Huntington College was chartered under the laws of the State of Indiana as Central College in 1897 by the Board of Education of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, acting under the advice of the General Conference of the church, for the express purpose of the "higher education of the young people of said church and others." The institution was named Central College because of its location to churches in the denomination. Throughout its history, the College has fulfilled its central mission of providing education firmly rooted in the liberal arts while providing for the professional preparation of those entering service professions such as teaching, pastoral ministries and medicine, as well as business, law, and other professions.

The founding of Central College was initiated under the direction of the General Conference of the church early in 1896. At a meeting of the Board of Education held later that year, official action was taken toward the founding of Central College at Huntington. A proposition made by the Huntington Land Association was agreed upon and arrangements were made to proceed with the work. The main classroom administration building to be known as College Hall, now named Becker Hall, was completed by June 1, 1897.

Huntington College is the direct successor of Hartsville College, chartered in 1850 under the name of Hartsville Academy. By an act of the legislature in 1851, the name became Hartsville University. In 1883 the charter of Hartsville University was amended, reducing the number of trustees to sixteen and changing the name of the institution to Hartsville College.

The last meeting of the Board of Trustees of Hartsville College was held in the College library at Hartsville, Indiana, in June 1897 about three months prior to the opening of Central College in Huntington.

At this meeting the Board of Trustees of Hartsville College turned over to the Board of Trustees of Central College all books, records of proceedings, and students’ grades. They recommended that the new college at Huntington should confer degrees on students of Hartsville College then in the senior class. Having met all financial obligations, they voted their good will to the new college and adjourned sine die.

The college at Huntington opened for its first term in September 1897. In May 1917 the General Conference changed the name to Huntington College in response to community interests. This association with the community has remained throughout the life of the college as it has sought to serve both "the young people of said church and others."

Huntington College is located in the northern part of Huntington, Indiana, a community of 20,000. The city is situated on the banks of the Wabash River. Its healthful climate, beautiful scenery, splendid commercial location, fine churches, and quality school system make Huntington an excellent college city.

The college buildings are located on a large and beautiful campus in the northeast section of the city of Huntington. The drives, walks, groves and ravines make the campus unusually attractive throughout the year. The site consists of over 160 acres, largely wooded, and includes a central pedestrian mall and a monumental fountain circled by academic buildings such as the RichLyn Library; Becker Hall, the original College Hall opened in 1897 that now houses classrooms and administrative offices; and the large new science building completed in 2002. A small campus lake provides focal interest for the student union, dining commons, fine arts center, and president's home. Living areas are divided between the centrally located modern residence halls and the apartment village tucked into the woods at the edge of campus. Athletic facilities and fields fill out the side of campus facing the adjacent residential neighborhood.

Two nature areas owned by the College are within a few minutes of campus--the Thornhill Nature Preserve north of campus, where the Reiff Nature Center provides a beautiful setting for classes and meetings, and the Pinkerton Acres near the Huntington Reservoir.

Huntington has its own airport for private aircraft, while Fort Wayne International Airport at Baer Field provides commercial air service only 20 miles away.

• Association of Christian Schools International

• Association of College and University Housing Officials

Huntington College is a Christ-centered liberal arts college that is owned by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. With the conviction that all truth is God’s truth, the College exists to carry out the mission of Christ in higher education.

Through a curriculum of demonstrated academic excellence, students are educated in the liberal arts and their chosen disciplines, always seeking to examine the relationship between the disciplines and God's revelation in Jesus Christ.

As a Christian college, Huntington is committed to developing the whole person, assisting students to understand all areas of human knowledge from the perspective of a Christian worldview, and preparing them to impact their world for Christ. While the programs of the College are designed especially for students who desire to study in such an environment, the College welcomes students of all faiths who understand the objectives of the College and are willing to abide by its regulations.

The College is committed to a strong liberal arts emphasis, with general requirements in the arts, history, literature, philosophy, and natural and social sciences for all students, regardless of the vocation or profession for which they are preparing.

In developing the whole person, the College emphasizes intellectual, physical, social, and religious objectives.

The College recognizes that, as a Christian college, it must make itself not a refuge from the contemporary world but an arena for encounter with that world and creative response to it. The College must emphasize the necessity for the students to make a critical and personal response to the issues encountered in the various fields of study and challenge students to think through the relationship between their Christian faith, their academic pursuits, their career goals, and their personal lives. These challenges should include unsolved problems and open questions, as well as issues for which satisfactory solutions have already been worked out. The College must accept disagreement and controversy as a normal and healthy part of its life as a college, rather than viewing them as a threat to be avoided by silence on controversial topics.

The College recognizes that it is unsuccessful if students learn information but are not challenged to rethink their values; students become familiar with a major field of study but are not ready to do independent and critical thinking in those fields; students learn about current problems, issues and controversies but feel no need to make personal responses to them; students maintain Christian beliefs and practices but insulate their Christian faith from other aspects of their experience and do not think through, broaden, and deepen their faith in response to the challenges presented both by their academic and career pursuits and by their awareness of current problems and issues.

Huntington College was founded by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ upon a vital evangelical Christian faith. The Board of Trustees, the administration, and the faculty are united in the conviction that this faith should characterize the entire program of the institution.

While the program is designed especially for students who seek such an environment in which to continue their education, the College welcomes students of all faiths who understand the objectives of the institution and are willing to abide by its regulations.

The faculty of Huntington College subscribe to the following statement of faith.

Huntington College strives to create and promote an atmosphere that will encourage students to develop the highest attainable degree of maturity within the framework of an evangelical Christian faith. Regulations for conduct, as set forth in the Student Handbook, have been established in the light of this objective.

The primary obligation of all students is to live as responsible members of a Christian community, seeking to live up to their own ideals as they themselves grow personally, morally, and spiritually. The Christian life is primarily positive rather than negative; creative, loving service to others is far more important than adherence to a list of detailed prohibitions.

However, the College feels that a few specific prohibitions are necessary in the best interests of the student body as a whole and in order to establish a wholesome atmosphere on campus.

Gambling and the drinking of alcoholic beverages are not permitted on or off campus; use of tobacco is not permitted on the College campus or at College-sponsored activities off campus. Social dancing (other than choreographed dramatic productions, aerobic or square dance or that which is part of classroom instruction) is not sponsored by the College.

Sincere Christians may differ on these matters, and no condemnation is implied of those who take a different view. However, students in accepting admission agree to govern themselves by the regulations of the College, and even if they personally do not regard these practices as moral issues, they are bound by their agreement.

Huntington is a residential campus. The College views the educational process as extending beyond the classroom, whereby the residence hall program provides learning as well as living environments which enhance the social and intellectual development of students.

Six residence halls in three separate complexes house students in modern and well-maintained facilities. Hardy Hall for women and Wright Hall for men are more traditional residence halls joined by a common lobby. Baker Hall for men and women offers a suite arrangement where each floor has three to four suites and each suite has four to five rooms. Each suite shares a common bath and lounge. Roush Hall is for women and offers a modified suite arrangement with two rooms and a bath per suite. Meadows and Miller Halls are upperclass residence halls for men and women that offer a suite arrangement where each floor has a full kitchen. Students who live in either Meadows or Miller Halls can elect to be on a modified meal plan and do a substantial amount of cooking in the halls. Each residence hall provides space for small meetings, study, social interaction, television, recreation, laundry, and kitchen facilities.

Forester Village Apartments are primarily for married students and staff housing and as overflow housing for single, upperclass students. Located at the southeast side of the campus, Forester Village is a modern complex of two-bedroom apartments within three- or four-apartment units.

Life at Huntington College provides a wide range of co-curricular opportunities for learning, recreation, and fellowship. Campus government, the fine arts, sports, clubs, and special features are all available.

Campus student government is conducted through the Student Senate. The President of the Student Senate serves as a member of the College’s Board of Trustees. Students also serve on most faculty and administrative committees.

Student government publishes three periodicals--the biweekly Huntingtonian; an annual creative writing magazine, Ictus; and the yearbook, Mnemosyne. Students serve as editors, writers, managers, photographers, and reporters for these publications.

Fine arts options for students invite participation in a wide variety of music, art, and theatre activities. Musical ensembles provide opportunities for both instrumental and vocal performers. Some ensembles focus on special musical styles, which may range from renaissance to contemporary music. Music ministry through Christian service teams enables talented students to represent the College throughout the year. Drama and musical productions provide opportunity for expression in theater under qualified coaching. Frequent photographic, painting, and sculpture exhibitions represent student work.

Clubs, classes, honor societies, student professional organizations, and residence hall groups provide a further range of activities. The Forester Lecture Series brings a variety of special speakers to campus. Frequent concerts, programs, recitals, and other musical events are presented through the Merillat Centre for the Arts and by the College music department. The Student Activities Board regularly sponsors special entertainment with films, games, Christian contemporary music concerts, and special projects. A broad intramural sports program encourages active participation by all interested students.

Sports participation may be in one or more of fourteen intercollegiate sports for men and women, including soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, cross country, track, baseball, softball, and golf. Students interested in a particular varsity sport are encouraged to contact the College admissions office and the coach of the sport for further information.

The student development office offers various services to students with personal and academic needs. Individual counseling by trained counselors is available on a confidential basis. Psychological and vocational testing is available through the Office of the Dean of Students. Seminars and individual counseling in academic skills development are also provided.

Residence directors and assistants are available during extended hours for personal counseling and personal adjustment needs. Students are encouraged to seek out these resource persons in addition to faculty and other administrators. Professional psychological counseling is also available.

The career development office offers a multitude of services ranging from TEDS online occupation and graduate school searches to seminars on preparing for the job search. The office cooperates with nearby colleges in an annual Job Fair with multiple employer interview opportunities and conducts an annual career fair with returning alumni from a variety of occupations.

Placement services are available to any graduate for life. Credentials packets developed by the student prior to graduation are sent to requested graduate schools and prospective employers.

The Learning Center, located in Loew-Brenn 102, provides academic support to students in individual or small group settings. The Center staff coordinate peer tutoring with trained student tutors in selected courses. In addition, the Center director provides individualized assistance to students in evaluating and improving study habits and skills in such areas as time management and test taking.

The Writing Center is open to students who wish to improve their writing skills. English tutors provide personal assistance for learning to express ideas effectively that ranges from brainstorming and organizing a project to editing compositions, to improving grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the College makes reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. The director of the Learning Center is the advocate and coordinator of services for students with disabilities at Huntington College. Any student who has a learning, orthopedic, sensory, or psychiatric condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities and who would benefit from accommodations may be eligible for assistance. Students should contact the Learning Center at 359-4290 or kchafin@huntington.edu to ask questions or discuss available services.

RichLyn Library provides an excellent learning resource for the College. Overlooking the campus lake, the library provides a pleasant study environment with informal lounge areas, individual study carrels, and small study rooms. The library displays a portion of the Wilson art collection on its walls and provides a rich learning resource to patrons. Its collection includes over 180,000 learning units that are electronically catalogued, over 11,000 bound periodical volumes, and databases accessible through Internet connections. Special collections include government documents, curriculum materials and kits, audio-visual media collection, music scores and listening lab, as well as an archival collection for the College and its supporting denomination.

Chapel and convocation programs are designed to challenge students and faculty to commitment and growth in Christian life as part of a spiritual formation program. In addition, they provide intellectual stimulation by relating the various academic disciplines to contemporary problems, provide cultural enrichment through music and drama, assist students in career choices by informing them of opportunities to serve, and enhance the development of community within the College.

Four categories of programs ensure that these varied objectives are met. Chapel programs that meet twice a week promote the spiritual enrichment and growth of students, staff, and faculty. A second chapel option is offered weekly in the evening where student leadership develops spiritually enriching programs for other students. A third chapel option is weekly small group meetings. Finally, convocation programs that meet three or four times a semester have an intellectual or cultural theme related to the Christian liberal arts purposes of the College. In addition, campus community events provide opportunities for the campus community to gather for ceremonial or special occasions.

Chapels and convocations are a vital part of the College program, and students and faculty are expected to attend regularly. In signing the Community Life Agreement, each student assumes personal responsibility for attendance and respectful conduct.

Attendance is regularly reported to the dean of students' office. Failure to meet attendance expectations may lead to denial for continued College enrollment.