Техас штатындағы Әдвентистер университеті

Private Adventist university in Keene, Texas

Southwestern Adventist University is a private Adventist university in Keene, Texas. It is owned by the Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh day Adventists. The university enrolls about 800 students on a rural, 150 acre campus. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Adventist Accrediting Association. The nursing program is approved by the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners.

Southwestern Adventist University was founded in 1893 as Keene Industrial Academy. The purchase of property for the school was financed by Seventh day Adventists in the Dallas area. Its first building, completed in 1894, was also used as a church. The school, which opened with 56 students, adopted its current name in 1996. On January 2, 1944, the West Hall boys' dormitory, which had undergone extensive repairs in the summer of 1943, was destroyed by fire. 16 year old student Reginald Maddison was awakened by a rumbling sound around 5:00 a. m. and saw flames emerging from a dust closet. He alerted students to the fire and activated the fire alarm. 12 students, including Maddison, escaped unharmed. One student was injured when jumping from a second story window. 2 students died during the fire. Curtis "Lee Roy" Birdwell, 15, was found in the basement underneath his dorm room. Virgil Dye, 17, was found near the chimney towards the center of the blaze. Southwestern Adventist University is located at the town of Keene, Texas, six miles northeast of Cleburne. Keene has been described as an Adventist "company" town. On Saturdays, the Sabbath for Adventists, most stores in town are closed. The Keene Seventh day Adventist Church has several thousand members. It is the Southwestern Adventist University church. In June 2023 the university was placed on Warning status by its educational accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, after the accreditor's board found significant non compliance with its standards of student achievement, student outcomes and employment of full time faculty.

The Southwestern Adventist (SWAU) athletic teams are called the Knights. The university is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) since the 2002–03 academic year. They are also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Southwest Region of the Division II level. The Knights previously competed in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2001–02. SWAU competes in eight intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, soccer and volleyball; and co ed sports include cross country, gymnastics and tennis.