Millikin University

Millikin University is a private college in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

History
The university was initially established on April 30, 1901, through a partnership with the then-Lincoln University, an existing college in Lincoln, Illinois also affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. At this time, the charter for Lincoln University, which had been in existence since February 1865, was modified to create a new overarching university, the James Millikin University. This new university had two subsidiary units: Lincoln College, the newly renamed, Lincoln-based campus formerly known as Lincoln University, and the Decatur College and Industrial School, a new campus to be established in Decatur. This arrangement leveraged the existing resources of Lincoln University to establish a wholly new college in Decatur. The combined, two-campus university took the name of its primary advocate, James Millikin.

The university's campus in Decatur, however, would not officially open until September 15, 1903. All the while, the school's dedication was presided over by President Theodore Roosevelt.

James Millikin University maintained its two-campus model until 1952, when the two units separated to become two wholly independent institutions; the Decatur campus renamed as just Millikin University while the Lincoln campus remained known as Lincoln College. The charter of independent Millikin was approved by the state on July 23, 1953.

Academics
Millikin confers graduate and post-graduate certificates and degrees. Its most popular undergraduate majors, based on number out of 403 graduates in 2022, were:
 * Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (55)
 * Musical Theatre (31)
 * Business Administration and Management (28)
 * Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts (27)
 * Biology/Biological Sciences (25)

Decaturian
The Decaturian is the bi-weekly student newspaper. Its first issue appeared in 1903; issues up to 1951 are archived online.

WJMU 89.5 The Quad
WJMU is Millikin University's student-operated freeform format radio station. In addition to its musical responsibilities, WJMU also creates its own public service announcements, liners, news, Millikin sports programming and promotional materials.

In 1922, a license was issued for a new AM broadcasting station, operating on a wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz). This station was randomly assigned the call letters WBAO, which came from a sequential roster of available call signs. It maintained a limited schedule of broadcasts. On May 25, 1928, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) issued General Order 32, which notified 164 stations, including WBAO, that "From an examination of your application for future license it does not find that public interest, convenience, or necessity would be served by granting it." On September 1, 1928, the FRC listed "Stations WJBL and WBAO" as one of the "consolidations which have been approved by the commission, or imposed on the stations by the commission". WBAO was formally deleted on October 1, 1928, and it was announced that programs previously broadcast by that station would now be heard over WJBL.

Rankings
In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked Millikin University #12 in "Regional Colleges Midwest", #11 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, and #29 in Best Value Schools, noting that the institution had selective admissions and a student-faculty ratio of 10:1.

Athletics
Since their first year of athletics in the 1903–04 academic year and prior to joining the NCAA Division III and the CCIW in the 1946–47 season, Millikin primarily competed as an Independent of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Millikin University teams have since participated in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The Big Blue are a member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, wrestling, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, triathlon, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

Actors and musicians

 * Jodi Benson – Actress and singer
 * Sierra Boggess – Actress and singer
 * Joel Kim Booster – Actor
 * Hedy Burress – Actress
 * Annamary Dickey – Actress and singer
 * Katelyn Epperly – Singer
 * Alan Held - Opera Singer
 * Tad Hilgenbrink – Actor
 * Michael Maize – Actor
 * Emerson Swinford – Musician
 * Annie Wersching – Actress
 * Matthew West – Musician
 * Monica Witni – Composer

Artists

 * Herbert D. Ryman – Disney artist, imagineer, and chief designer of the Cinderella Castle

Athletes and coaches
Millikin University was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1910 to 1937.


 * George Corbett – football player: Chicago Bears running back from 1932 to 1938
 * Sid Gepford – NFL player in 1920
 * Lori Kerans – basketball coach, gave Millikin first NCAA D3 national championship win; coached from 1985 to 2018
 * Fred T. Long – Negro league baseball player and college football coach: played four seasons in Negro National League and amassed a 227–151–31 coaching record from 1921 to 1965 at various colleges including three Black college football national championships (1928, 1932, 1945)
 * Harry Long – college football coach, won a Black college football national championship in 1924 as coach of Paul Quinn College; assistant coach to his brother Fred for his 1932 and 1945 championships
 * Chuck Martin – football head coach at Miami of Ohio; former coach of Division 2 national champion Grand Valley State
 * Danny Moeller – Major League Baseball player, 1907–1916, with Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators
 * Jeff Monken – football head coach at United States Military Academy
 * Marcia Morey – swimmer at Montreal Olympic Games in 1976 in women's 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke; former American record holder in 200M Breaststroke
 * George Musso – football player: Chicago Bears lineman from 1933 to 1944; nine-year team captain, elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982
 * Jeff Query – football player: former Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver; 141 receptions for 1,865 yards and 11 touchdowns in 84 career games.
 * Mike Rowland – pitcher for San Francisco Giants, 1980–1981
 * Don Shroyer – college football coach at Millikin University and Southern Illinois University
 * Virgil Wagner – Canadian Football League player, Montreal Alouettes halfback from 1946 to 1954; elected to Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1980
 * Art Wilson – Major League Baseball player

Authors and media figures

 * Alice Ambrose (1906–2001) – philosopher, logician, and author
 * Florence Page Jaques (1890–1972) – author
 * Lucille Ryman Carroll – Hollywood talent executive during early 20th century
 * Gigi Goode – American drag queen and runner-up on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 12)

Business figures

 * Douglas R. Oberhelman – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar Inc.
 * A.E. Staley (Hon.) - Founder and Chairman of the Board of A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, now Primient

Higher Education leaders

 * Trevor Bates - President of Wilmington College
 * James L. Fisher - President of Towson University and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education

Public Service

 * Breana Bagley- Miss Illinois 2024
 * Jeff Armbruster - Ohio State Senator for District 13 from 1999 to 2006
 * Scott R. Britton - Member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
 * Rodney L. Davis – (2013 - 2023) United States Congressman (R-Illinois) and former Mayor of Taylorville, Illinois
 * Thomas W. Ewing – United States Congressman (R-Illinois)
 * Melvin R. Laird, Sr. – Wisconsin State Senator and clergyman
 * Robert Madigan - Illinois State Senator and brother of Congressman and Cabinet Secretary Edward Madigan
 * James Benton Parsons – Federal judge; in 1961 he was the first African American to serve as a US Federal District Judge, appointed to the Northern District of Illinois, in Chicago, IL
 * Elbert S. Smith - Illinois State Senator, Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts, Vice-President of the 6th Illinois Constitutional Convention
 * Kevin Vann - Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange (CA) and former Bishop of Fort Worth
 * Thomas D. Westfall, (1927–2005) – former mayor of El Paso, Texas
 * Rickey Williams Jr. (1977/1978–) – the first African-American to serve as mayor of Danville, Illinois