Mckendree University

Lebanon, Illinois flag United States

The mission of McKendree University is to provide a high quality educational experience to outstanding students. We guide our students in the pursuit of academic excellence which will prepare them for leadership roles in our society. To achieve this end we encourage broader vision, enriched purpose, engagement with community, commitment to responsible citizenship, openness to new ideas and dedication to lifelong learning. In keeping with our history and traditions, we provide our students with a rigorous, broadly based liberal arts curricula joined with specialization in a specific discipline. We cherish our historical relationship with the United Methodist Church and its tradition of Judeo-Christian ideals. Therefore, we encourage an atmosphere of open dialogue, free inquiry, and mutual respect, conducted among students from diverse backgrounds.

Rankings

		Rankings
	U.S. News & World Report list of Regional Universities (Midwest) (2020)	53

Academics

Mckendree University offers 146 degree programs including

All courses are taught by qualified, academically excellent faculty, not teaching assistants or graduate students. All courses include active teaching strategies, such as discussions, group projects, debates, student presentations, case studies, simulations, instructional games, and service learning. The most popular majors at McKendree University include: Business Administration and Management; Registered Nursing; Accounting; Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration; and Psychology. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 74 percent.

Campus and Community

The Lebanon campus of McKendree University is located on 235 acres in a charming community of about 4,000 people with a downtown business district within easy walking distance of the campus.

McKendree’s location is a blend of the rural and the urban. The 100-acre Lebanon campus is within 25 minutes of downtown St. Louis to the west and equally close to the popular Carlyle Lake outdoor recreation area to the east. McKendree students thus get the best of both worlds: the serenity and security of a small town – and the advantages of a large metropolitan area – career opportunities, cultural events and institutions, shopping, professional sports, and entertainment. There are new residence halls, a newly remodeled dining hall, as well as a remodeled full-service café, and newly updated bookstore. The Marion K. Piper Academic Center, with state of the art, technologically equipped classrooms and offices, opened for classes in May 2000. The Russel E. and Fern M. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts opened in Fall, 2006, and provides a premiere venue for the performing arts

Lebanon is a small city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,523 at the 2010 census. Like many other places in "Little Egypt" or Southern Illinois, Lebanon was named after the Middle Eastern country of the same name. Local recreation includes a large fishing lake, outdoor sports, a historic shopping district and a beautiful golf course. For fine arts enthusiasts, there is a community theatre and Center for the Arts.

Student Life

Intramural sports include flag football, basketball, and volleyball. Other recreation like ice skating, paintball, and ping-pong tournaments are also coordinated by the Campus Recreation department.

McKendree offers a wealth of student organizations from fraternities and sororities to religious and faith-based organizations. A variety of clubs run by students or faculty include interests like art, games, chess, frisbee, public affairs, and the model U.N. as a small sample.

Housing and Dining

There are nine residence halls on campus and three different types of halls: traditional style, suite style, and apartment style halls. Each of these halls offer unique experiences. The traditional style halls are predominantly freshmen, and have programming focused towards them. The suite style and apartment style halls are predominantly sophomores and above. All halls provide basic furniture, laundry facilities, and internet service. Students living in the following areas are required to purchase a meal plan: Baker Hall, Barnett Hall, Walton Hall, Residence Hall East, Residence Hall West, Suites. Students living in other areas have the option of purchasing a meal plan, though it is not required.

Students may eat at newly renovated Ames Dining Hall and 1828 Café. The dining hall offers a wide variety of fresh food designed to satisfy everyone's appetite with food choices including fresh fruit and salads, hot, home-style entrées, freshly baked pizza, made-to-order deli choices, freshly baked desserts and homemade soups. The Hall is designed as "all you care to eat" every day of the week. The 1828 Café is open Monday through Friday and offers a variety of hot food items along with salads, snacks, fountain & bottled beverages, ice cream, smoothies, and a coffee bar.

McKendree offers four different meal plans starting at 10 meals a week up to 19 meals per week. There is also a commuter plan available for $150 per semester which includes anytime meals.

Sports Programs

McKendree is NCAA Division II – GLVC. The McKendree Bearcats boast 34 intercollegiate athletic sports teams for both men and women from baseball, basketball, and hockey to soccer, swimming, and fishing.