{{Short description|Catholic university in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, US}} {{About|Wisconsin-based Roman Catholic liberal arts school|Indiana-based university|Marian University (Indiana)}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2012}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox university | name = Marian University | image = Marian University seal.jpg | image_size = 150 | image_alt = | former_names = Marian College of Fond du Lac (1936–2008) | caption = | latin_name = | motto = ''sicut lilium inter spinas'' | mottoeng = As a lily among thorns | established = {{start date and age|1936}} | closed = | type = Private university | religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic | endowment = | officer_in_charge = | chairman = | chancellor = | president = Aaron Sadoff<ref>{{cite news |title=Marian University appoints former educator and Marian alum as 18th president |work=FDL Reporter |last1=Lemke |first1=Daphne |date=April 18, 2024 }}</ref> | vice-president = | superintendent = | provost = | vice_chancellor = | rector = | principal = | dean = | director = | head_label = | head = | faculty = | administrative_staff = | students = 1,319 (fall 2023)<ref>{{cite web |title=Marian University (WI) Student Life |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/marian-university-3861/student-life |publisher=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> | undergrad = 1,074 (fall 2023) | postgrad = 245 (fall 2023) | doctoral = | other = | city = Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | province = | country = U.S. | coor = {{coord|43.7775|-88.4214|display=inline,title|type:edu}} | campus = | campus_size = {{Convert|78|acre}} | free_label = | free = | colors = blue and white | colours = | sports_nickname = The Sabres | mascot = Sammy the Sabre | athletics_affiliations = NCAA DIII – {{hlist|NACC|CCIW}} | affiliations = | website = {{URL|https://www.marianuniversity.edu/|marianuniversity.edu}} | logo = Marian univ wisconsin logo.png | logo_size = 200 | footnotes = }}
'''Marian University''' is a private Catholic university in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1936 by the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Agnes, which continues to sponsor the university today.
Marian University has an enrollment of approximately 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Seventy-one percent of students are women. Ninety-four percent of students receive financial aid. Approximately 32% of undergraduate students live on campus.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120804042452/http://www.marianuniversity.edu/interior.asp?id=325 University Profile at Official Website]</ref>
==History== Marian University opened as '''Marian College of Fond du Lac''', Wisconsin on September 8, 1936, with 17 full-time and 25 part-time students and eight faculty. The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes founded the college in response to a Wisconsin Department of Instruction decision that nuns were not allowed to teach in public schools while wearing their religious habits.
Marian became accredited to offer an undergraduate degree in elementary education in 1941. The first graduating class in August 1941 had eight nun graduates. The first lay students graduated in 1942. Although Marian was founded as a women's college, the male superintendent of Fond du Lac schools attended art and music classes with his wife in 1940. Marian had 86 full-time and 145 part-time students in 1950 who attended classes in a convent next to St. Agnes Hospital. Increasing enrollment caused the college to move to its current {{convert|100|acre|ha|0}} campus on Fond du Lac's east side in the mid-1960s. The college became co-educational in 1970.
The school became accredited by the North Central Association for a Master of Arts program in 1987.
On May 1, 2008, Marian College of Fond du Lac changed its name to '''Marian University''' to reflect an expansion of its programs and classes and to position the institution for continued growth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/28/daily66.html |title=Marian College Becomes a University – |website=Bizjournals.com |access-date=2018-08-23}}</ref>
In 2021, the college was sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors "for infringement of governance standards".<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2006 |title=Sanctioned Institutions |url=https://www.aaup.org/our-work/shared-governance/sanctioned-institutions |access-date=November 1, 2024 |website=AAUP }}</ref>
==Academics== thumb|right|Dorcas Chapel thumb|right|Agnes Hazotte Hall Marian University consists of two colleges, namely the College of the Professions and the College of Arts, Sciences and Letters.
Marian University offers the BA, BS, and MA degrees, as well as a variety of licensures and certificates. It also offers an RN to BSN degree. Degrees can be obtained on campus or online.<ref name="AB - degrees">{{cite book|title=Academic Bulletin 2014–15|publisher=Marian University of Wisconsin|location=Fond du Lac, Wisconsin|page=18|url=http://issuu.com/marianuniversity/docs/academic_bulletin_2014-2015|access-date=18 September 2014}}</ref>
Marian University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Specific programs or academic units are also accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education, National League for Nursing, Council on Social Work Education, Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Marian's curriculum has been approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and Wisconsin State Board of Nursing and certified by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Law Enforcement Standards Board Training and Standards Bureau.
==Catholic environment== Undergraduate students are required to take six credits (two courses) in theology and three credits (one course) in philosophy. Graduate-level programs include courses that are grounded in Catholic teaching.
The Campus Ministry at Marian University provides many activities for students to deepen their understanding of the Catholic tradition: weekly Mass, retreats, sacraments, scripture study, rosary, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and outreach to the local area.
==Publications== ''45 South'' is Marian University's literary magazine. ''The Sabre'' is its online newspaper.
==Athletics== thumb|Marian Sabres wordmark Marian University's athletic team's nickname is the Sabres. Its colors are blue and white.
Students participate in sports at the NCAA Division III level in women's basketball, bowling, cross country, field hockey, flag football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball, and men's baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, track & field, and volleyball. Teams have held membership in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference since 2006, after holding membership in the Lake Michigan Conference from 1974 to 2006.
Marian University's men's ice hockey team participates in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. Women's ice hockey is a member of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, and the men's volleyball team competes in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League. Since starting an intercollegiate athletic program in 1972, the Sabres have won 62 conference titles. Since joining the NCAA in 1997, seven different programs have competed in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Marian University plays its home baseball games at Herr-Baker Field, which has also been the home of the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders since 2017. The Dock Spiders play collegiate summer baseball in the Northwoods League.
==Notable alumni== * Dianne Bergant (1961) – author and scripture scholar<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctu.edu/academics/dianne-bergant-csa|title=Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA, Ph.D.|access-date=23 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928210500/http://www.ctu.edu/academics/dianne-bergant-csa|archive-date=2017-09-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Amy Sue Vruwink (1997) – member of the Wisconsin State Assembly<ref>'Wisconsin Blue Book 2011–2012,' Biographical Sketch of Amy Sue Vruwink, pg 67</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{Official website}} * [https://sabreathletics.com/ Athletics website]
{{navboxes |title = Articles related to Marian University |titlestyle = background:#006CB7; color:white; border:2px solid #008463 |list = {{Colleges and universities in Wisconsin}} {{Northern Athletics Conference navbox}} {{Lake Michigan Conference navbox}} {{Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League navbox}} {{College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin navbox}} {{NCHA}} {{WAICU}} {{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee}} }} {{authority control}}
Category:Marian University (Wisconsin) Category:Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Category:Universities and colleges established in 1936 Category:Education in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Category:Buildings and structures in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Category:Catholic universities and colleges in Wisconsin Category:Archdiocese of Milwaukee Category:1936 establishments in Wisconsin