Bushnell University is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Christian university in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, United States. It is historically affiliated with the

Christian churches and churches of Christ The group of churches known as the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ is a fellowship of congregations within the Restoration Movement (also known as the Stone–Campbell Movement and the Reformation of the 19th Century) that have no form ...

History

The school was founded as a

divinity school A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in 1895 by Christian Church preacher and educator Eugene Claremont Sanderson as the Eugene Divinity School (EDS). Sanderson envisioned a school at which students would study the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and principles of Christian ministry under Eugene Divinity School's faculty, but take other subjects on the neighboring campus, a model he also attempted to set up at Manhattan Christian College, located near

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

. The Eugene Divinity School and its successive institutions maintained this arrangement with the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

until 1995, when it was discontinued. In 1908 it became Eugene Bible University; in 1930 that name changed to Eugene Bible College. After a merger with Spokane University in 1934, it became known as Northwest Christian College and then Northwest Christian University in 2008. In 2020, it formally changed its name to Bushnell University, after James A. Bushnell, the first chairman of the university's board of trustees. On December 8, 2009, Joseph Womack was named as Bushnell University's 10th president, taking office on June 1, 2010. Womack is the son of Bushnell's eighth president, James Womack, who served from 1986 to 2004.

Presidents

*Eugene C. Sanderson, 1895–1929 *S. Earl Childers, 1929–1934 *Victor P. Morris, Acting, 1934–1936 & 1943–1944 *Kendall E. Burke, 1936–1943 *Ross J. Griffeth, 1944–1965 *Barton A. Dowdy, 1965–1978 *William E. Hays, 1978–1985 *H. Charles Pyron, Interim, 1985–1986 *James E. Womack, 1986–2004 *David W. Wilson, 2004–2010 *Joseph D. Womack, 2010–present

Academics

Bushnell University is organized into seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Bible & World Christianity, Business, Leadership & Teachnology, Education, Music & Performing Arts, Nursing, and Psychology & Counseling.

Accreditation and affiliations

Bushnell University is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...

. It is a member of the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities (OAICU), the

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) is an international organization of evangelical Christian colleges and universities. The headquarters is in Washington, D.C., United States. History In 1976, presidents of colleges in Chri ...

(CCCU), and the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). The education programs are approved by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC), the business programs are accredited by the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), and the Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs is accredited by the

Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs The Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is a programmatic accreditor of counseling education programs at colleges and universities in the United States. It is recognized by the Council for Higher Educat ...

Campus

Bushnell University is located in east Eugene, at the corner of Alder Street and E. 11th Avenue, separated from the larger

by the width of a single lane street. Today, Bushnell students occasionally take University of Oregon classes, have checkout privileges from

Knight Library Knight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregon's (UO) library system. It is located on the university's campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university's older buildin ...

, and take advantage of free lectures and other events on the neighboring campus.

Athletics

The Bushnell athletic teams are called the Beacons. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Cascade Collegiate Conference The Cascade Collegiate Conference (or Cascade Conference) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member schools are located in the Northwestern United States and in Britis ...

(CCC) since the 2007–08 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint during the 2006–07 school year as an associate member for women's volleyball and softball. The Beacons previously competed as an NAIA Independent from 2005–06 to 2006–07. Bushnell competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, eSports, golf, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, eSports, golf, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball.

Baseball

In January 2021, the university announced a plan to revive its baseball program after a more than 50-year hiatus as the school's 17th varsity sport offering, and named Tommy Richards, a former

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

' prospect and

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

Assistant, as the program's new head coach.

Cross country

During the fall of 2015 the woman's cross country team won first place in the NAIA Cross Country National Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. This was the first time Bushnell University's (then known as Northwest Christian) cross country team won first place in this championship. The seven runners who competed at the meet were, Melissa Rios (Freshman), Rosa Schmidt (Sophomore), Shea Vallaire, (Junior), Michelle Fletcher, (Junior), Macie Gale, (Junior), and Alyssa Harmon (Junior).

Other sports

In 2018, Bailey Dell won the NAIA national championship in women's javelin. In 2019, Anika Rasubala won the NAIA national championship in women's steeplechase.

Notable alumni

Mary Burrows Mary Lee Burrows (née McCauley; August 27, 1932 - October 23, 2018) was an American politician who was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives. She is an alumnus of Northwest Christian University and former secretary for the California ...

, politician *

Bruce Hanna Bruce Hanna (born April 1960) is a Republican politician from Roseburg in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 7, which spans Lane and Douglas counties. He was the co-speaker of th ...

, politician *

Mickey Loomis Mickey Loomis (born 1956) is an American professional football executive who is the executive vice president and general manager of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He was named the 2006 PFWA Executive of the Year. ...

, general manager of the New Orleans Saints (NFL) *

E. R. Moon Everard Roy "E.R." Moon was an American Christian missionary who served at Bolenge and later Mondombe in the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1923. He was a 1903 graduate of Eugene Divinity School (EDS), now Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon. E. R ...

, class of 1903, Christian missionary to the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1923 as well as Jamaica from 1938 to 1944 * Frank Morse, class of 1966, president of Morse Brothers construction company and Oregon state senator from 2003 to 2012 * Mike Petersen, basketball coach, assistant coach of the Atlanta Dream (WNBA) * Ryan Stevenson, singer * Paul Wright, lead singer of Rootdown

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Eugene, Oregon Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Education in Eugene, Oregon Universities and colleges established in 1894 Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian churches and churches of Christ Private universities and colleges in Oregon 1895 establishments in Oregon Cascade Collegiate Conference Universities and colleges formerly affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)