University of La Verne

The University of La Verne was founded in 1891 as Lordsburg College by members of the Church of the Brethren, a German Christian sect originating from the Schwarzenau Brethren. Historically, the Brethren are considered one of the "peace churches", like the Quakers and the Mennonites,[10] and slots on the Board of Trustees are still held for members of the Brethren.[11] The baccalaureate ceremony is held at the local Church of the Brethren, and the holder of the post of campus minister must be a member of the Church of the Brethren.[12]

The Lordsburg College originally opened in a hotel building located on the corner of 3rd Street and D Street in La Verne, CA (then called Lordsburg). The land-boom hotel is said to never have hosted a single paying guest, as the interest in land around Southern California had subsided by the time the hotel was complete. In 1899, two members of the Church of the Brethren decided the hotel building could be repurposed as a college, so they purchased the hotel, along with 100 city lots, for $15,000.[13] The Lordsburg College building was demolished in 1928, shortly after the completion of Founders Hall.[14]

In 1901, the Los Angeles Times wrote that the Lordsburg College "seems to be predestined to an early demise." Attendance had shrunk to only 12 students, just two more than the number of faculty, and the college had been burdened by multiple scandals involving its administration. The college's second president, E.A. Miller, had a scandal in Virginia which followed him to California. William Hoover, the school's fourth president, resigned in 1901.[15][16]

When the agricultural town of Lordsburg renamed itself to La Verne in 1917, Lordsburg College renamed itself accordingly, becoming La Verne College. The college reorganized in 1977, 87 years after its founding, to become the University of La Verne. Since then, the University has grown to consist of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Public Management, the LaFetra College of Education, the College of Law, and multiple regional campuses.[6][7][9]

The University of La Verne conferred its first master's degree in 1965 and awarded its first doctorate in 1969. In 1969, La Verne began its adult education program. The University opened its first regional campus, in Orange County, in 1981 and has since opened additional locations throughout the area, including Vandenberg AFB and Pt. Mugu. Despite its Church of the Brethren heritage, the University describes itself as non-sectarian.[17]

La Verne extended to a campus in Athens in 1975, mainly for the children of US military personnel. By the time of the sudden closure of the Athens campus in 2004, the campus operated as a franchise, sending back €690 per graduating student to the main university in California. Students and faculty were given 48 hours' notice of the closure prior to the start of classes.[18] Stephen C. Morgan, president of La Verne at the time, justified the closure on financial grounds. The Athens campus had by 2004 gained a reputation as "one of the best private, English-language institutions in Greece".[19]

The University of La Verne has five colleges:[7]

• The College of Arts and Sciences
• The LaFetra College of Education
• The College of Business and Public Management
• The College of Law
• The College of Health and Community Well-Being

The University of La Verne College of Law was founded in 1970 and is currently located in Ontario, California. In February 2006, the College of Law was provisionally accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), allowing students to take the bar exam and become practicing attorneys in any U.S. jurisdiction.[24] In June 2011, the ABA denied the College full ABA accreditation.[25] On August 29, 2011, the College announced it received accreditation from the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California.[26] In March 2012, the ABA again granted provisional approval.[27] On March 14, 2016, the ABA granted full accreditation. Of the La Verne graduates who took the California bar exam for the first time in July 2016, 31% passed, vs. a statewide average of 62%.[28] In November 2019, the College of law's board of trustees voted to change from an ABA accredited school to a California Bar accredited school,[29] which decision was influenced in part by the ABA’s introduction of tougher accreditation standards in May 2019, which shortened the timeframe schools had to ensure a 75-percent bar pass rate from five to two years.[30]

The University of La Verne offers a limited number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs fully online.[31]

The University of La Verne is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).[32] Several programs are accredited or approved by discipline-specific organizations:

• The Physician Assistant program is provisionally accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.[33]
• The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association.[34]
• The Master of Public Administration program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).[35]
• Teacher education programs are approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC).
• The College of Law is accredited by the State Bar of California[36][37]

The University of La Verne is ranked #6 nationally for social mobility, #101 nationally for best value, #151 among all national universities, and having a $48,200 median starting salary of alumni as reported in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-2023 Best Colleges rankings.[38]

The University of La Verne is ranked sixth among programs in the Greater Los Angeles area and #111 nationally in the U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Graduate Schools ranking for Public Affairs.[39]

The University of La Verne is ranked in four categories in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for Best Online Programs. Those are Online Bachelor's Programs, Best Online Bachelor's Programs for Veterans, Best Online Bachelor's in Business Programs,[40] and Best Online MBA Programs.[41]

A study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Consumer Affairs ranked the university at No. 1 in California and No. 11 nationally for alumni satisfaction.[42]

The Sports Science and Athletics Pavilion (left), Citrus Hall (right), and the Abraham Campus Center (middle) viewed from the parking structure.

There are three on-campus housing options for students.[47]

• Citrus Hall
• Vista La Verne
• The Oaks

Citrus Hall opened for the Fall 2018 semester and houses about 400 students. The Spot dining hall, located on the first floor of Citrus Hall in wings B and C, opened at the same time, replacing the Davenport Dining Hall a block away. Generally, Citrus Hall houses first-year students, Vista La Verne houses graduate students, and continuing students stay in either Vista La Verne or The Oaks.[48]

The Sports Science and Athletics Pavilion, or SSAP, is a large tent structure located in the central campus, between the football stadium and Citrus Hall. The SSAP has an indoor basketball/volleyball court, workout rooms, locker rooms, classrooms, and various other facilities. When first constructed in the 1970s, the building contained facilities for the Athletics Department, Art Department, and the schools radio and TV stations. The SSAP also contained a snack bar and game area for students. The building now serves only the athletics department for the most part, as the Art and Communications departments now have their own building on D Street. The Campus Center now serves the functions the snack bar and game area once did.[49]

A smaller tent located next to the SSAP contains the Dailey Theatre and other facilities for the Theatre Department.[50]

Often referred to as "The Tents," or the "Super Tents," they were the "world’s first permanent–tensioned membrane structure" when completed in the early 1970s. They are constructed using a fabric made from woven fiberglass coated with Teflon.[49][51]

The Elvin and Betty Wilson Library—La Verne's main library—contains over 193,000 volumes and access to over 70 academic databases.

An Alpha Beta supermarket was constructed on the corner of 'D' street and second street in 1955. The site was previously occupied by a park, which was constructed after the demolition of the original Lordsburg College building.[52] In 1977, the University purchased the Alpha Beta supermarket and converted it into a new library. This was done with the help of contributions made by Elvin and Betty Wilson, the donors the library is now named after. The library was closed between 1993 and 1996 to allow for expansion, again with the help of the same donors.[53]

The library is a two-story building, but has two level for books per floor, making it seem like a four-story building. The first floor has study and meeting rooms, a help desk, offices, and paid printing facilities. The second floor (third level) contains the Honors Center and one classroom. The university's archives and special collections are located on the fourth level.[54]

A free shuttle used to be offered between the main campus at the Wilson Library and a remote parking lot, near Campus West. The shuttle service was suspended in 2019, after the opening of a new $16 million parking garage on the main campus in 2016, which added 693 spaces.[55]

An extension to the LA Metro 'L' line is projected to be completed in 2025. A station will be located between the La Verne campus and the Pomona Fairplex, on the northeast corner of 'E' Street and Arrow Highway.[56]

The University of La Verne has chapters of five sororities and two fraternities.[57]

• Phi Delta Theta (ΦΔΘ)
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣΑΕ)

• Alpha Omicron Pi ( ΑΟΠ)
• Iota Delta (ΙΔ)
• Phi Sigma Sigma (ΦΣΣ )
• Sigma Gamma Rho (ΣΓΡ)
• Sigma Kappa ( ΣΚ)

The rock has been a tradition at the University of La Verne for more than 60 years. The original rock was painted orange with the letters "LVC," because the school was still named La Verne College at the time. In the 1960s La Verne students took it upon themselves to replace the rock with a much larger one. They buried much of it so that it would not be stolen by rival schools, as the original rock had been in the past.[49]

The new rock would be painted by clubs and organizations, sometimes being repainted overnight to prank other students. This tradition continues, but students must reserve the rock before painting it.[49]

Each year, La Verne holds its homecoming event prior to the homecoming football game. A street fair is held on 3rd Street, outside Founders Hall, and student clubs and organizations set up booths and host activities. A parade is also hosted with student made floats.[49]

The Associated Students of the University of La Verne (ASULV) is the University of La Verne's official student government. Aside from the executive board, there are two senators for the College of Arts and Sciences, two senators for the College of Business and Public Management, one senator for the College of Education, and five senators at large. All members are elected annually.[58][59]

The Campus Activities Board (CAB) was founded in 2005 and is a non-profit on campus organization that organizes and coordinates events and programs on campus each year. CAB has two executive board members and nine chair persons.[60][61]

• Main Campus in La Verne
• University of La Verne College of Law in Ontario
• La Verne High Desert in Victorville
• La Verne Inland Empire in Ontario
• La Verne Kern County in Bakersfield
• La Verne Orange County in Irvine
• La Verne San Fernando Valley in Burbank
• La Verne Ventura County in Oxnard

Military satellite campuses:

• Point Mugu NAS
• Vandenberg SFB