Atlantic Union College

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Atlantic Union College
Motto:	"The Cornerstone of Adventist Education"
Established:	1882
Type:	Private
President:	Norman L. Wendth
Staff:	115
Students:	930
Location:	South Lancaster, MA, USA
Affiliations:	Seventh-day Adventist Church
Website:	www.auc.edu

Atlantic Union College (AUC) is a Christian liberal arts college in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. First organized as a preparatory school in 1882, AUC was established by the Seventh-day Adventist Church primarily to serve the needs of its constituents in the northeastern part of the United States and Bermuda.

[edit] History

• 1882 On Feb 5th, organized as a preparatory school under the leadership of Stephen Nelson Haskell (1833-1922)
• 1882 On April 19th, first day of class for "that New England school"
• 1883 On Dec 12th, incorporated and formally named South Lancaster Academy
• 1918 Renamed Lancaster Junior College
• 1922 Renamed Atlantic Union College after offering a four-year theological course and being authorized degree-granting powers conferred by the Massachusetts legislature. The Academy and College became separate institutions with the Academy having its own board of trustees and faculty. Granted the Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) and the Bachelor of Religious Education (B.R.E.) degrees.
• 1926 In October the name of the school paper The Student Idea was changed to Lancastrian
• 1927 On April 19th the Atlantic Union Alumni Association was formed
• 1933 On Feb 9th the Governor of Massachusetts Joseph Ely granted AUC the right to confer the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree
• 1933 On Dec 3rd the E. E. Miles Science Memorial Building was dedicated
• 1942 Purchased William Kilbourn's farm, along with 100 acres along George Hill Road
• 1943 Dedication of Rachel Preston Hall for a women's dormitory
• 1943 Purchased the 42 room Thayer Mansion, originally built in the mid 1800's by Nathaniel E. Thayer, son of Rev. Nathaniel Thayer
• 1945 Accepted into membership with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• 1952 Dedication of Haskell Hall as an administration building
• 1954 Authorized to grant the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree
• 1954 First class graduates in Machlan Auditorium, Haskell Hall
• 1990 Authorized to grant the Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree

[edit] Presidents (1917-present)

• 1917-1920 Mahlon Elsworth Olsen (1873-1952)
• 1920-1920 Otto Marion John (1883-1938)
• 1920-1921 George R. Lehman
• 1921-1928 Benjamin F. Machlan (1865-1928)
• 1928-1936 Otto Marion John (1883-1938)
• 1936-1948 G. Eric Jones (d.1978)
• 1948-1953 Lewis N. Holm (1892-1986)
• 1953-1960 Lawrence M. Stump (1898-1988)
• 1960-1967 Robert L. Reynolds (1917-2002)
• 1967-1970 Herbert E. Douglass (b. 1927)
• 1970-1975 William G. Nelson
• 1975-1980 R. Dale McCune
• 1980-1984 Larry Lewis
• 1985-1993 Lawrence T. Geraty (b. 1940)
• 1993-1996 James J. Londis (b.1938)
• 1996-2003 Sylvan A. Lashley (b.1952)
• 2003-2003 N. Clifford Sorensen
• 2003-2007 George P. Babcock
• 2007-present Norman L. Wendth (b.1947)

[edit] Campus

The G. Eric Jones Library building was dedicated on April 17, 1970. G. Eric Jones served as college president from 1936-1948. The main and second floors house the library, while the basement level houses the Education/Psychology Department, English Language Institute and Modern Language program. The Library contains a gift of a thousand volumes from the private library of poet Edwin Markham (1852-1940).

In 1798 Reverend Nathaniel Thayer (July 11, 1769 - June 23, 1840) constructed his parsonage in South Lancaster. His sons took down the original home and built the mansion in 1846, and enlarged and remodeled in 1902, to 42 rooms, transforming it into a palatial Victorian home. After being sold out of the Thayer family and having its furnishings sold at auction, Thayer Mansion was sold to AUC in 1943 at a cost of $12,500. Today the Music Department at Atlantic Union College^[1] is housed in this mansion, renamed the Thayer Performing Arts Center.^[2]

[edit] Academics

AUC offers professional and pre-professional programs, several alternative education programs, and a masters degree program in education.

[edit] Student life

The Atlantic Union College Department of Athletics sponsors Men's Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, Volleyball, Swimming and Tennis along with Women's Volleyball, Softball, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis and Basketball. Coed Flag Football and men's and women's Racquetball along with men's and women's Wrestling clubs are also offered.

[edit] Notable people

• Herbert Douglass
• G. Hasel
• Mark Finley
• Ron Halverson

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities
• Seventh-day Adventist Church

[edit] External links

• Official website of Atlantic Union College
• Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
• Official website of Browning & South Lancaster Academy