Marian University is projecting nearly a double-digit percent increase in undergraduate enrollment for the Fall 2022 school year across all of its locations, including its main campus, Marian University’s Ancilla College, Marian University’s Saint Joseph’s College, and its two accelerated nursing programs. The increase of 750 new students in Marian’s undergraduate programs brings the total of undergraduate students to 2,600 pursuing 41 academic majors institution-wide.
Of the new undergraduate students, more than 85 percent are from Indiana, continuing the university’s commitment to graduating students to meet Indiana’s critical workforce needs.
“As Marian University celebrates our 85th year, we remain committed to preparing transformational leaders for service to the world,” said President Daniel J. Elsener. “Through the new E. S. Witchger School of Engineering, our second campus location—Marian University's Ancilla College in Plymouth, Indiana, and adding more nursing site locations, we have seen tremendous interest from Hoosiers who want to stay in Indiana to earn their degree and ultimately work here upon graduating.”
E. S. Witchger School of Engineering welcomes its first class
For the fall semester, Marian University welcomed its first-ever class of engineering students to the new E. S. Witchger School of Engineering. In alignment with Marian’s mission to fill the diversity and gender gap in engineering, the 42 new E. S. Witchger School of Engineering students are 23 percent first-generation students and 21 percent female students. Sixty-four percent of the first class is comprised of students from Indiana. 
“In alignment with the university’s strategic initiatives, our vision is to attract and graduate a diverse workforce of engineers who are technically skilled and possess the soft skills our Indiana engineering employers seek,” said Binh Q. Tran, Ph.D. founding Dean of the E. S. Witchger School of Engineering. “Our long-term goal is to cultivate an engineering student body that closely echoes or exceeds the United States demographics regarding gender and ethnicity. I am especially proud of our commitment to providing access to the engineering profession for first-generation and underrepresented populations. We are off to a great start but have a lot of work to do.”
This first engineering class is filled with mission-centered and talented students. Miguel Spalding-Price, an exceptional student from Brebuef Jesuit Preparatory School, will pursue computer engineering. Reis Walker, a top ten student from Speedway High School, earned a GPA of 4.38. Niky Quezada, who was living in Florida and recruited by Marian’s soccer coach, learned about the new engineering school and qualified for a full-tuition academic scholarship.
“I am very blessed to have been selected for a full-tuition scholarship to pursue my engineering degree at Marian”, said first-year student Niky Quezada. “My father is an engineer, and from an early age I have been interested in learning more about the different specialties in engineering, using engineering for sustainability purposes, and using that knowledge to make the world a better place.”