9-0 42 65 37 +28 Josh Murton James McIlhargey, Brock Gill, Erik McNeal
2013 12-10-1 37 40 57 -17 Josh Murton James McIlhargey, Kevin Street
2012 11-9-3 36 54 42 +12 Josh Murton James McIlhargey, Kevin Street
2011 17-4-2 53 70 17 +53 Josh Murton James McIlhargey, Erik McNeal
2010 14-9-0 42 48 36 +12 Josh Murton James McIlhargey, Alex Murton
2009 17-6-1 52 79 34 +45 Josh Murton James McIlhargey, JJ Bradley, Tim Jones
2008 10-5-1 31 45 36 +9 Josh Murton James McIlhargey, Mark Casperson

Men's Basketball

Head Coach Tony Stockman enjoyed a memorable inaugural season as he led the Trailblazers to the very first NCCAA National Championship in school history during his first year as coach. The Trailblazers went 27-8 overall and 22-0 against NCCAA Division II competition on their way to the National Title. Stockman is a product of Medina, Ohio and is no stranger to basketball in the Buckeye state. Stockman was named Mr. Basketball Ohio in 2000 after averaging 25.5 points per game and becoming the all-time leading scorer at Medina High School where he led his team to a 58-9 record in three seasons. He then signed with Clemson University where he would prove to be the top freshman in the ACC with a scoring average of 12.0 in his first season. In his 2nd season at Clemson he was the leading sophomore scorer in ACC play with an average of 14.1 points per game in conference games. Stockman became an Ohio State Buckeye following the 2001-02 season when he transferred from Clemson University. After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, he averaged 13.6 points per game to lead Ohio State in scoring as a junior. As a senior, he led Ohio State to a 20-12 record under new head coach Thad Matta.

"Tony is a leader in every sense of the word," said Ohio State Coach Thad Matta. "He was a floor general for us and was the closest thing you could get to a coach on the floor." Stockman comes to OCU with strong ties to both Thad Matta at Ohio State University and John Groce (formerly) at Ohio University. Both coaches have served as mentors to Coach Stockman for the past nine years and will continue in that relationship in his new role at OCU.

"I want to help young men grow on and off the court as they become future leaders in our community," said Stockman. "Ohio Christian University is a great place to grow and develop both spiritually and as a young professional. If you are a young person looking for that kind of opportunity, then OCU is the place to be." Stockman is married to his wife Brittany and the couple has three sons - Tayden, Maddox, and Braysen.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=ohio+christian&s=all&id=201964
  2. ↑ http://www.ohiochristian.edu/about
  3. ↑ "2014 Most Affordable Colleges for Online Counseling Degrees". Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=210022306
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