The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo. The population was 40,313 at the 2020 census. It is home ...

. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 undergraduate programs of study leading to baccalaureate degrees and offers 11 master's degrees and five doctorate-level degree programs. Nearly 4,200 students from approximately 35 countries are enrolled at Findlay with an international student population of approximately 500. Approximately 1,250 students live on campus in university housing. The University of Findlay has a main campus and five off-campus facilities.

History

The predecessor of the University of Findlay, Findlay College, was founded on January 28, 1882, by the city of Findlay and the Churches of God General Conference. By 1897, the college had established an endowment of more than $100,000 and boasted sixteen faculty members. In 1989, Findlay College became known as the University of Findlay. The campus, still affiliated with the Church of God, embarked on a building campaign, adding five new buildings over the next several years. By the start of the twenty-first century, the institution boasted sixty-five different areas of undergraduate study and eight graduate programs. The university is especially well known for its equestrian studies program and offers equestrian riding as a varsity sport. In 2012, the university added structures to Davis Street to host its newly created pharmacy program.

Academics

The University of Findlay established the nation's first bachelor's degree in hazardous waste studies, now known as environmental, safety and occupational health management. The All Hazards Training Center, which grew from that initial program, has provided hands-on training simulations to more than 100,000 people from a wide range of backgrounds, including industry leaders and government officials involved in emergency planning, response and recovery.

Notable programs

The English equestrian program utilizes a farm, named the James L. Child Jr. Equestrian Complex after the late university trustee, houses the English equestrian studies program. Established in 1992, the program has won an

Intercollegiate Horse Show Association The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) is a nonprofit organization composed of men and women of all riding levels and offers individual and team competition in hunter seat equitation, Western horsemanship and reining at more than 400 m ...

national title, several reserve championships and numerous individual honors. It also includes University Equine Veterinary Services Inc. and an adjacent, 30-acre nature preserve. Founded in 1976, the western equestrian program shares a 152-acre farm, the Animal Sciences Center, with the animal science/pre-veterinary medicine program. The western program has earned five Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championships in the past decade as well as numerous individual honors. The Nuclear Medicine Institute is a one-year professional program that trains

nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is " radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emi ...

technologists. It was established in 1966 in Cleveland and joined Findlay in 1984. It is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine.

Mazza Museum

The campus includes the

Mazza Museum of International Art from Picture Books The University of Findlay's Mazza Museum, formerly the Mazza Museum of International Art from Picture Books, is an art museum located at The University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. It is devoted to illustrations from children's picture books. Hi ...

which contains the largest collection of

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

illustrations in the United States. It has the distinction of being the first teaching museum in the world, and one of the largest, specializing in original artwork from picture books. Its collection numbers more than 11,000 pieces from award-winning authors and artists. Its mission is to promote literacy through its educational programs and to collect, exhibit and preserve original art from children's books.

Outside the classroom

There are nearly 100 student organizations, including special interest clubs, student media, student government, performing arts groups,

service club A service club or service organization is a voluntary nonprofit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined firstl ...

s, academic honorary organizations, spiritual life groups, Greek sororities and fraternities, club sports, and 25

intramural sports Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...

. The school also holds a variety of theater productions, art exhibits, and vocal and instrumental music concerts.

Accreditation

UF is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

and the national accrediting organizations for athletic training, business, environmental health science and protection, intensive English language, nuclear medicine technology, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, social work, strength and conditioning, and teacher education, teaching English to speakers of other languages.

Rankings

In 2021 University of Findlay was ranked No. 241 in National Universities by '' U.S. News & World Report''.

Athletics

The University of Findlay, known athletically as the Oilers with their mascot named

Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and ...

the Oiler, compete as a member of the

Great Midwest Athletic Conference The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It was named the 24th (at the time) NCAA Division II conference and oper ...

(GMAC) of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA)'s Division II. Its student-athletes participate in 23 intercollegiate sports: men's sports include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, cross country, Western equestrian, English equestrian, football,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, soccer, swimming & diving,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

; while women's sports include

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, cross country,

dance team A dance squad or dance team, sometimes called a pom squad or song team, is a team of participants that participates in competitive dance. A dance squad can also include: a jazz squad, ballet squad, or any kind of religion dance squad. Dance squads ...

, Western equestrian, English equestrian,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

, soccer,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, swimming and diving,

and

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. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. The newest varsity sports are western and English equestrian riding, which are mixed sports, although they have predominantly female participants. Both equestrian teams are members of the

Notable alumni

* Tim Beckman, former head football coach at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

* Josh Bostic, 2009 NABC Division 2 Player of the Year, lead 2008-2009 Men's Basketball team to an undefeated (36-0) National Championship * R. Clint Cole, U.S. Representative *

Ralph D. Cole Ralph Dayton Cole (November 30, 1873 – October 15, 1932) was an American lawyer and politician who served three terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1905 to 1911. He was the brother of Raymond Clinton Cole, who also served in Congr ...

, U.S. Representative * Joanie Dodds, American fashion

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 ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

* Edward L. Feightner,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, and

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

pilot * John W. Grabiel, Arkansas politician *

Tennyson Guyer Tennyson Guyer (November 29, 1912 – April 12, 1981) was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a Republican from Ohio for four terms from 1973 to 1981. Early life and career Born in Findlay, Ohio on November 29, eith ...

, U.S. Representative *

Vic Joseph Victor Joseph Travagliante (born July 8, 1985) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed to WWE, where he works under the stage name Vic Joseph and serves as the play-by-play commentator on ''WWE NXT''. Biography E ...

, ringside commentator for

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

Harold Jones-Quartey Harold Jones-Quartey (born August 6, 1993) is a former American football safety. He played college football at the University of Findlay and signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2015. College career Jones-Quartey at ...

, Player for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League *

Waylon Lowe Michael Waylon Lowe (born October 31, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, and the World Series of Fig ...

, NCAA D-2 Wrestling Champion; current professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter *

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, basketball coach *

Stacy Westfall Stacy Westfall (born September 26, 1974) is a professional horse trainer who specializes in reining. In 2006, she became the first woman to compete in and win the Road to the Horse competition. In 2006, she also won the All American Quarter Horse Co ...

, professional

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

Bob Wortman Robert Vincent "Bob" Wortman (December 3, 1927 – October 20, 2015) was a collegiate athlete at the University of Findlay, Ohio, where he played basketball and football. He went on to be a field judge in the American Football League from 1965 ...

, official for NFL and NCAA basketball; only official to work 2 Super Bowls and 2 NCAA Final Fours * John Gierach, American fly fishing writer

References

External links

* {{authority control Buildings and structures in Hancock County, Ohio Education in Hancock County, Ohio Educational institutions established in 1882

University of Findlay The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in Findlay, Ohio. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 undergraduate ...

Private universities and colleges in Ohio 1882 establishments in Ohio