Alderson Broaddus University

Since its founding Alderson Broaddus has been committed to a strong liberal arts education. As such, the University seeks to imbue students with an appreciation of literature and the arts, Christian faith, music and the sciences. In more recent times the University has focused on developing programs in the natural and applied sciences as well. In 1945, Alderson Broaddus developed the first four-year nursing and the first radiologic technology programs in West Virginia. In 1968, the College pioneered the nation’s first four-year physician assistant program, an innovation that has had enormous influence on the development of the physician assistant profession nationwide. From this program emerged in 1991 the College’s first graduate degree offering, the Physician Assistant Master’s program. Academic innovation is an enduring feature of AB.

AB is a health-related and professional educational institution firmly rooted in the liberal arts. The mission of Alderson Broaddus University is to provide its students with the highest quality education, striving to prepare students to succeed in their chosen disciplines and to fulfill their roles in a diverse society as well-rounded and responsible citizens.

Today, Alderson Broaddus is the only institution of higher education in West Virginia related to the American Baptist Churches, USA.

The University has a long cherished tradition of effective teaching in the liberal arts with strong emphases in human studies, the Christian faith, music, and the fine arts. Science and teacher preparation have, in recent years, placed emphasis on the natural and applied sciences.

In cooperation with the Myers Clinic, the first collegiate nursing program and the first radiologic technology program in West Virginia were developed in 1945. In 1968, a four-year medical science program to prepare the physician assistant was initiated. The medical science major was a national pioneering venture, the first such four-year program in the country. The nursing and allied health sciences programs are based strongly on the liberal arts.

The University initiated its first graduate degree offering in August 1991, the Master’s degree for physician assistants.

New Dimensions in Learning, a program inaugurated in the fall of 1964, moved Alderson Broaddus into a new era of academic adventure and service. The world had become the classroom in which ideals and intellectual achievements of students were tested and developed—far beyond the confines of the West Virginia campus.