The higher education marketplace is in a unique season right now – experiencing the “enrollment cliff” we’ve been long preparing for while recovering from small incoming classes that resulted from the pandemic. It’s never been more important for individual universities to be unapologetic about who they serve and their distinct mission and goals. Gone are the days when colleges could attempt to be one-size-fits-all or everything-to-everyone.
Senior leadership in higher education is in agreement that we must understand our individual strengths and lean into them wholeheartedly in order to remain viable. Even “Christian higher education” isn’t enough of a niche – we still need to recognize what makes our places of learning distinctive so that students can make a choice which best suits the calling God has placed on their lives. When we succeed at this, it will position us for organizational thriving.
Malone University was founded more than 130 years ago for the purpose of training servant leaders who love Christ and want to make Him know in tangible ways. In 1892, this meant taking Bible classes in the morning and serving during the afternoon in soup kitchens or in brothels on the streets of Cleveland. In 2024, this means a fully faith-integrated liberal arts education that challenges students to think about how a Christian worldview should influence service to the Church, community, and world.
Though many of our students come to us from more than 40 different Christian denominations, our ethos is rooted in our Evangelical Friends heritage-- which models a beautiful balance of warm-hearted love of Jesus with a commitment to social engagement. It also informs our curriculum and shapes our relationships with one another so that Malone graduates know how to navigate life with a perspective that balances grace and truth. Class conversations consider where the truth of God’s Word intersects with academic disciplines and with a student's sense of purpose and calling. Campus events and programming help students to love God and neighbor in radical ways, and from that flows compassion and integrity in our daily decisions. From our Community Worship stage, Christ’s love and sacrifice is preached, and in our spiritual formation opportunities help students find small group accountability so they can grow in their personal walks with Christ.
At Malone, we continue to encourage our students to engage in community outreach and global service opportunities not to put a feather in their cap but to put their faith into action. Starting with Welcome Week and all throughout the year, students learn to be the hands and feet of Jesus through various service projects, internships, and partnerships. In the last year alone, more than two thirds of our students have participated in service opportunities with their classmates and friends.
In a region of more than four million people, Malone University is northeast Ohio’s only Bible-based university – a growing hub for Christian education and culture. We are one of only three Ohio institutions belonging to the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), and the only Ohio university in the Christian College Consortium (CCC) from which the CCCU was built. This represents a long legacy of Christian educators who believe it’s their God-given calling to shape the lives of young adults in eternal ways which extend beyond their future vocations.
Senior leadership in higher education is in agreement that we must understand our individual strengths and lean into them wholeheartedly in order to remain viable. Even “Christian higher education” isn’t enough of a niche – we still need to recognize what makes our places of learning distinctive so that students can make a choice which best suits the calling God has placed on their lives. When we succeed at this, it will position us for organizational thriving.
Malone University was founded more than 130 years ago for the purpose of training servant leaders who love Christ and want to make Him know in tangible ways. In 1892, this meant taking Bible classes in the morning and serving during the afternoon in soup kitchens or in brothels on the streets of Cleveland. In 2024, this means a fully faith-integrated liberal arts education that challenges students to think about how a Christian worldview should influence service to the Church, community, and world.
Though many of our students come to us from more than 40 different Christian denominations, our ethos is rooted in our Evangelical Friends heritage-- which models a beautiful balance of warm-hearted love of Jesus with a commitment to social engagement. It also informs our curriculum and shapes our relationships with one another so that Malone graduates know how to navigate life with a perspective that balances grace and truth. Class conversations consider where the truth of God’s Word intersects with academic disciplines and with a student's sense of purpose and calling. Campus events and programming help students to love God and neighbor in radical ways, and from that flows compassion and integrity in our daily decisions. From our Community Worship stage, Christ’s love and sacrifice is preached, and in our spiritual formation opportunities help students find small group accountability so they can grow in their personal walks with Christ.
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I’ve never been more convinced of the importance of Christian higher education because our society needs the next generation of leaders to bravely stand as the God-glorifying men and women they were created to be. And I value working for Malone because of how authentically our community articulates our identity as a Christ-centered institution. This commitment to living out our mission with intentionality creates a welcoming environment where students can grow not just in their academic pursuits, but spiritually as well.
In a region of more than four million people, Malone University is northeast Ohio’s only Bible-based university – a growing hub for Christian education and culture. We are one of only three Ohio institutions belonging to the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), and the only Ohio university in the Christian College Consortium (CCC) from which the CCCU was built. This represents a long legacy of Christian educators who believe it’s their God-given calling to shape the lives of young adults in eternal ways which extend beyond their future vocations.
