Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day Adventist school system,[4][5] the world's second largest Christian school system.

[11] In 1901, the school moved from Battle Creek, Michigan to its current location in Berrien Springs.

In the 1940s, Nethery Hall, the current location of the College of Arts and Sciences, was built as the administration building.

[citation needed] The following events culminated in relocating the graduate program and theological seminary of Potomac University from Washington, D.C., and joining with the school in Berrien Springs in 1959.

[18] At the 1958 Autumn Council, held in Washington, the board of Emmanuel Missionary College invited the General Conference to locate Potomac University on its campus.

After careful deliberation, the council voted unanimously to accept the offer and move the institution to the EMC campus.

It remained the college for the youth of the Lake Union Conference, but was affiliated with the new Seventh-day Adventist university.

[18] In 1959, H. L. Rudy, a vice-president for the SDA General Conference, described the relationship of the new graduate university with Emmanuel Missionary College: Because of the addition of the graduate programs and the seminary in 1960, the school was renamed "Andrews University" in honor of John Nevins Andrews, an Adventist scholar and the first officially sponsored overseas missionary for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

[20] On April 18, 1957, the Minutes of the General Conference Committee report gave the conclusion that " the name of the graduate school be Adventist University"[21] Three years later, the April 5, 1960, Minutes of the General Conference Committee's Spring Meeting recommended that it be Andrews University, saying "This name was chosen because it honors our first missionary, a scholarly, dedicated man, J. N, Andrews, and is a name that has a very strong Adventist appeal.

In 1960 the Adventists' Theological Seminary, founded in 1934, and the Graduate School (1957), were moved here from Washington, D.C., to join Emmanuel Missionary College under one charter as Andrews University.

It supports all schools in delivery of degrees at national and international locations, while also promoting and modeling best practices in distance education.

On Thursday, April 11, 2007, President Niels-Erik Andreasen announced at a special chapel assembly that the university had just received a gift totaling $8.5 million.

The anonymous donors requested the money be spent on the following: Construction of the new entrance on Old US 31 (officially opened on June 2, 2008, and named J. N. Andrews Blvd.

The campus is composed of 27 instructional buildings, the Howard Performing Arts Center, an airpark, four single-sex residence halls and four apartment complexes.

Corten Steel Sculpture (1966–1967) was designed by Timothy Malone while he was a graduate student and part-time instructor at the University of Notre Dame.

The Corten steel sculpture weighs 1,300 pounds (590 kg) and bears the Andrews University motto and the text "Corpus, Mens, Spiritus" on one side; the opposite side displays an imperfect circle that represents the globe and two curved meridian lines.

It was supposed to be installed in December 1966, but was postponed until April 1967 due to Malone's illness and an "imbalance" in the sculpture.

The change incorporated the previously named School of Health Professions, which included all of the health-related sciences.

Emmanuel Rudatsikira was appointed the first dean of the College of Health & Human Services, and is currently still serving in this role.

[35] Previous projects by the School of Architecture include community plans for Palmer (Alaska), Empire, Suttons Bay, Traverse City and Wayne (Michigan), Billings (Montana), Michigan City and Plymouth (Indiana), and Henderson Point and Saucier (Mississippi).

[37] In 2020, the school received an open letter from their current and former students who were victims of racism perpetuated by the department.

A number of graduates go on to attend Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution with the only Protestant Christian medical school and dental school in the United States, for a professional education in medicine, dentistry and other health-related disciplines.

The seminary is fully accredited by The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

[5] The J. N. Andrews Honors program provides a learning community and curriculum focused on critical thinking, discussion, and debate.

Designed to offer both advanced general education coursework and monitored undergraduate research to the motivated student, the J. N. Andrews Honors Program was established in 1966 by Dr. Paul E. Hamel and Dr. Merlene A.

[44] The current curriculum, SAGES (Scholars' Alternative General Education Studies) was developed by Dr. Malcom Russell and implemented by Dr. Gordon Atkins.

In 1959 the denomination's graduate programs in theology and education moved from Takoma Park, MD., to Berrien Springs, forming a comprehensive university for the growing needs of the world church.