Campbellsville University (CU) is a private Christian university in Campbellsville, Kentucky. It was founded as Russell Creek Academy and enrolls more than 12,000 students. The university offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees.
In 2014, the university trustees ended its covenant agreement with the Kentucky Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention), but vowed to uphold the ideals.
History
Campbellsville University traces its origins to the founding in 1906 of Russell Creek Academy by the Russell Creek Baptist Association. The academy gradually became a junior college in 1924, later developed its offerings and a four-year curriculum, becoming accredited as a college in 1959. With an expansion of graduate programs, in 1996 the college gained university status.
The president of the university is Michael V. Carter, Ph.D. The immediate past president is Kenneth W. Winters (born 1934). He is a Republican state senator from District 1 based in Murray in southwestern Kentucky.
Forest Shely, a physician in Campbellsville and a 1943 graduate of the former Campbellsville Junior College, served as a trustee of the university for 56 years, from 1954 until his death in 2010.
In 2014, it announced her intention to end her affiliation with the Kentucky Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention), due to its decision to want to elect trustees independently. In 2015, it entered into a mission partnership with the American Baptist Churches USA.
In February 2017, the CU field house was damaged in a fire. The university will raze the old structure and rebuild on the same spot. The new structure was expected to be available in time for the new football season in mid-August.
Academics
School of Music
The Gosser Fine Arts Center is home to Campbellsville University's School of Music. Housed in this complex are classrooms, practice rooms, faculty studios, offices, a computer lab, a piano lab, an instrumental rehearsal hall, a choral rehearsal hall, and the Gheens Recital Hall.
The Music Library is on the mezzanine level of the Montgomery Library. This collection contains performance videos, CDs, AV listening/viewing stations, musical scores, music reference books, and music periodicals. There is a conducting room in the basement level for music students to videotape practice and conducting assignments.
School of Art
Next to the Gosser Fine Arts Center is the university's School of Art. Like Gosser, the School of Art main building also has classrooms, and is to have a computer lab for students who want to learn about art. The School also has a Gallery building and the Tessener complex (which has a printing press room and a classroom), that were once houses.
School of Education
When Campbellsville College gained university status in 1996, the re-organized governance included one college of Arts and Sciences and five schools, including The School of Education, which oversees the preparation of teachers. In the fall of 1996, the School of Education moved its offices into Carter Hall and in 2006 into the new School of Education building. The preparation of teachers has expanded to offering graduate education and online education in a wide variety of certifications and advanced roles. The university offers programs in Louisville, Somerset, Harrodsburg and Elizabethtown in addition to the main campus. The School of Education has been accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) in 2007 and 2012 and by the Council of Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and EPSB in 2019.
Rankings
Campbellsville University was ranked #88 (tie) in the Regional Universities South category of the 2022-23 Best Colleges rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The institution was also named #84 in the Top Performers in Social Mobility category.
Campuses and centers
The campus is situated in the center of Kentucky, about a half mile from downtown Campbellsville, population 9,000. Another portion of the campus, Clay Hill Memorial Forest, is from campus. It is a educational and research woodland that is being developed by the Division of Natural Science as a regional center for environmental education and research. Also, Green River Lake, a recreational state park, is from campus.
Harrodsburg campus
Campbellsville University Harrodsburg is developing into a full second campus, not simply a satellite. It has dorms and sports teams.
Residence halls
Nearly half of the students enrolled at CU live on campus.