One of the fastest growing private institutions in North Carolina, Mount Olive College has expanded its programs and received accreditation as the University of Mount Olive.

“We transitioned from Mount Olive College to the University of Mount Olive,” said Lita Ward, location director of University of Mount Olive’s Washington campus. “It’s campus wide; everyone’s name has changed.”

According to Ward, the transition is a new innovation of moving forward. It is also, in part, due to more community development, better programming and meeting the needs of the university’s students. This growth, both in size and reputation, is due to its recognition for being and innovative, creative and student-centered institution, being a leader in providing innovative educational programming and transforming the way that learning opportunities are provided to students throughout the region.

“We have the Masters of Administration; we have a new MBA program,” Ward said. “We have the BSN program which is a bachelor’s in nursing. We’re also doing some more changes to our criminal justice and criminology program. So we’re looking at how the education trends are changing and we are trying to improve our current programs.”

On Thursday, faculty and staff members held a celebration for the transition in the lobby of the university’s Washington campus. Cupcakes and drinks were available for students and faculty. Ward stated that she as well as the faculty was excited about what the transition meant to the university. The institution has lived by its motto by expanding its programs, services and locations to meet the rapidly changing needs of this region and its students. “We’re still keeping our mission statement and our Christian values,” Ward said. “However, we are trying to become more innovative with the times and what people really want and need in the community. We look at the trends of the industry and how some of the things are diminishing and we are just trying to make sure we have things available for the improvement of the communities that we serve.”