Chapman University


Chapman University is a private university in Orange, California. Chapman University offers 110 areas of study, and encompasses ten schools and colleges on campus, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Science and Technology.

History

Founded as Hesperian College, in Woodland, California, the school began classes on March 4, 1861. Its opening was timed to coincide with the hour of Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration. Hesperian admitted students regardless of sex or race.
In 1920, the assets of Hesperian College were absorbed by California Christian College, which held classes in downtown Los Angeles. In 1934, the school was renamed Chapman College, after the chairman of its board of trustees, C. C. Chapman. In 1954, Chapman College moved to its present campus in the city of Orange on the site formerly occupied by Orange High School, which relocated to a nearby campus.
Chapman established a Residence Education Center Program to serve military personnel in 1958. This evolved into Brandman University.
Chapman College became Chapman University in 1991. In that year, Dr. James L. Doti became president of Chapman University.

Colleges and programs

Argyros School of Business and Economics

The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics is a private research and academic institution at Chapman University located in the Arnold and Mable Beckman Business and Technology Hall.
Founded in 1977, the school is named after George L. Argyros, a Chapman alum and former U.S. Ambassador to Spain. Argyros has chaired the board of trustees of Chapman University since 1976, and has donated significant resources towards establishing Chapman as a leading national business school. The business school was renamed in Argyros' honor in 1999. In 2019 the Argyros School celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the naming of the school, capped off with a special fundraiser dinner on October 9, featuring special guest President George W. Bush. The event raised approximately $15 million for the school's endowment, $10 million of which was a surprise announcement by the Argyros family. The $15 million raised is believed to be the largest 1-day fundraising event in Orange County's history.
The Argyros School offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in business. The MBA program has three lines, Executive, Flexible, and Full-time. Chapman's Full-time program is currently ranked #73 by Bloomberg/Businessweek. Building on its strength in undergraduate accounting, the school also offers a one-year Master of Science in Accounting degree.
In 2008, The Princeton Review ranked Chapman Business School's undergraduate and graduate programs among its Top 25 programs in the country.
The Argyros School of Business and Economics was officially nationally ranked as the 60th Best Undergraduate Bloomberg BusinessWeek Business School in 2014. In 2016, the Argyros School of Business and Economics rose to 34th in the same Bloomberg rankings.
The Argyros School is home to a number of leading research centers and independent research institutes, including the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research, the C. Larry Hoag Center for Real Estate and Finance, the Ralph W. Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Ethics, the Walter Schmid Center for International Business, the Economic Science Institute, and the Institute for the Study of Religion, Economics and Society.
The Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics is a program whose scope includes original research, scholarship, and the publication of several scholarly journals.

Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies

Chapman University's Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies offers an undergraduate Integrated Educational Studies degree; teaching, school counseling, and school psychology credentials; and graduate degrees in teaching, special education, school counseling, school psychology, and leadership, including a Ph.D. in Education. The college is also home to various centers and programs for community engagement and research, including the Centro Comunitario de Educación, Paulo Freire Democratic Project, and Thompson Policy Institute on Disability and Autism.
The School of Education at Chapman University became the College of Educational Studies in August 2008. In 2017, the college was named in honor of Donna Ford Attallah. The current home of the Attallah College is Chapman's Reeves Hall, which was one the first buildings constructed for Orange Union High School on the site in 1913, added to the National Register for Historic Places in 1975, and renovated and reopened to the public in February 2018.
The Attallah College has full accreditation from the following agencies: Council Accreditation of Educator Preparation, Commission on Teacher Credentialing, National Association of School Psychologists, and International School Psychology Association.

Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

The college has been recognized as one of the top ten film schools in the world and ranked #6 by The Hollywood Reporter among American film schools.

Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences

Formerly part of Chapman University's Schmid College of Science and Technology, the Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences officially became its own independent college at Chapman University on June 1, 2014.
The Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences describes its mission as engaging faculty and students in learning, research, and evidence-based practice that emphasizes a biopsychosocial perspective to understanding health, disability and disease; that fosters interdisciplinary collaborations and inter-professional practice; and that embraces technological innovations in the classroom, laboratory, and clinic.
Undergraduate programs in Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences include a B.A. Psychology and B.S. Health Sciences.
Graduate and post-baccalaureate programs include a M.S. Athletic Training, M.A. Marriage and Family Therapy, M.S. Communication Sciences & Disorders, a MMS Physician Assistant, a Doctor of Physical Therapy , and a Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy.
The physical therapy, communication sciences & disorders, and physician assistant programs are housed on Chapman University's Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine, California.

Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences is the largest college at Chapman University and is composed of the departments of art, English, history, world languages and cultures, peace studies, philosophy, political science, religious studies, and sociology.
Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences is home to the BUDO-lab, an interdisciplinary research group that focuses on the study of combative behavior and martial arts practice.

Dale E. Fowler School of Law

The Chapman University School of Law is located in Kennedy Hall. Law degrees offered include the Juris Doctor and Master of Laws degrees in various specialties.

Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering

Since opening in fall 2019, the Chapman University school has grown to include undergraduate programs in computer science, data analytics, software engineering and game development programming. A minor in computer engineering is also available. The university will launch a bachelor's degree program in computer engineering in fall 2020, with electrical engineering to follow in fall 2021, and a master's degree program in computer science in fall 2022. Further expansion targets programs in biomedical and environmental engineering.

College of Performing Arts

Chapman University's College of Performing Arts, founded in 2007, operates in divisions: the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music, the Department of Dance, and the Department of Theatre. The Conservatory of Music offers a Bachelor of Music in Vocal or Instrument Performance, a Bachelor of Music in Composition, a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, and a minor in music. The Dance Department offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance, a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, and a minor in Dance. The Theatre Department offers two Bachelor of Arts programs, in Theatre Studies and Theater Technology. They also offer two Bachelor of Fine Arts programs in Theatre Performance, and Screen Acting taught in conjunction with the Dodge Film School.

Schmid College of Science and Technology

Chapman University's Schmid College of Science and Technology was founded in 2008 when science-related degree programs were migrated to the new college. On June 1, 2014, the Schmid College underwent a reorganization to spin off the Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.
Schmid College is organized into two schools: the School of Computational Sciences and the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
The School of Computational Sciences offers programs in computer science, software engineering, mathematics, and physics, among others. The school emphasizes the teaching and use of computational modeling and analysis that can be incorporated into research conducted in fields related to the environment and health sciences. The school offers both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computational and data sciences. The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences has programs in the foundational sciences, and also in environmental and food science.
In addition to its undergraduate and graduate programs, Schmid College is home to various centers for research. The Center of Excellence in Computation, Algebra, and Topology, directed by Dr. Drew Moshier, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, provides a forum for interdisciplinary research where computation meets algebra, topology and related mathematical fields. The Center of Excellence in Complex and Hyper-complex Analysis, directed by mathematician Dr. Mihaela Vajiac, is a research unit motivated by the latest results in Clifford and Hypercomplex Analysis and endeavors to find new ways in which this research can be applied in mathematics and physics. The Center of Excellence in Earth Systems Modeling & Observations, directed by physicist Dr. Menas Kafatos, is a research unit which uses data from Earth observation satellites to model, analyze, and understand the Earth systems with particular emphasis on natural hazards. CEESMO provides access to satellite data through its remote sensing and Geographic Information System lab utilizing advanced computational tools. The Machine Learning and Assistive Technology Lab, directed by Dr. Erik Linstead, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering, was established in 2015. MLAT focuses on better understanding and treating developmental disorders, with emphasis on autism spectrum disorder.

School of Pharmacy

The Chapman University School of Pharmacy is located at the Rinker Campus in Irvine. Pharmacy degrees include the Doctor of Pharmacy, a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Science, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Chapman School of Pharmacy also offers an accelerated five-year Doctor of Pharmacy program to qualified high school seniors.

School of Communication

The School of Communication is the newest school in the university. It is located on the university's main campus and housed within Doti Hall, currently offering three majors for students to choose from, including: BA in Communication Studies, BA in Strategic & Corporate Communication, as well as an MS in Health and Strategic Communication.

Brandman University

Brandman University is a separate, fully accredited, university within the Chapman University System. There are over 25 campuses throughout California and Washington, and a campus online. The university offers more than 80 degree, certificate, credential and professional programs.

Rankings and admissions

In U.S. News & World Reports 2020 rankings of the best colleges in America, the university was moved to the National Universities group for the first time, with a debut ranking of tied at 125th. The reclassification was due to Chapman's elevation to R2 status by Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in recognition of its high research activity. U.S. News uses the Carnegie Classifications for its categorization of universities. In U.S. News & World Reports previous rankings in 2019, Chapman University was listed as 5th among master's-level universities in the Western region, while nationally the business school was ranked tied for 85th, the education school tied for 143rd, and the law school tied for 132nd.
For the Class of 2022, Chapman received 14,198 applications, accepted 7,605, and enrolled 1,660. For the freshmen who enrolled, the average SAT score was 640 for reading and writing and 638 for math, while the average ACT composite score was 27.9. The average high school GPA was 3.75.

Holocaust education

The Barry and Phyllis Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education was founded by Marilyn Harran, Ph.D., in February 2000. It sponsors an annual Holocaust remembrance writing competition and hosts a regular Distinguished lecture series.
The Sala and Aron Samueli Holocaust Memorial Library, funded by Henry Samueli, is located on the fourth floor of the University's Leatherby Libraries. On April 11, 2005, sixty years after he was liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp, Elie Wiesel dedicated the Samueli Holocaust Memorial Library, and a large bust of Wiesel stands at the entrance to the facility.
The collection includes a first edition of The Diary of Anne Frank in Dutch.

Athletics

The Chapman Panthers compete in 21 sports at the NCAA Division III level in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Chapman sponsors 10 men's intercollegiate sports: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and water polo. The school also sponsors 11 women's intercollegiate sports: basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo.
Chapman University has won seven NCAA national titles. As a member of the NCAA Division II, the Panthers won one baseball title and three men's tennis titles. After moving to NCAA Division III, the Panthers won the 1995 Division III softball championship and later the 2003 and 2019 Division III baseball championships.
Chapman University's softball team appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1979.
In 2011, the women's lacrosse team won the WCLL National Championships in Arizona. In 2016, the men's lacrosse team won the MCLA National Championship.
In the 2014, 2017, and 2019 seasons, the Chapman University Panther football team ended their season undefeated in their conference and won the SCIAC championship.
The 2019 men's baseball team defeated Birmingham-Southern College to become the DIII NCAA National Champions.
The football and basketball teams are broadcast by the Chapman Sports Broadcast Network to local Channel 6 in Orange and on Chapman's athletic website. CSBN is a student-run, student-produced independent sports network created by students at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media arts.

Controversy

During the Spring Semester of 2019, student protests over the film school's display of two The Birth of a Nation posters received national attention. The posters were part of a larger donation from Cecilia DeMille Presley, granddaughter of American filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, and had been displayed on the first floor of Marion Knott Studios since they were gifted to the school in 2007. During the 2018–2019 school year, Chapman's black student population became more vocal about their discomfort with the display of posters for a film that has been widely criticized for its racist tones, celebration of white supremacy, and use of blackface. The film also is often credited by scholars with reviving the Ku Klux Klan. Though the film is often taught in film school due to its historical importance to the film industry, the presence of the film's posters made students feel that the film's message was actually being celebrated. After nearly a month of student protests and two years after a student first started an online petition, the Dodge College faculty voted to remove the posters and return them to the donor.

Notable people

Faculty