Accreditation and Affiliations
Adrian College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (Higher Learning Commission, 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604-1411; (800) 621-7440; (312) 263-0456; Fax: (312) 263-7462, hlcommission.org), and the University Senate of The United Methodist Church (Division of Higher Education, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, PO Box 340007, 1001 Nineteenth Ave., South, Nashville, TN 37212-0007). Teacher Education certification programs are approved by the Michigan Department of Education (Michigan Department of Education, 608 W. Allegan, P.O. Box 30008, Lansing, MI 48909). Additionally, the Department of Teacher Education is nationally accredited by Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (1140 19th Street NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036; (202) 223-0077). The Social Work program is accredited through the Council on Social Work Education (Council on Social Work Education, 333 John Carlyle Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314). Athletic Training is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (2001 K Street NW, 3rd Floor North, Washington, DC 20006; (512) 733-9700).
In 2018, Adrian College was approved by the Higher Learning Commission to offer programs fully online. Adrian is a member of the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and has been approved by the State of Michigan to participate in NC- SARA. NC-SARA list of institutions in Michigan
Adrian’s affiliations include membership in the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Michigan; the Michigan Colleges Alliance; the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters; the Council on Undergraduate Research; the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; The National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church; the American Council on Education; and the Council for Independent Colleges.
The Campus
Adrian College is located in Adrian, Michigan, the county seat of Lenawee County in the southeastern part of the state. Adrian is a city of approximately 20,600 people, situated in the center of an agricultural, industrial, and recreational area. State and U.S. highways and nearby expressways provide convenient access to the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Toledo, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Both the Detroit and Toledo airports are within an hour’s drive
For nearly a century, the Adrian campus consisted of several brick buildings that fronted on Madison Street. In the mid-1950’s, largely through the generosity of major benefactor Ray W. Herrick, development of a new and modern physical plant began.
Today the College extends over 100 acres in a west-side residential section of the Adrian community. The Adrian campus melts together its over 160-year history with its modern state-of-the-art facilities. Almost all facilities on campus were renovated over the past decade. The original “college promenade” with its carefully groomed lawns and stately old trees now forms the eastern boundary of the main campus. A carillon tower on the east and a contemporary chapel on the west are familiar landmarks of the central mall. The main campus boundaries include Madison, Williams, Michigan and Charles Street, and connects the College with state highway M-34 and U.S. 223 to the south and business route U.S. 223 to the north. Finally, the 119-acre Walden West property study is located about 20 miles from campus.
System of Academic Governance
The governance system at Adrian is designed to ensure that issues related to effective operation of the College are based on consideration of all concerned points of view. Both strategic plans and immediate decisions and actions are weighed on the basis of academic soundness and fiscal responsibility, in accordance with the College’s mission and purposes. In addition to the administration and Student Government, the six basic components of the system are the faculty, the schools, the academic departments and a number of standings, advisory and ad hoc committees. Faculty meetings include both students and some administrators closely involved with academic programs. Four standing committees and several related committees report to the faculty: Academic Planning, Academic Policy, College &Faculty Environment, and Curriculum,. Faculty decisions on the curriculum and academic programs are presented as recommendations to the President.
The 18 academic departments are organized according to traditional academic disciplines and are responsible for curriculum development, planning, academic standards and student relations within their areas of concern and expertise.
Schools are interdisciplinary groups of the faculty organized according to four broad fields of interest: The School of Business and Technology, The School of Allied Health, Education, and Sport Sciences, The School of Arts, Humanities, and Society, and The School of Science The schools coordinate the efforts of academic departments and faculty members with similar interests and concerns. Various informal opportunities exist for faculty and student involvement in decision making. These include meetings of the President with interested constituents and a continuing discussion of campus issues.
The Articles of Association provide that the Board of Trustees shall consist of not more than 35 members, including three to six who are nominated by the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences of The United Methodist Church. Three to six trustees are elected by the Adrian College Alumni Association, and the remaining 18-23 are elected by the board itself. Two faculty and two student representatives serve as non-voting associate trustees.
History of the College
Adrian College evolved from a theological institute founded by the Wesleyan Methodist denomination at Leoni, Michigan, a small town east of Jackson, in 1845. In 1855 this institute united with the Leoni Seminary, a Methodist Protestant institution, to establish Michigan Union College.
Legend states that members of the College became concerned about the environment at Leoni, which was nicknamed “Whiskey Town.” In 1859 this concern, and other circumstances, made it advisable to relocate or close. In the same year, Dr. Asa Mahan, pastor of the Plymouth Congregational Church in Adrian and a well-known educator, was encouraged by citizens of the community to establish a college. Mahan had served as the first president of Oberlin College and, previously, as an officer of Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Mahan and his colleagues invited the officials and supporters of the closing Michigan Union College to join in establishing the new college at Adrian. After the invitation was accepted, the story says, the library holdings were loaded on an ox-cart in March 1859, and transported the 60 miles to the campus site on the west side of Adrian.
On March 28, 1859, Adrian College was chartered by the Michigan legislature as a degree-granting institution with Dr. Mahan as its first president. Through a series of consolidations and denomination unifications, the College has maintained its relationship with The United Methodist Church.
For almost 100 years, the campus consisted of several brick buildings stretching along Madison Street. Most of what is now the campus was woods and fields. In the mid-1950s, the College, encouraged by the generosity of Ray W. Herrick, embarked on a building program which created the basis for the present campus.
Today, when students walk in the area bounded on the east by Madison Street and edged by Downs Hall, Valade Hall, Cornelius House and Herrick Tower, one will walk on the same ground that students hurried across in 1859 as they rushed to classes, meals and social events. Now, however, instead of a row of brick buildings, the campus incorporates approximately 150 acres, 15 academic and service buildings, 26 residence halls and units and nine major athletic facilities and fields.