Page 5 - Academic Catalog

Campus Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award Associate of Science and
The campus encompasses 148 acres including a lighted athletic field, Associate of Arts Degrees. Additionally, MMI is a member of the
baseball diamond, softball field, nine-hole golf course, and six tennis Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States and
courts in addition to academic buildings, dormitories, and a dining the National Junior College Athletic Association.
facility. A multi-purpose athletic center houses a large stage, a
twenty-five meter indoor swimming pool, a fitness center, Health Vision
Center, and a collegiate basketball court. The centerpiece of the Marion Military Institute will continue to transform itself through
campus is its historic chapel built in 1857 featuring six historic, stained initiatives which will create comprehensive excellence, innovative
glass windows. leadership, and strategic alliances. MMI will broaden the range of
rigorous and relevant academic programs; recruit quality cadets,
History faculty, and staff; increase enrollment; and expand its commitment
Marion Military Institute (MMI) is the nation’s oldest military junior to superior infrastructure, including modern technology. This
college tracing its origin back to 1842 with the founding of Howard transformative process will enhance MMI’s nationally recognized
College in Marion, Alabama. During the Civil War, the Chapel and position as a unique, premier two-year college preeminent in military
Lovelace Hall, both built in 1857, were used as Breckinridge Military training and dedicated to the success of all cadets.
Hospital, treating both Union and Confederate soldiers. Howard
College remained in Marion until the Alabama State Baptist Mission
Convention made the decision to move the college to Birmingham, Marion Military Institute, a two-year public institution, educates and
Alabama in 1887. It later becoming Samford University. At the time trains the Corps of Cadets in order that each graduate is prepared for
of the move, Colonel James T. Murfee was the Howard College success at four-year institutions, including the service academies,
president, a position he had held since coming to Marion in 1871 from with emphasis on providing intellectual, moral-ethical, physical-
the University of Alabama. Murfee along with several of the faculty athletic, and leadership development experiences in a military
and trustees, chose to remain on the existing campus in Marion and environment.
formally establish MMI. He and the new MMI Board of Trustees
developed and implemented institutional policies demanding high Accreditation
standards for the development of character, academic excellence, Marion Military Institute is accredited by the Southern Association of
and military traditions, which have been the hallmarks of MMI ever Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the associate
since. degree. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane,
Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions
Hopson O. Murfee, MMI’s second president, was one of the foremost about the accreditation of Marion Military Institute.
advocates of a student run government that focused on honor and
ethics within the student body. Because of this, MMI was one of the This accreditation statement is published solely for accreditation-
first schools in the south to establish a student government related purposes. The Commission does not answer any admissions
association as well as an honor system, both of which are still very or general education inquiries related to policies or practices of
much a part of the Corps today. Under H.O. Murfee’s leadership the Marion Military Institute.
school achieved national recognition. William Howard Taft served as
President of the Board of Trustees, and Woodrow Wilson, President
of Princeton University at the time, was the featured speaker at the

convocation held in the MMI Chapel in 1905. In tribute to Woodrow Notice of Availability of Institutional and Financial Information
Wilson and Princeton University, MMI’s school colors were changed Institutions of higher education are required by legislation to provide

to orange and black, and the tiger was adopted as the mascot. consumer information to prospective as well as enrolled students.
Marion Military Institute has developed a page on the MMI website
The Service Academy Program had its beginnings at MMI with the to provide the required information in an easily accessible format.
establishment of the Army-Navy department in 1910. The Army ROTC Following links on the page will either provide the information in a
program was introduced in 1916 in response to WWI, and the Army pdf file or connect to areas on the MMI website where the
ROTC Early Commissioning Program was established in 1968 at the information can be located.
height of the Vietnam War.
The types of information available include, but are not limited to:
Until World War II, the campus consisted of primarily two buildings; completion/graduation and transfer rates; financial assistance
the Chapel and Old South (Lovelace) Barracks, both from the old available to students; campus crime statistics; athletic program
Howard College era. The MMI campus currently encompasses over participation rates and financial support; information about students’
160 acres and includes 38 buildings. rights under FERPA; cost of attendance, and other institutional
information.
MMI continued as a private institution that included both a high
school and a junior college governed by an MMI Board of Trustees Some information may be distributed by other methods. If the
until 2006 when the Alabama legislature voted to merge the institute information is not posted, there is a name and email address for the
into the Alabama Community College System. The high school was person on campus who can assist in locating the desired information.
disestablished, and MMI became a military junior college only. Today This information is also e-mailed annually to all students.
MMI is a member college of the ACCS and is governed by the ACCS
Board of Trustees. The legislation retained the original MMI Board of For additional assistance, please contact the following office:
Trustees as the new MMI Board of Trustees and Advisors with the role
of governing the MMI Foundation that supports MMI fundraising and Office of Institutional Research
houses the endowment. Additionally, this Board now provides advice Marion Military Institute
and counsel to the MMI President and the ACCS. MMI is accredited (334) 683-2362
by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of
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