Southern Nazarene University - Bethany, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 30.800 W 097° 37.800
14S E 624232 N 3930835
Known by several names over the decades, Bethany-Peniel College is now Southern Nazarene University.
Waymark Code: WMDJPX
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 01/21/2012
Views: 7
BETHANY is primarily the home of members of the Nazarene religious sect. Under the terms of the town's charter there are no theaters, billiard halls, or beauty parlors; and the sale of tobacco and intoxicants is forbidden. Even billboards advertising these articles
are banned.
The Bethany-Peniel College, with an average enrollment of four
hundred and a faculty of nineteen, was founded in Oklahoma City in 1906 and moved to its ten-acre campus at Bethany in 1909. It was given its present name in 1920 when the Peniel College of Peniel, Texas, was incorporated with the original institution. The school specializes in training for the Nazarene ministry; it is, however, nonsectarian and has high school, junior college,
and college courses. (A Guide to the Sooner State, 1941)
Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is currently a private, 4-year institution, affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene. Through a number of mergers, the school has operated under many names including Oklahoma Nazarene College, Bethany-Peniel College and Bethany Nazarene College. In 1986, the name was changed to Southern Nazarene University. The School is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1956. Current enrollment at the University is just over 2,000.
The University offers undergraduate degrees in 70 different fields as well as four graduate degrees in 7 areas of study and four associate degrees. The school also has an accelerated "School of Professional Studies" for adult learners, offering degrees in areas such as business, criminal justice and nursing. SNU also offers online classes.
Bethany is a quiet town west of Oklahoma City, with a population of just over 20,000. Located on historic Route 66, it is a "small town" within the metropolitan area. Most of the severely restricted activities of its early founding have been relaxed over the years.