Nelson University, formerly Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU), 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

Waxahachie, Texas Waxahachie ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by ...

, United States. Nelson 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

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees app ...

and endorsed by the

Assemblies of God USA The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States and the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal ...

. The university offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

programs as well as programs in

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 church ministries. On August 1, 2024, Southwestern Assemblies of God University changed its name to Nelson University.

History

Merger

Nelson University began life as three separate Bible schools. The first, known as Southwestern Bible School, was established in 1927 in Enid,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, under the leadership of P.C. Nelson. The second, Shield of Faith Bible Institute, was founded in

Amarillo Amarillo, yellow or golden in Spanish, may refer to: Places * Amarillo, Texas, city in the US * Amarillo, Western Australia, former name for Keralup, Western Australia People * Amarillo Slim (1928–2012), American poker player * Eric Amarill ...

, Texas, in 1931 under the direction of Guy Shields. It included a Bible school, a grade school and a high school. The third, which was operated as Southern Bible College in connection with the Richey Evangelistic Temple, began in 1931 at Goose Creek, Texas (now Baytown), in 1931. It was started by J. T. Little in Trinity Tabernacle and moved to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in 1933. The school's name was then changed to Southern Bible Institute.

Discrimination law exception

In 2015, Nelson University was granted an exception to

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

, allowing it to discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. In 2016, the organization

Campus Pride Campus Pride is an American national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by M. Chad Wilson, Sarah E. Holmes and Shane L. Windmeyer in 2001 which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders and/or campus o ...

ranked the college among the worst schools in Texas for LGBT students. Nelson University responded to the negative ranking by saying that the anti-LGBT student policy is clearly articulated to prospective students before they attend. The university's handbook lists homosexuality as an offense for which a student can be expelled. In 2008, three members of LGBT rights group Soulforce were arrested for trying to start a protest on campus.

Academics

Amidst the physical expansion, Nelson University experienced consecutive record enrollments in Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, and Fall 2010 reaching a milestone of 2,064.

Athletics

The Nelson athletic teams are called the Lions. 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

Sooner Athletic Conference The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 13 ...

(SAC) since the 2013–14 academic year.

Accomplishments

The 2012–13 school year made 2013 a record-setting year for the Nelson Lions basketball team (formerly known as the SAGU Lions), with the Lions achieving the NAIA second-place championship ranking.

Judah the Lion

Influenced by Vice President George Brazell's acquisition of a four-month-old lion cub named Judah, Southwestern adopted the "Lion of Judah" as its mascot in 1963.

Notable alumni

* Gary Elkins (BS '78), former Republican member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from his native

, Texas *

Mike Evans Michael, Mickey, or Mike Evans may refer to: Sports American football * Mike Evans (offensive lineman) (born 1946), American football offensive lineman * Mike Evans (defensive lineman) (born 1967), American football defensive lineman * Mike Evans ...

, author, journalist, Middle East commentator. *

Marla Hanson Marla Hanson (born June 18, 1961) is an American screenwriter and ex-Model (person), model who was the victim of a Slashing (crime), slashing attack instigated by her landlord in 1986. Early life Born in Independence, Missouri, Hanson graduated fr ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and ex-

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

, expelled for having played a boogie-woogie rendition of "My God Is Real". * Marlin Maddoux, conservative Christian radio host and founder of ''Point of View Ministries''. * Mike Murdock, televangelist and contemporary Christian singer-songwriter. Left in 1966 after three semesters.

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{authority control Sooner Athletic Conference Universities and colleges in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Universities and colleges affiliated with the Assemblies of God Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Waxahachie, Texas Education in Ellis County, Texas Buildings and structures in Ellis County, Texas Universities and colleges established in 1927 1927 establishments in Texas Private universities and colleges in Texas