Chapman University

Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses eleven schools and colleges and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". While the school maintains affiliations with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, it is not a Christian college. History Founded in Woodland, California, as Hesperian College, the school began classes on March 4, 1861. Its opening was timed to coincide with the hour of Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration. Hesperian admitted students regardless of sex or race. During its first decades of existence, the school relocated and changed names several times. The school initially relocated to Berkeley, California, in 1896, merging with the Pierce Christian College (a school previously established in College City, California, in 1874) to form the Berkeley Bible Seminary. Soon after, the school relocated to San Francisco and took on the name California Bible College.