Mission

The mission of Muskingum College is to offer quality academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences in the setting of a residential, coeducational, church-related college and in the context of a caring community where individual fulfillment is encouraged and human dignity is respected. Its primary purpose is to develop—intellectually, spiritually, socially and physically—whole persons, by fostering critical thinking, positive action, ethical sensitivity and spiritual growth, so that they may lead vocationally productive, personally satisfying and socially responsible lives.

Location

Muskingum College, located in east-central Ohio, is easily accessible by major east-west and north-south highways. The village of New Concord, Muskingum's home town, is located on US 22 and 40, along Interstate 70, 115 miles west of Pittsburgh and 70 miles east of Columbus. US Interstates 77 and 70 intersect ten miles east of New Concord near Cambridge; Zanesville is sixteen miles to the west.

History

Muskingum College is rich in tradition, its proud heritage reaching back to the first half of the nineteenth century when Ohio was an infant state and covered wagons were bringing adventurous settlers westward over the newly completed National Road through New Concord. The College's Indian name, sometimes mispronounced and often misspelled, is a source of pride to those who cherish the history of that colorful part of frontier America “beyond the Alleghenies.”

During its first half-century Muskingum adhered to the educational patterns of the classical college of the period. In 1854 women were admitted on an equal basis with men. After the Civil War a period of steady growth began, accelerating until the frontier classical college of less than a hundred students has evolved into a modern liberal arts and sciences college of some 1,900 with graduate school students, with a 225-acre campus.

When Franklin College, an important educational institution of the Presbyterian Church in the 19th century, closed in 1927, its alumni rolls came to Muskingum.

In January 2000, Dr. Anne C. Steele became Muskingum College's 20th President.

Presbyterian Heritage

On March 18, 1837, the state legislature granted a group of New Concord citizens a charter to establish a college in the village. Because the community was settled largely by farm people of Scotch-Irish descent, the predominant religion was Presbyterian. In 1877 Muskingum became associated with the Synod of Ohio of the United Presbyterian Church. With the merger of the Presbyterian and United Presbyterian churches in 1958, Muskingum became associated with the newly-created United Presbyterian Church in the USA. In 1983 that church merged with the Presbyterian Church in the United States to form the Presbyterian Church (USA). Muskingum's direct affiliation is with the three-state Synod of the Covenant.

Accreditation

Muskingum College has been continuously accredited since 1919 by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, 159 North Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 263-0456 (renewed in 2003), and is authorized by, and receives periodic reauthorization from, the Ohio Board of Regents, 30 E. Broad Street, 36th floor, Columbus, OH 43215, (614) 466-6000, to grant its degrees. The program in chemistry is approved by the American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 872-4589. Muskingum College is fully approved for teacher education by the Ohio Department of Education, 25 South Front Street, Columbus, OH 43215, (877) 644-6338, and is a member of the Interstate Certification Compact which provides for comparable certification in numerous other states including, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey are included. Muskingum holds memberships in the American Council on Education, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Council of Independent Colleges, and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Muskingum College is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music, 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21, Reston, VA 20190, (703) 437-0700. The College is also a member of the Ohio Confederation of Teacher Education Organization (OCTEO).