Southwestern College (Kansas)

Infobox University
name=Southwestern College


motto=Lux Esto
"There Is Light"
established=1885
type=Private
affiliation=United Methodist
president=Dick Merriman
city=Winfield
state=KS
country=USA
campus=Rural community; 82 acres
endowment=
faculty=50+
undergrad=500+ [http://www.sckans.edu/campus/aboutsc/about_index.html Southwestern College in Winfield, KS ] ]
postgrad=data unavailable
free_label=Athletics
free=15 Varsity Teamshttp://www.sckans.edu/admissions/sports.html]
nickname=Moundbuilders
colors=Purple and White
website= [http://www.sckans.edu www.sckans.edu] :"For similarly-named academic institutions, see Southwestern College."

Southwestern College is a four-year college, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, and is located in Winfield, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1885 and graduated its first class in 1889.

The main campus is a laptop learning community, with laptop computers provided to all incoming students. An emphasis on service learning has led to nationally-recognized programs in leadership, discipleship, and entrepreneurship. In addition to bachelor's degrees, three fifth-year master's programs give students the option of completing a graduate degree in an intensive post-bachelor's year.

Southwestern College's professional studies programs offer degree completion for working adults. Seven professional studies sites in three states allow learners to earn their bachelor's degrees in traditional classroom settings, or learners may choose the online option that allows for degree completion anywhere around the world. Several online master's degrees also are available.

Degree programs

* Bachelor of Arts (25 degree options)
* Bachelor of General Studies
* Bachelor of Music
* Bachelor of Philosophy
* Bachelor of Science (9 degree options)
* Bachelor of Science in Nursing
* Master of Business Administration
* Master of Arts in Specialized Ministries
* Master of Science in Leadership
* Master of Science in Management
* Master of Science in Security Administration
* Master of Education
* Secondary School Teacher Certification (11 subject areas)

Athletics

The Southwestern College athletic teams (known as the "Moundbuilders") participate in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The school provides programs for (American) football, basketball, tennis, golf, volleyball, and softball, and has been highly successful in Track and field.

The Men's Track Team has won 25 consecutive conference championships, while the women have won 15 straight. Men's Cross Country has won 28 consecutive conference championships, while the women have won 4 straight and 11 of the last 14, with the school garnering 134 conference championships in nine different sports since 1960. The track teams are coached by Jim Helmer and Mike Kirkland. The school has also had over 160 All-American scholar-athletes since 1980.

"The Mound"

The college's nickname, "Moundbuilders," (frequently shortened to just "Builders") has inspired the creation of a large pile of rocks on the college campus, called "The Mound." At the beginning of each school year, the "Moundbuilding Ceremony" allows students, faculty, clubs, and guests of Southwestern College to place a rock on the Mound. Participants are invited to decorate their rocks with paint, and some are decorated quite creatively. Although rocks are never removed from the Mound, the Mound itself was moved from the upper campus to the lower campus in the 1970s when Darbeth Fine Arts Building was built on the original site of the Mound. A major renovation in 2006 added a plaza area around the Mound with commemorative stones, benches, and landscaping.

The nickname Moundbuilders originated in 1910 when students wanted to be called something other than "Preachers" or "Methodists." Editorialists toyed with various suggestions based on the fact that Southwestern students lived on "the hill." The name "Cliff-dwellers" was suggested but was ultimately scrapped for "Moundbuilders" after student Harry Hart wrote that "anybody could just dwell there, but 'builders' shows action." The name was probably inspired by the discovery around the turn of the century of two ancient mounds on the banks of the nearby Walnut River. These mounds are believed to be some of the westernmost remnants of the Mississipian culture, also known as the Moundbuilders. [http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/m/mound_builders.html] The Moundbuilding ceremony was instituted in 1927 by Dean Leroy Allen who said, "Nobody but Moundbuilders can build mounds. So no other college has now, or ever is likely to have such a custom."

External links

* [http://www.sckans.edu/ Southwestern College]

References