Southwest Baptist University
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Former name
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Southwest Baptist College |
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| Type | Private |
| Established | 1878 |
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Religious affiliation
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Missouri Baptist Convention IABCU |
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Academic affiliation
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CCCU CGE |
| President | C. Pat Taylor |
| Provost | Allison Langford (interim) |
| Students | 3,470 (Fall 2014) |
| Undergraduates | 2,570 |
| Postgraduates | 900 |
| Location |
Bolivar, Missouri, U.S. 37°36′07″N 93°24′33″W / 37.60186°N 93.40911°WCoordinates: 37°36′07″N 93°24′33″W / 37.60186°N 93.40911°W |
| Campus | 152 acres (61.5 ha) |
| Colors | Purple and White |
| Nickname | Bearcats |
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Sporting affiliations
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NCAA Division II – MIAA GLVC (football only) |
| Website | www |
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Southwest Baptist University (SBU) is a private institute of higher education affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention, which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2003 there were approximately 3,600 students attending at one of SBU's four Missouri campuses, located in the towns of Bolivar, Mountain View, Salem and Springfield.
Abner S. Ingman and James R. Maupin founded Southwest Baptist College in 1878 in Lebanon, Missouri. The Lebanon campus originally had an enrollment of 60 students and six faculty. The college lasted one year before the city decided they no longer wanted it. When news got out that the college would be moving, the communities of Aurora, Monett, and Bolivar in southwest Missouri attempted to attract the college. In 1879, the state of Missouri chartered the school and it moved to Bolivar, Missouri. The college went through many financial difficulties in the early part of the Twentieth Century.
On June 1, 1910, at 11:00 am., the fire that would destroy the campus started. The fire broke out under suspect circumstances, leading some to believe arson was the cause. Bolivar citizen firefighters tried to put out the fire, but the water supply ran dry and at 2:00 pm the fire engulfed the whole campus. Losses were estimated at $20,000. The college was rebuilt, and reopened in 1913.
When it reopened in 1913 as a junior college, Southwest Baptist College consisted of four buildings, three of which still stand on the Stufflebam campus. Among the buildings still standing from the original Stufflebam campus are Casebolt Apartments (formerly Casebolt Science Building), Memorial Hall, Maupin Hall and Ingman Hall.
On March 26, 1962, a fire destroyed Pike Auditorium. Students and townspeople saved eight pianos and almost all of the sports equipment from the locker rooms of the multipurpose building at that time. Pike Auditorium was the only building destroyed by the fire. The fire became a turning point in the history of Southwest Baptist. The newly elected president, Dr. Robert E. Craig, used the event to stimulate the buying of 102 acres (41.3 ha) of farmland south of Bolivar. This farmland expanded into the Shoffner Campus on which Southwest Baptist University resides today.
The Shoffner campus, located approximately a quarter-mile south of Stufflebaum campus, was started in 1962 with the opening of Beasley Hall. Within ten years, Landen Hall (formerly New Men’s Dorm), Leslie Hall, Goodson Student Union, and the Wayne and Betty Gott Educational Center (formerly the campus library) were opened. In 1977, Mellers Dining Commons was opened, adjoining Goodson Student Union.
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