Southern Nazarene University
Encyclopedia
Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a Christian liberal arts college
located in Bethany, Oklahoma
, United States
.
The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as 1899, that founding date refers to an institution that merged with what is now SNU: Texas Holiness University. As an Oklahoman institution, SNU dates back to 1906, with the founding of the Beulah Heights Academy and Bible School.
The roots of the original Southern Nazarene University are primarily in the orphanage of downtown Oklahoma City
, founded by Miss Mattie Mallory. Mallory used her inheritance
to buy property north of the city, which she named Beulah Heights, and relocated the orphanage there. Then, in 1906, the Beulah Heights Academy and Bible School opened. In 1909, the school was renamed Oklahoma Holiness University and new property was purchased to the west of Oklahoma City at Bethany
. That same year the surrounding holiness
community became Nazarene
and, as its church base swelled, the school’s financial problems "proved less threatening than those at other institutions." The school eventually changed its name in 1918 to Oklahoma Nazarene College, when the first Nazarene Educational Regions were established.
When Peniel College
merged with Oklahoma Nazarene College in 1920, the name changed to Bethany-Peniel College. Peniel was the first of four fellow Nazarene institutions that would be absorbed by the Oklahoma school. The second institution was Central Nazarene College
, another Nazarene school in Texas
, in 1929. Two years later, Arkansas Holiness College
was absorbed by Bethany-Peniel. The last merger was Bresee Theological College
, in 1940. As historian Timothy L. Smith
wrote, "It eventually outdistanced and absorbed the schools at Hutchinson, Kansas, Peniel and Hamlin, Texas, Vilonia, Arkansas, and Des Arc, Missouri. Bethany became the Nazarene center for the whole Southwest
.”
In 1955, the name changed again from Bethany-Peniel College to Bethany Nazarene College (BNC) to avoid confusion with the term "penal" or "penal colony
", and again in 1986, from Bethany Nazarene College to Southern Nazarene University (SNU).
. Since 1990 SNU has also maintained a presence in Tulsa, providing adult and professional programs.
. SNU represents the "South Central Region." In terms of the Church of the Nazarene, the "South Central Region" comprises the Northwest Oklahoma, Northeast Oklahoma, Southwest Oklahoma, Southeast Oklahoma, Texas-Oklahoma Latino, West Texas, South Texas, Dallas, North Arkansas, South Arkansas, and Louisiana districts, which include Oklahoma
, Arkansas
, Louisiana
, and Texas
. Each college receives financial backing from the Nazarene churches on its region; part of each church budget is paid into a fund for its regional school. Each college or university is also bound by a gentlemen's agreement
not to actively recruit outside its respective "educational region."
Southern Nazarene is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
(CCCU) and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
(NAICU). SNU has also been accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
since 1956.
college, meaning that all who apply with a high school diploma are accepted without regard to course grades or standardized test scores; the 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 100 percent.
took SNU off its censure list. SNU was placed on the list in 1987 after eight faculty members were irregularly terminated in 1986. Discrepancies in the reasons for their termination led the AAUP to investigate: the initial reason given was that of financial difficulty on the part of the institution, due to a decline in student retention and the resulting drop in enrollment, while the reason given later was one of unspecified performance deficiencies in the terminated faculty members. SNU eventually offered some of the terminated faculty members monetary compensation but remained on the list for 18 years, until its administration had drafted academic tenure procedures that met AAUP standards.
rate for white students
and the average graduation rate for black students
. White students had an average graduation rate of 50 percent, 7 points below the national average for all students, while black students at SNU were found to have an average graduation rate of 14 percent, 35 points below their white peers. 11 percent of the student population at SNU is black.
In a separate report issued in 2009 by the American Enterprise Institute
, SNU was found to have the 8th-highest graduation rate among noncompetitive institutions in the U.S., with an average graduation rate of 54 percent. Noncompetitive institutions were defined in the report as institutions that "require only evidence of graduation from an accredited high school" for admission.
As at most Christian
colleges, there is an emphasis on spiritual development at SNU. The Office of Spiritual Developmentis presided over by a Vice President (VP) of Spiritual Development and Chapel
services take place each Tuesday and Thursday in Herrick Auditorium. Students are required to go to 27 of 30 chapels offered. There are also alternative chapel credit opportunities available to students: missions trips, community service projects, and regular church attendance. Chapel speakers and musical groups are arranged by the VP of Spiritual Development. The Office of Spiritual Development work with the SGA Campus Ministries leaders to provide special class chapels and spiritual life retreats.
The Student Government Association (SGA) coordinates events and services for students. The SGA is broken up into four councils executives: Campus Ministries, Student Relations, Publicity, and Social Life, as well as the Office Administrator and Student Body President, along with the editors for the two SNU publications the campus newspaper, The Echo, formerly The Reveille Echo, and the campus yearbook
, The Arrow. Each SGA "exec", save the Office Administrator and the Student Body President, preside over sub-councils and have a representative on the class level. The SGA councils are responsible for hosting school activities, including the Pow Wow talent contest, T.W.I.R.P., Heart-Pal Banquet, Junior-Senior Banquet, class chapels, and class parties.
SNU is a member of the Sooner Athletic Conference
(SAC), in Region VI of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
(NAIA). SNU offers 17 sports for men and women: baseball
, Division-I basketball
, cross-country
, football
, golf
, indoor track, soccer, tennis
, track and field
, softball
, and volleyball
. SNU also competes in cheerleading
, and drumline
. There are five facilities and sites for athletic competition and training, including the Sawyer Center
(1998) for basketball, volleyball, indoor track, commencement, and other ceremonies, McFarland Park Stadium (2001) for football, the Claud & Betty Cypert Athletic Complex (2000) for baseball and softball, the Wanda Rhodes Soccer Complex (1978), and the tennis courts (1985).
Southern Nazarene University also has an equestrian center where students can learn the basics of horsemanship or move into more specialized fields of study. The SNU Equestrian Center is "committed to furthering the education of men and women looking for a career in the Equine Industry," which they do by offering classes like Equine Anatomy, Introduction to Equine Studies, and Introduction to Equine Reproduction. Additionally, the SNU Equestrian Center offers students the opportunity to try out for the Equestrian Team. Both English and Western riders can try out, and those who make the team participate in events sponsored by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association
The mascot
has been the "Thunder Cat" since 2003, the colors are crimson
and white
, and the athletic nickname
is the Crimson Storm
. Until 1999, the nickname was the Redskins, but SNU officials adopted the Crimson Storm in an effort to be more politically correct
. The athletics program at SNU began in 1964, when it was still known as BNC, with the creation of a men's basketball team.
s, and leaders in the Church of the Nazarene
. Alumna Linda N. Hanson
is currently the 19th president of Hamline University
. Alumnus Gary Hart
is a politician and former U.S. President
ial candidate, Howard Hendrick
is an Oklahoma
state politician, and Kenny Marchant
is a Republican
from Texas
in the U.S. House of Representatives
. Alumni Jerry D. Porter
and J. K. Warrick are currently Nazarene general superintendent
s, and alumnus Talmadge Johnson
is a general superintendent emeritus
. Former alumni Angelo Cruz was a professional basketball player who played for the Puerto Rican national basketball team.
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
located in Bethany, Oklahoma
Bethany, Oklahoma
Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 20,307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bethany is located at ....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The roots of the original Southern Nazarene University are primarily in the orphanage of downtown Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, founded by Miss Mattie Mallory. Mallory used her inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
to buy property north of the city, which she named Beulah Heights, and relocated the orphanage there. Then, in 1906, the Beulah Heights Academy and Bible School opened. In 1909, the school was renamed Oklahoma Holiness University and new property was purchased to the west of Oklahoma City at Bethany
Bethany, Oklahoma
Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 20,307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bethany is located at ....
. That same year the surrounding holiness
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
community became Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
and, as its church base swelled, the school’s financial problems "proved less threatening than those at other institutions." The school eventually changed its name in 1918 to Oklahoma Nazarene College, when the first Nazarene Educational Regions were established.
When Peniel College
Peniel College
-History:Texas Holiness University was founded by B. A. Cordell and E. C. DeJernett in 1898. It was then established on a 37-acre campus in 1899 by A. M. Hills and a small holiness community at Holiness, later called Peniel and now part of Greenville, Texas...
merged with Oklahoma Nazarene College in 1920, the name changed to Bethany-Peniel College. Peniel was the first of four fellow Nazarene institutions that would be absorbed by the Oklahoma school. The second institution was Central Nazarene College
Central Nazarene College
The Central Nazarene College was a junior college located in Hamlin, Texas. It closed in 1929.-History:The school opened as a grammar school, academy, and junior college in 1909 under the leadership of Reverend W. E. Fisher, superintendent of the Abilene and Hamlin districts of the Church of the...
, another Nazarene school in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in 1929. Two years later, Arkansas Holiness College
Arkansas Holiness College
Arkansas Holiness College was an educational institution located in Vilonia, Arkansas. It has since closed.-History:A school for children was founded 1900 by Fannie Suddarth. It was thought to have a Free Methodist affiliation but became a part of the Eastern Council of the Holiness Church of...
was absorbed by Bethany-Peniel. The last merger was Bresee Theological College
Bresee Theological College
-History:Mattie Hoke founded Kansas Holiness Bible College in Hutchinson, Kansas 1905. It was first supported by a local holiness congregation called Apostolic holiness Church, then later by the Kansas and Nebraska District Churches of the Nazarene under the name of Bresee Theological College. In...
, in 1940. As historian Timothy L. Smith
Timothy L. Smith
Timothy Lawrence Smith was a noted historian and educator, known as the first American evangelical historian to gain notability in research and higher education.-Early life and education:...
wrote, "It eventually outdistanced and absorbed the schools at Hutchinson, Kansas, Peniel and Hamlin, Texas, Vilonia, Arkansas, and Des Arc, Missouri. Bethany became the Nazarene center for the whole Southwest
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
.”
In 1955, the name changed again from Bethany-Peniel College to Bethany Nazarene College (BNC) to avoid confusion with the term "penal" or "penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
", and again in 1986, from Bethany Nazarene College to Southern Nazarene University (SNU).
Campus
The main campus is located in Bethany, OklahomaBethany, Oklahoma
Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 20,307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bethany is located at ....
. Since 1990 SNU has also maintained a presence in Tulsa, providing adult and professional programs.
Affiliations
SNU is one of eight regional U.S. liberal arts colleges affiliated with the Church of the NazareneChurch of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
. SNU represents the "South Central Region." In terms of the Church of the Nazarene, the "South Central Region" comprises the Northwest Oklahoma, Northeast Oklahoma, Southwest Oklahoma, Southeast Oklahoma, Texas-Oklahoma Latino, West Texas, South Texas, Dallas, North Arkansas, South Arkansas, and Louisiana districts, which include Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Each college receives financial backing from the Nazarene churches on its region; part of each church budget is paid into a fund for its regional school. Each college or university is also bound by a gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's agreement
A gentlemen's agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written, oral, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties...
not to actively recruit outside its respective "educational region."
Southern Nazarene is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities is an organization designed to help primarily Protestant and evangelical Christian institutions of higher education cooperate and communicate with one another...
(CCCU) and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
Founded in 1976, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities is an organization of private US colleges and universities...
(NAICU). SNU has also been accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
since 1956.
Academics
SNU provides students undergraduate degree options in several different fields of interest. It also offers three graduate degrees and seven professional programs for adults. Southern Nazarene is an open admissionsOpen admissions
Open admissions is a type of unselective and non-competitive college admissions process in the United States in which the only criterion for entrance is a high school diploma or a General Educational Development certificate.This form of "inclusive" admissions is used by many public junior...
college, meaning that all who apply with a high school diploma are accepted without regard to course grades or standardized test scores; the 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 100 percent.
AAUP censure list
In 2005, the American Association of University ProfessorsAmerican Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership is about 47,000, with over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations...
took SNU off its censure list. SNU was placed on the list in 1987 after eight faculty members were irregularly terminated in 1986. Discrepancies in the reasons for their termination led the AAUP to investigate: the initial reason given was that of financial difficulty on the part of the institution, due to a decline in student retention and the resulting drop in enrollment, while the reason given later was one of unspecified performance deficiencies in the terminated faculty members. SNU eventually offered some of the terminated faculty members monetary compensation but remained on the list for 18 years, until its administration had drafted academic tenure procedures that met AAUP standards.
Graduation reports
A report released in April 2008 found that, of the U.S. institutions surveyed based on data provided under the 1990 Student Right-to-Know Act, SNU had the 17th-largest gap between the average graduationGraduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
rate for white students
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
and the average graduation rate for black students
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
. White students had an average graduation rate of 50 percent, 7 points below the national average for all students, while black students at SNU were found to have an average graduation rate of 14 percent, 35 points below their white peers. 11 percent of the student population at SNU is black.
In a separate report issued in 2009 by the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
, SNU was found to have the 8th-highest graduation rate among noncompetitive institutions in the U.S., with an average graduation rate of 54 percent. Noncompetitive institutions were defined in the report as institutions that "require only evidence of graduation from an accredited high school" for admission.
Student life
There were 2,090 students at SNU in 2007, 1,656 of whom were undergraduates. SNU provides on-campus apartments and various dormitories. All students under the age of 22 must live on-campus, although exceptions are made for local students living with families. The housing options include Bracken Hall and Chapman Apartments for upperclassmen, Asbury Apartments and Imel Townhouses for upperclassmen, Bracken Hall mostly for freshman women, and Snowbarger Hall mostly for freshman men. In 2011 with the completion of the new residence hall, AM Hills has been added to campus housing both men and women. Residency requires the purchase of a meal plan from the campus food service, Sodexo.Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
colleges, there is an emphasis on spiritual development at SNU. The Office of Spiritual Developmentis presided over by a Vice President (VP) of Spiritual Development and Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
services take place each Tuesday and Thursday in Herrick Auditorium. Students are required to go to 27 of 30 chapels offered. There are also alternative chapel credit opportunities available to students: missions trips, community service projects, and regular church attendance. Chapel speakers and musical groups are arranged by the VP of Spiritual Development. The Office of Spiritual Development work with the SGA Campus Ministries leaders to provide special class chapels and spiritual life retreats.
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
, The Arrow. Each SGA "exec", save the Office Administrator and the Student Body President, preside over sub-councils and have a representative on the class level. The SGA councils are responsible for hosting school activities, including the Pow Wow talent contest, T.W.I.R.P., Heart-Pal Banquet, Junior-Senior Banquet, class chapels, and class parties.
Athletics
Sooner Athletic Conference
The Sooner Athletic Conference is an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics . Its 12 member institutions are located in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas....
(SAC), in Region VI of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
(NAIA). SNU offers 17 sports for men and women: baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, Division-I basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, indoor track, soccer, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. SNU also competes in cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, and drumline
Drumline
A drumline is a section of percussion instruments usually played as part of a musical marching ensemble. High school and college marching bands, drill and drum corps, drum and bugle corps, indoor percussion ensembles, and pipe bands usually incorporate drumlines; however, drumlines can exist...
. There are five facilities and sites for athletic competition and training, including the Sawyer Center
Sawyer Center
The Sawyer Center, named for Raymond Sawyer, is the main athletic facility for Southern Nazarene University and seats over 5,000. It is used for basketball and volleyball games played by the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm...
(1998) for basketball, volleyball, indoor track, commencement, and other ceremonies, McFarland Park Stadium (2001) for football, the Claud & Betty Cypert Athletic Complex (2000) for baseball and softball, the Wanda Rhodes Soccer Complex (1978), and the tennis courts (1985).
Southern Nazarene University also has an equestrian center where students can learn the basics of horsemanship or move into more specialized fields of study. The SNU Equestrian Center is "committed to furthering the education of men and women looking for a career in the Equine Industry," which they do by offering classes like Equine Anatomy, Introduction to Equine Studies, and Introduction to Equine Reproduction. Additionally, the SNU Equestrian Center offers students the opportunity to try out for the Equestrian Team. Both English and Western riders can try out, and those who make the team participate in events sponsored by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association
Intercollegiate Horse Show Association
-Overview:The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association or IHSA is an equestrian organization established in 1967 by Bob Cacchione when he was a sophomore at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey...
The mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
has been the "Thunder Cat" since 2003, the colors are crimson
Crimson
Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include...
and white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
, and the athletic nickname
Athletic nickname
The athletic nickname, or equivalently athletic moniker, of a university or college within the United States is the name officially adopted by that institution for at least the members of its athletic teams...
is the Crimson Storm
Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm
Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm features 17 men's and women's varsity sports teams at Southern Nazarene University. In 1999, the Crimson Storm athletic nickname replaced the "Redskins", and the "Thundercat" was debuted as the mascot in 2003. The Crimson Storm participates in the NAIA's Division I,...
. Until 1999, the nickname was the Redskins, but SNU officials adopted the Crimson Storm in an effort to be more politically correct
Politically Correct
Politically Correct may refer to:*Political correctness, language, ideas, policies, or behaviour seeking to minimize offence to groups of people-See also:*Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, book by James Finn Garner, published in 1994...
. The athletics program at SNU began in 1964, when it was still known as BNC, with the creation of a men's basketball team.
Notable persons
Several SNU alumni have become notable as academics, politicianPolitician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, and leaders in the Church of the Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
. Alumna Linda N. Hanson
Linda N. Hanson
Linda N. Hanson is an American academic. She became Hamline University’s 19th president in July 2005. Hanson is president emeritus of the College of Santa Fe, where she served as president for five years...
is currently the 19th president of Hamline University
Hamline University
-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...
. Alumnus Gary Hart
Gary Hart
Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
is a politician and former U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
ial candidate, Howard Hendrick
Howard Hendrick
Howard Hendrick is a Republican politician from the US state of Oklahoma. Hendrick was serving as the Oklahoma Secretary of Human Services, having been appointed by Democratic Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry in 2003....
is an Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
state politician, and Kenny Marchant
Kenny Marchant
Kenny Ewell Marchant is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes several wealthy areas around Dallas and Fort Worth.-Early life, education and career:...
is a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Alumni Jerry D. Porter
Jerry D. Porter
Jerry D. Porter is a minister and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.-Education:Porter graduated from Bethany Nazarene College in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion...
and J. K. Warrick are currently Nazarene general superintendent
General Superintendent (Church of the Nazarene)
General Superintendent is the highest elected office within the Church of the Nazarene. General Superintendents are elected by the General Assembly of the denomination for a four year term to expire at the end of the next General Assembly....
s, and alumnus Talmadge Johnson
Talmadge Johnson
W. Talmadge Johnson is a minister and emeritus general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.- History :Johnson graduated from Bethany Nazarene College in 1958 with a master of arts in religion degree...
is a general superintendent emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
. Former alumni Angelo Cruz was a professional basketball player who played for the Puerto Rican national basketball team.