Friends University

Friends University

Davis Administration Building
Former names	none; established on former campus of Garfield University (1887–1893) in 1898
Type	Private, Non-profit, Coeducational
Established	1898
Affiliation	Non-denominational Christian, founded by Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
President	Amy Bragg Carey
Academic staff	319
Students	2,782
Undergraduates	1,944
Postgraduates	838
Location	Wichita, Kansas, U.S. 37°40′42″N 97°22′00″W / 37.67833°N 97.36667°W / 37.67833; -97.36667Coordinates: 37°40′42″N 97°22′00″W / 37.67833°N 97.36667°W / 37.67833; -97.36667
Campus	Urban 54.5 acres (0.221 km2)
Colors	Scarlet and Gray
Athletics	NAIA – Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Nickname	Falcons
Mascot	Freddy the Falcon
Website	friends.edu

Friends University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas.

Friends University was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University, but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) by James Davis, a St. Louis business man. In the 1930s the leadership of the school was turned over to an independent Board of Trustees, with some representation of the Mid-America Yearly Meeting of Friends on the board. It operates today with "an amicable but independent relationship with the evangelical branch of the Society of Friends."

The building now known as the Davis Administration Building was completed in September 1887 to house Garfield University. Garfield was an effort by the Christian Churches of Kansas led by Dr. W.B. Hendryx to build a Christian college in the Wichita area. Hendryx wanted to name the college after his good friend, President James Garfield. At the time, it occupied the largest single building used for educational purposes west of the Mississippi river.

Garfield University opened its doors for classes in 1887. The University had 500 students enrolled for the first year and 1,070 for the second year. After graduating its first and only senior class, Garfield University closed its doors in 1890 due to financial difficulties. The school was reorganized and opened again in March 1892 as Garfield Central Memorial University. It closed for good November 18, 1893.

As crop failures and deaths made it difficult for pledges to be paid, the university floundered financially. Edgar Harding of Boston eventually became the owner of the property, and began putting out ads for someone to purchase it; James Davis of St. Louis, a Quaker, answered one of those ads. Davis had "proclaimed he would buy a college and give it to the Quakers with his first million dollars". After three visits to the building that would eventually be named after him, he began looking into purchasing the land.