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Media contact: Danielle Ran, director of communications
Phone: 717-691-6027, dran@messiah.edu

Messiah College announces decision to move to university status, effective July 1, 2020

Friday, Oct. 19, 2018 (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania)—The Messiah College Board of Trustees announced today that it approved Messiah College moving to university status, effective July 1, 2020.

“Messiah College becoming Messiah University is an important next step for our campus community,” said Messiah College President Kim Phipps. “In many ways, university status is a much more accurate reflection of how Messiah has functioned for several years now. With our comprehensive offering of undergraduate and graduate programs in both the liberal arts and applied sciences—including our expansion to master’s and doctoral programs—Messiah’s educational profile is already well-positioned with the academic distinction of a nationally recognized, private Christian university,” she said.

This decision was facilitated through a two-year process initiated by President Phipps and a representative campus task force. This task force conducted research and collected input from campus stakeholders, including current and prospective students, alumni, parents, employees and local employers, which helped inform the recommendation to move to university status. The recommendation was then deliberated and overwhelmingly endorsed by campus governance groups before going to the board for final approval at its annual fall meeting this week.

In addition to distinguishing the strength and breadth of Messiah’s academic programs, College leadership agreed that other factors affirm Messiah’s advancement to university status, including: its current multi-school structure with interdisciplinary centers and public educational programs; expansion of educational facilities and academic research opportunities for students; participation in international and other off-campus programs; and an increase in Messiah’s visibility—both nationally and outside the U.S.—particularly with recent student recruitment inroads in China and Malaysia.

University status also creates new opportunities for Messiah’s future, according to George Parmer, chair of the board of trustees.

“The board sees this move as paving the way for even greater educational innovation and expanded academic, corporate, community and ministry partnerships,” said Parmer. “And because university status is more widely understood by international, graduate and non-traditional students, we also expand our recruitment among those populations. Ultimately, we think that university status will strengthen our international reputation and open new doors for us to globally connect more people with Messiah’s distinct institutional mission,” he said.

President Phipps will be forming an implementation team, with representation from faculty, staff, students and alumni, to oversee the transition from Messiah College to Messiah University. Celebration of the status change will be a major focal point of the College’s 2020 Homecoming festivities.

“While many facets of campus have changed throughout the years, as the College transitions to Messiah University, there are also key aspects that will remain the same,” said President Phipps, “including Messiah’s commitment to its Christian educational mission, our promise of academic excellence, our dedication to outstanding teaching and student learning, and our fostering of a strong and supportive campus community.”

“The Messiah community is energized by the chance to tell its story in new and visible ways from a university platform,” added Phipps. “Our journey from a small missionary training school with 12 students—to a nationally ranked, comprehensive Christian college now educating nearly 3,400 undergraduate and graduate students from 38 countries—is worth sharing,” she said. “It’s a story of transformation—not only from college to university—but also the transformation that takes place in the lives of our students and the positive impact that Messiah graduates make for the common good in Church and society.” 

ºÚÁÏÍø Messiah College

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 3,375 undergraduate and graduate students. Founded in 1909 and located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Messiah awards undergraduate bachelor's degrees in more than 85 majors and offers more than 35 graduate degrees and certificate programs.