Manchester College is now Manchester University, a new milestone for the 123-year-old campus that has grown from a small liberal arts college into a complex institution of higher education with two campuses and advanced degrees.

July 1, 2012, marks the date the college became Manchester University, a decision of its Board of Trustees last April. “University” is strategic, mission-centered, said President Jo Young Switzer. “The new name reflects our expanding educational competencies and goals.”

In August, the first 70 students in Manchester’s new College of Pharmacy begin classes on a Fort Wayne campus that includes state-of-the-art research and learning facilities. The University continues to attract students to its residential liberal arts program in record numbers and also offers master’s degrees in athletic training and education.

“We are innovating and exceeding expectations because we are grounded in our mission and focused on our strategic priorities,” said President Switzer. “A change in name represents an evolutionary step for Manchester, not a revolution of mission or purpose.”

Manchester is poised to continue to draw the majority of its students from Indiana (85 percent last year) and send the majority of its graduates into Indiana’s workforce or graduate schools, said Dave McFadden, executive vice president and dean of the College of Pharmacy.

Also new are titles for Manchester’s three academic units: College of Undergraduate Studies, College of Graduate Studies and College of Pharmacy.