Mars Hill College

Mars Hill University

Motto	Pro Christo Adolescentibusque "For Christ and For Youth"
Type	Private
Established	1856
Endowment	$50 million
President	Dr. Dan G. Lunsford
Students	1,395
Location	Mars Hill, North Carolina, United States
Colors	Blue and gold
Athletics	NCAA Division II
Nickname	Mountain Lions
Affiliations	South Atlantic Conference, National Collegiate Cycling Association
Website	www.mhu.edu
Mars Hill College Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
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Location	Bet. Bailey and Cascade Sts. N and S, Mars Hill, North Carolina, United States
Area	27.2 acres (11.0 ha)
Built	1892
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, etc.
NRHP Reference #	06000865
Added to NRHP	September 12, 2006

Pro Christo Adolescentibusque

Blue and gold

Mars Hill University is a private, coed, liberal arts university. The university is located in the town of Mars Hill, North Carolina, 15 miles (24 km) north of Asheville. The university is part of the Asheville metropolitan area. Mars Hill University offers 34 majors, including a school of nursing and a graduate school in education. In 2017 U.S. News & World Report, in its annual review of the nation's best colleges and universities, ranked Mars Hill among the Top 20 Southern Regional Colleges, and in 2016 Washington Monthly placed Mars Hill among its Top 25 National Universities (Bachelor) out of 224 surveyed. From 1859 to 2013 the school was called Mars Hill College; in August 2013 it officially changed its name to Mars Hill University.

Mars Hill University was founded in 1856, and it is the oldest college or university in western North Carolina. It started as the French Broad Baptist Institute, sharing a name with the nearby French Broad River. In 1859, the university changed its name to Mars Hill, in honor of the hill in ancient Athens on which the Apostle Paul debated Christianity with the city's leading philosophers. During the American Civil War the university was closed for two years, but it reopened after the war. From 1897 to 1938 the university, under the leadership of Dr. Robert Moore, enjoyed substantial financial and physical growth. In 1921 Mars Hill became an accredited junior college. Dr. Hoyt Blackwell served as president from 1938 to 1966, and under his leadership Mars Hill became an accredited four-year college in 1962. From 1966-1996 Dr. Fred Bentley served as the college's president. Dr. Bentley was, at the time of his appointment in 1966, the youngest college president in the United States. Dr. Dan Lunsford, a 1969 graduate of Mars Hill, is currently the university's president; he holds a doctorate in education, Ed.D, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Under Dr. Lunsford, Mars Hill University has constructed a new dormitory, a new health sciences building to house its new nursing program, a new classroom building to house the business department (the most popular major on campus), completely renovated and greatly expanded the math and sciences classroom building, greatly upgraded its athletic facilities, tripled its endowment, seen an increase in student enrollment, and started a graduate school in education. Mars Hill is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and the university is a member of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Council of Independent Colleges, and the Appalachian College Association.