| Location: | Midwest |
| Setting: | Small Town Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Affiliation: | Southern Baptist |
| Size: | Medium (2,000 to 5,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Bearcats |
Southwest Baptist University is a Christ-centered, caring academic community preparing students to be servant leaders in a global society.
Southwest Baptist University (SBU) is a private institute of higher education affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2003 there were approximately 3,600 students attending at one of SBU's four campuses in Bolivar, Mountain View, Salem, and Springfield.
Abner S. Ingman and James R. Maupin founded Southwest Baptist College in 1878 in Lebanon, Missouri. The Lebanon campus originally had an enrollment of 60 students and six faculty. The college lasted one year before the city decided they no longer wanted it. When news got out that the college would be moving, the communities of Auroro, Monett, and Bolivar in southwest Missouri attempted to attract the college. In 1879, the state of Missouri chartered the school and it moved to Bolivar, Missouri. The college went through many financial difficulties in the early part of the Twentieth Century. The college remained closed from 1910-1913 due to a fire that destroyed the entire campus, until Missouri Baptists and area supporters helped it open again as a two-year junior college.
On June 1, 1910, at 11:00 am., the fire that would destroy the campus started. The fire broke out under suspect circumstances, leading some to believe arson was the cause. Bolivar citizen firefighters tried to put out the fire, but the water supply ran dry and at 2:00 pm the fire engulfed the whole campus. Losses were estimated at $20,000. The college was rebuilt, and reopened in 1913.
When it reopened in 1913 as a junior college, Southwest Baptist College consisted of four buildings, three of which still stand on the Stufflebaum campus. This is what is referred to as the “old campus." Among the buildings still standing from the original Stufflebaum campus are Casebolt Apartments (formerly Casebolt Science Building), Memorial Hall, Maupin Hall and Ingman Hall.
On March 26, 1962 A fire destroyed Pike Auditorium. Students and townspeople saved eight pianos and almost all of the sports equipment from the locker rooms of the multipurpose building at that time. Pike Auditorium was the only building destroyed by the fire. The fire became a turning point in the history of Southwest Baptist. The newly elected president, Dr. Robert E. Craig, used the event to stimulate the buying of 102-acres of farmland south of Bolivar. This farmland expanded into the Shoffner Campus on which Southwest Baptist University presides today.
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| Percent of Students International: | 0% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 45% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Mid-America Intercollegiate Ath Assoc) Basketball (Mid-America Intercollegiate Ath Assoc) Baseball (Mid-America Intercollegiate Ath Assoc) Track (Mid-America Intercollegiate Ath Assoc) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 12,450 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 800 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 3,069 | 31% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 2,134 | 19% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 4,852 | 89% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 4,635 | 58% | |
Any Aid: |
97% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 93% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 13% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 460, Math: 470 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 600, Math: 590 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 91% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 20, Verbal: 20, Math: 18 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 26, Verbal: 28, Math: 26 |
| Application Fee: | $ 25.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Recommended |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
