Indiana Wesleyan University

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana.
The college has been mentioned in Caprice & Ella. The school is also where Ava Zinn went to college after graduating from Mississinewa High School in 2001 and Ava's eldest daughter Samantha also attended from 2013 until graduating in 2016. While Ava got dis-enrolled from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion for being unable to adapt to the college life and has not sat foot on the Marion campus since September 27, 2001 and eventually was a factor to Ava moving to Fort Wayne in 2018 and two years after relocating to Fort Wayne, Ava attended IvyTech Community College Fort Wayne. In Caprice & Ella, Ava would often wear sweatshirts or T-shirts from Indiana businesses and because Ava Zinn considered Indiana her home state, the rule was that only Indiana schools and businesses would get the free advertising. However, Indiana Wesleyan University is not one of those institutions as Ava adopted two "no IWU zones" in Marion and Fort Wayne.
The university system includes IWU—Marion, where nearly 3,000 students are enrolled in traditional programs on the main campus in Marion and IWU-National & Global which consists of 6,800 adult learners who study online or onsite at 15 education centers in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. In addition, 535 graduate students are currently enrolled at Wesley Seminary. 
IWU offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and 57 graduate degrees including nine doctorial degrees. Its students represent more than 80 Christian denominations and come from 11 countries.
==History==
IWU's campus was known first as Marion Normal College (1890–1912) and then as Marion Normal Institute (1912–1918).
In 1918, the Marion Normal Institute relocated to Muncie, Indiana, and merged with the Indiana Normal Institute. After the union failed, the buildings and grounds were purchased for the state of Indiana and formed the basis for Ball State University. Because the Indiana Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church operated the Fairmount Bible School south of Marion, local citizens asked them to move to the vacant property and open a normal school in Marion. So from 1918 to 1919 the conference raised $100,000 to endow the school, moved the Fairmount Bible School to Marion, and added a new teacher education program to become Marion College. The actual year of incorporation was 1919; however, the first classes were not offered until the fall of 1920, which became the official year of inception.Elder, Marjorie. The Lord, The Landmarks, The Life. Marion: Indiana Wesleyan University, 1994.
From 1920 to 1988, Marion College operated as a developing liberal arts institution with growing programs, offering Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees since the first graduating class of 1921. A Master of Arts in Theology was begun in 1924 and offered continuously until 1950. Master's degree programs were initiated again in 1979 in Ministerial Education and Community Health Nursing. Master's degree programs were begun in Business in 1988, in Primary Care Nursing in 1994, and in Counseling in 1995.
Having already established a liberal arts college, in 1983, university leadership decided to begin offering courses and degrees to working adults during evening hours and Saturdays, forming what would eventually become IWU National & Global. This decision proved to be very successful and massively affected IWU's future, eventually eliminating the school's sizable debt and funding the revitalization and expansion of the Marion campus, transforming the college into a major evangelical Christian university. To this day, IWU National & Global provides the majority of the funding used in campus renovation and construction projects, keeping student tuition at a relatively low level compared with other similar colleges.
Enrollment in IWU National & Global has grown substantially since 1985 when the first courses were offered. IWU has grown by more than 200 percent since 1990 to educate nearly 14,000 students, over 10,000 of whom are taking courses online or at IWU National & Global's regional Education Centers in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Site-based classes are held at 14 Education Centers: Indianapolis North and West, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, Greenwood, Merrillville, and Marion, Indiana; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; Louisville, Lexington, and Florence, Kentucky. Programs are also available at a number of learning sites located throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Since 1997, most of these programs have been available online.
A new administration was initiated by the board of trustees with the presidency of Dr. James Barnes in 1987. The name of the institution was changed to Indiana Wesleyan University in 1988, reflecting the influence of the institution across the state - well beyond the boundaries of the city of Marion, its connection with the Wesleyan Church and Christian higher education, and the development of increasing numbers of graduate programs.
Barnes served as president from 1987 to 2006 and is credited with transforming IWU from a small, struggling Christian college into one of the largest and most successful evangelical Christian universities in the world. Barnes served as the university's first chancellor from 2006 to 2010. In 2006 Dr. Henry Smith succeeded Barnes as president. In 2010, the Student Center was renamed the Barnes Student Center, in his honor.
In 2008, the Board of Trustees approved a motion to begin the process of establishing Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University, an evangelical seminary affiliated with both the university and the Wesleyan Church. In 2009, the seminary was approved and accredited and opened for the fall 2009 semester. It offers the Master of Divinity degree along with other graduate theological degrees and has its own building, a result of the university receiving a substantial donation from the Green family, owners of the Hobby Lobby corporation. Wesley is the first officially affiliated seminary in the history of the Wesleyan Church.http://www.indwes.edu/news/ArchiveNews/2009/Seminary-to-Open-At-Indiana-Wesleyan-University.htm 
In 2012 Smith announced his resignation as president and reassignment as chancellor. He was succeeded as president by Dr. David Wright, who was inaugurated in 2013.
In 2013, the board of trustees voted to acquire Wesley Institute (now Excelsia College), in New South Wales, Australia, to create IWU's first international campus.
The university was granted an exception to Title IX in 2017. Homosexual acts are prohibited for students, including kissing and all acts "equated culturally with homosexual behavior." 
In 2022 Wright resigned and Dr. Jonathan Kulaga was named the university's tenth president.
IWU is the largest private university in Indiana. Among the 105 members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (the main organization of evangelical colleges in the U.S. and Canada), IWU is its largest member with nearly 10,000 students enrolled as of 2022.
==Enrollment==
Indiana Wesleyan's total enrollment has grown from a student total of 2,000 in 1987 to nearly 14,000 in 2017. This growth has made IWU the largest institution in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and the largest private university in the state of Indiana.
The population of traditional students living in on-campus residence facilities increased from 442 students in 1989 to nearly 2,600 in the fall of 2008. There are nearly 3,200 students (undergraduate and graduate) enrolled at IWU's Marion campus as of 2017.
Enrollment in IWU National & Global's programs has grown from 1,250 students in 1989 to more than 10,000 students as of 2017.
===Ava Zinn===
Ava Zinn (then known as Frank Zinn) was the only regular character that attended the school. As previously mentioned, she attended the college from September 4, 2001 until September 27, 2001.
====No IWU Zones (Marion and Fort Wayne)====
After her dis-enrollment from Indiana Wesleyan University, Ava issued a "no IWU Zone" similar to no fly zones, which are Temporary Flight Restrictions are issued for VIP movement such as the president's travels outside Washington, D.C., surface-based hazards to flight such as toxic gas spills or volcanic eruptions, air-shows, military security, and special events including political ones like national party conventions. 
TFRs over public and corporate venues have been controversial. Groups have questioned whether these last TFRs served a public need, or the needs of politically connected venue operators. The Marion and Fort Wayne no IWU Zones were posted on Ava's web site. 
As of 2018, the Marion No IWU Zone is south of 36th Street, west of Adams Street, north of 50th Street, and east of Western Avenue. The Fort Wayne No IWU Zone is smaller than Marion as Canal Flats is in that area/vincinity.
===Samantha Zinn===
However, Ava's eldest daughter, Samantha, attended and graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University from 2013 until 2016. According to Ava, she advised Samantha to not make the same mistakes Ava made. After graduating in 2016, Samantha became a news anchor where she was main anchor until her November 30, 2020 death.
==Main campus (Marion)==
Indiana Wesleyan University has a main campus in Marion, Indiana. Since 1990, nearly $250 million has been spent on new construction and renovation, and the campus is valued in excess of $360 million. In the past 30 years, over 50 construction projects have been completed, including more than 15 residence facilities and 16 academic/administrative buildings, along with 11 adult and professional studies structures around the Midwest.
Of special note are the university's student residence facilities, including 9 dormitories (all built since 1990) and several apartment structures. IWU was ranked #1 in the 2018 "Best College Dorms in Indiana" list and #16 on the United States list. The university is unique from most colleges in having air conditioning in every room and no community showers in any facility on campus.
The university built the $22 million Chapel Auditorium (where chapel services are held three days a week), which was dedicated in January 2010. With 3,800 seats, it is one of the largest theaters in the Midwest. As one of the largest facilities of its kind in the nation, it was designed to attract major events to Marion, such as musical artists, speakers, and conventions. Visiting artists have included Relient K, Switchfoot, the Gaither Vocal Band, Michael W. Smith, and Lauren Daigle.
In 2016, IWU broke ground on a 2,500 seat, state of the art football stadium that cost approximately $9 million. Wildcat Stadium was completed prior to the 2018 football season.
File:Iwupac.jpg|Phillippe Performing Arts Center (1996)
File:Iwuhodsonhall.jpg|Hodson Hall (1996)
File:Iwupresidentshome.JPG|President's Home (1998)
File:IWUmaxwellcenter.jpg|Maxwell Center for Business and Leadership (1998)
File:Iwurecreationcenter.JPG|Recreation and Wellness Center (1999)
File:Iwuburnshall.JPG|Burns Hall (2000)
File:Iwuglobetheatre.jpg|Globe Theatre, Student Center (2001)
File:Williamsprayerchapel.jpg|Williams Prayer Chapel (2001)
File:Johnwesleystatue.jpg|John Wesley Statue (2003)
File:Iwulibrary.JPG|Jackson Library (2003)
File:IWUwesleyadministrationbuilding.jpg|John Wesley Administration Building (1894,2003)
File:Iwuscripturehall.jpg|Scripture Hall (2001) and Old University Fountain (2003)
File:Iwulodges.JPG|Upperclassman Lodges (2005)
File:Iwustudentcenter.JPG|Student Center (1994,2001,2006)
File:Iwustudentcentermall.jpg|Student Center Mall (2006)
File:Iwustudentcenterpiazza.JPG|Student Center Piazza (2006)
File:IWUnorthhall.jpg|Beckett Hall (2007)
File:Iwuelderhall.JPG|Elder Hall (2007)
File:Iwuchristianministriescenter.JPG|Noggle Christian Ministries Center (1986,2008)
File:Iwuchapel.JPG|University Chapel (2010)
File:Iwu seminary 1.jpg|Wesley Seminary (2013)
File:OTT-Hall.jpg|Ott Hall of Science and Nursing (2014)
File:IWU-plaza01.jpg|Eastburn Plaza and New University Fountain (2016)
== See also ==
* 
==References==
==External links==
* 
* Official athletics website
 
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