Andrews University

Andrews University is a private university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. It is the first and most prominent university of the Seventh-Day Adventists, and one of the largest evangelical higher educational institution in the state of Michigan.

The private university was founded as Battle Creek College in 1874 with just 12 students. It did not move to its current location in Berrien Springs until 1901, when it was renamed Emmanuel Missionary College. It later welcomed Potomoc University – a nearby Adventist institution – to join its campus; gaining Potomoc’s graduate program and theological seminary.

In 1960, Emmanuel Missionary College was renamed Andrews University as a dedication to Adventist scholar John Nevin Andrews.

Andrews University offers around 130 undergraduate and 70 postgraduate majors across its eight schools. The Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary moved to Andrews during the 1960s and today the seminary is well recognised as a training ground for ministers of the Adventist church.

Its motto is: ‘Seek Knowledge. Affirm Faith. Change the World’. It describes itself as ‘a place where our students can explore their futures to best understand and pursue God’s plans for their lives’.

Andrews has an international outlook, encouraging its students to ‘engage globally’. In 2011, Griggs University joined Andrews University to become its School of Distance Education & International Partnerships, responsible for overseeing Seventh-Day Adventist education beyond Berrien Springs.

Its rural campus was built on woods and farmland, and is officially listed as an arboretum and a Michigan State Historic Site. Its four halls of residence are all single-sex, enforce curfews, and strictly disallow mixing of female and male students in dormitories. Students living on campus are required to attend a minimum number of services, and many engage with the campus ministries. 

The colours of its athletics teams are blue and gold, and its mascot is the Cardinal.