What Does It Mean to be a University?
Bluefield College announced during its annual President’s Convocation on August 18 that the school has earned university status and will now be known as Bluefield University.
“This is a special day,” said Bluefield president Dr. David Olive. “This college was planted here for a purpose. We seek to transform the heart, the mind and the soul of those who come to better their lives through education. Through this transformation process we strive to be a catalyst for the next generation of leaders — leaders who are unashamedly people of faith. Today, Bluefield is poised to go further as it prepares to enter a new century.”
According to university leaders, the name change was a timely response to the growth of master’s degree programs now being offered, including a Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences, Master of Arts in Education, Master of Arts in Counseling, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Science in Nursing. The change was also a response to the recent restructuring of the school’s academic organization into a university model, which established a College of Arts and Letters, the Don Caudill School of Business, the School of Criminal Justice, the School of Education and Social Sciences, the School of Nursing, and the College of Sciences.
“We are very proud of Bluefield College’s heritage and how that God has blessed us with 100 years of educating men and women from around the world,” said Todd Asbury, alumnus and chair of the BU Board of Trustees. “But I will go further to say that we are very excited about what God is going to do in the next 100 years here at Bluefield University.”
The college chose this year to implement the name change because it is the school’s centennial anniversary. BU leaders said they hope the change and the rise to university status will strengthen the school’s brand by differentiating it from Bluefield State College. They said they also believe it will open opportunities to recruit as a university on the international scene since some international countries perceive a college as a continuation of a high school academic program. In addition, BU leaders said they hope the name change will provide recruiting advantages among competitive regional universities and expand the school’s donor base with those who want to be a part of the vision for future institutional development in academics, facilities and athletics.
According to Dr. Marshall Flowers, vice president for academic affairs, some of those future developments include continuing grow academic programs in the health sciences and the introduction of doctoral degree programs over the next three years in education, nursing and health sciences.
“Bluefield University is also cultivating a partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University in the field of chemical engineering and with the Appalachian College of Pharmacy in public health,” Dr. Flowers said. “The University will continue its development of the south campus for athletic facilities for softball, soccer and as a practice field for football, (and) a new campus entrance and signage will be completed during this academic year.”
Dr. Flowers added that with anticipated enrollment growth over the next few years, there are plans for a new residence hall to be constructed, some existing facilities to be renovated, and Easley Library to be retrofitted as a Learning Commons.
“These aggressive plans for Bluefield University development must be clearly linked to strategic planning in the area of recruitment and retention of students,” Dr. Flowers said. “In so doing, the tangible outcomes will be evident to our new students who have joined us in this academic year.”
In response to the name change, some students said they weren’t sure why the college changed its name and expressed surprise and uncertainty, while others saw it as a new beginning.
“I believe it was a cool change; it took me by shock,” said student Liz Roberts. “However, we have a lot of changes not only on campus but in the world. It kind of symbolized a fresh start.”