About CMU

Founded in 1854, Central Methodist University is a four-year, private, liberal arts university. CMU's main campus, home to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), is located in Fayette, Missouri, enrolling 1,100 students. More than 4,000 students attend CMU's College of Graduate and Extended Studies (CGES), which offers classes online and at sites across Missouri and the region. CMU is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and welcomes students of all faiths.

Mission

Central Methodist University fosters a diverse and caring community, empowering students to become lifelong learners, committed to academic excellence, prepared to engage in a complex world.

Creed

The Central Methodist University community, consistent with its United Methodist heritage, strives for academic excellence, individual achievement, and social responsibility. As members of that community we believe in:

• Seeking knowledge, truth, and wisdom;
• Valuing freedom, honesty, civility, and diversity;
• Living lives of service and leadership; and
• Taking responsibility for ourselves and the communities in which we live.

Statement on Civility

Civility is upholding the values of respect, kindness, and diplomacy in our direct and indirect interactions with others. Diversity is recognizing differences between people and perceiving these differences as an asset to the community.

Guiding Vision Statement & the University Learning Principles

Central Methodist University will be recognized and valued as an institution delivering distinctive academic programs of excellence, nested within a robust and supportive campus environment, preparing students for making a living and living a life.

To ensure that educational experiences at CMU engender the ideals incorporated in the mission and vision statements, the faculty, administration, and trustees adopted new university wide learning principles and associated outcomes in Spring of 2016. Six of the nine outcomes will be used to assess the general education program.  The remaining higher order outcome will be assessed at the senior, graduating student level. These are:

Communication (Articulate, Multimodal, Professional)

1. Students are articulate, able to speak and write clearly and effectively.
2. Students are multimodal, able to interpret and express ideas through multiple modes of communication.
3. Students are professional, able to adapt to and interact with others in a confident, responsible, and engaged manner.

Curiosity (discover, analyze, create)

1. Students can discover, explore, and seek solutions based on accumulated knowledge and current research.
2. Students can analyze, evaluate, interpret, and summarize data.
3. Students can create and innovate using critical thinking and collaborative skills.

Community (serve, respect, lead)

1. Students will serve others and be ethical and informed citizens.
2. Students will understand and respect diversity, including other’s viewpoints, positions, and beliefs.
3. Students will lead creatively and collaboratively to produce positive changes in the broader world.

Values

Who We Are

Central Methodist University is known for its high quality undergraduate and graduate educational programs, its values-centered learning experiences and longstanding church relationship, its strong liberal arts tradition, its emphasis on character and leadership development, and the success of its graduates through their further educational and professional pursuits. Characterized by academic excellence and proactive, personalized student services, programs are offered in Fayette and statewide via distance learning technologies as well as through partnerships with schools, churches, hospitals, and other institutions of higher education.

Values

Central Methodist University affirms its Wesleyan heritage and its unique place as the only United Methodist-related University in Missouri. The location of its main campus in a small, historic, rural community provides an opportunity for students to live and to learn in a safe setting. The University values its strong liberal arts, providing a foundation for excellent professional programs. CMU and its out-reach activities foster an environment in which a diverse student body can develop intellectually, socially, and spiritually. University life emphasizes honesty, integrity, civility, and a strong sense of personal responsibility as integral elements of character and leadership. Central Methodist University nurtures a spirit of community and caring among students, faculty, and staff.

United Methodist Heritage

"Unite the pair so long disjoined, knowledge and vital piety." These words from Charles Wesley provide the basis for (United) Methodism's involvement in higher education. John Wesley, Charles' older brother and the founder of Methodism, was the catalyst for uniting religious studies with the traditional liberal arts since John and Charles had grown up in an environment that stressed both religious and traditional educational formation. Thus the Wesleyan heritage has from the beginning incorporated both the religious and the liberal arts aspects of education.

When Jesus was questioned by a young lawyer as to what was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus answered, "Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...and You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37,39).

To love God with one's mind implies an intellectual love of God. It has always been the nature of the church to express itself through this form of love and worship of God. It is from this understanding that the Methodist Church launched its involvement in higher education on December 24, 1784, at the Christmas Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The newly formed Methodist Church passed a resolution authorizing the establishment of Cokesbury College in Abingdon, Maryland. This event marked the beginning of a commitment to higher education by the church that has continued for over 200 years. Since that time more than 1,500 academies, colleges, and universities have been established by the (United) Methodist Church. In those years some have closed, some have merged with other colleges, and some have become state-supported institutions. Today in America there are 123 colleges, universities, and schools related to the United Methodist Church.

On April 13, 1853, Central Methodist University was founded by Nathan Scarritt and David Rice McAnally. The University was chartered on March 15, 1855, and the first classes were held September 18, 1857, with one building on one acre of ground, 144 students, and 3 faculty members. In what was to become a prophetic statement, Nathan Scarritt said, "Let our motto be, One Methodist College in Missouri, and Only One." Over the years eight other Methodist colleges and over 100 other schools were established in Missouri. Today the words of Scarritt have come to fruition. There is only one United Methodist-related university in the State of Missouri, Central Methodist University.

Throughout two centuries of church-related higher education, our "Wesleyan tradition has endeavored to avoid narrow sectarianism" (A College-Related Church by the National Commission on United Methodist Higher Education). That is, United Methodist institutions are committed to values-centered inquiry, critical thinking, and a liberal arts curriculum. The (United) Methodist Church has stressed five major concepts that have been the basis for the church to continue its support and involvement in higher education. Our Wesleyan heritage and traditions are defined by these five concepts

1. Education should be available to all people regardless of social standing, ethnic identity, or gender.
2. Education should appropriately relate faith and reason.
3. Education should help individuals make full use of their capabilities and experience for service.
4. Liberal and classical learning is critical, as well as professional and vocational training. Neither is subservient to the other.
5. Education should aim at high standards of student achievement based on deep concern for what is best for the person (from To Give the Key of Knowledge by the National Commission on United Methodist Higher Education).

Today there are new issues and challenges facing all levels of education. The over 200-year tradition of the United Methodist Church and what it believes vital in education continue to inform the current policy of church-related higher education. The United Methodist Church is involved in higher education because it is the nature of the church to express itself in the intellectual love of God. The Wesleyan heritage has supported the ideal of uniting knowledge and vital piety within a diverse community from the beginning. This nature and this ideal are clearly reflected in the statements of values, mission, and educational goals of Central Methodist University.