Manchester University

Manchester University is a private liberal arts university in North Manchester, Indiana, with a second location in Fort Wayne focused on health sciences and professional programs. Affiliated with the Church of the Brethren, it offers undergraduate majors in the arts and sciences along with graduate programs in pharmacy, athletic training, business, nutrition, and related fields. The university operates on a residential campus model and competes in NCAA Division III athletics. Manchester University is known for its historic commitment to peace studies, including one of the earliest undergraduate peace studies programs in the United States. Students are often drawn to its small class sizes, faith-informed heritage, and combination of liberal arts and professional education opportunities.

Manchester University traces its origins to the Roanoke Classical Seminary, founded in 1860 in Roanoke, Indiana, by the United Brethren Church. In 1889, the institution moved to North Manchester, Indiana, and became Manchester College. David N. Howe, who had led the seminary, served as the first president of Manchester College from 1889 to 1894. In 1895, representatives of the Church of the Brethren purchased the campus, shaping the institution’s long-term religious affiliation. During the early twentieth century, Manchester University shifted from academy and Bible school instruction to a liberal arts focus, and the academy was discontinued in 1923. In 1932, it merged with Mount Morris College of Illinois. Manchester University established one of the first undergraduate peace studies programs in 1948. Reflecting expanded graduate offerings, the institution was renamed Manchester University in 2012 and opened a Fort Wayne campus centered on health sciences programs.