Spring Arbor University (SAU) is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. It is the largest Evangelical Christian University in the state of Michigan. Spring Arbor University was founded in 1873 by leaders of the Free Methodist Church, particularly Edward Payson Hart, who was the driving force behind the establishment of Spring Arbor Seminary — an academy for elementary and secondary grades. Located near the site of a former Pottawatomie Indian village, the academy was built on property that once belonged to Hillsdale College. In 1923, the board of trustees voted to add a junior college to the academy. In 1929, the school came to be called Spring Arbor Seminary and Junior College. Primary and intermediate classes were discontinued in 1930. In 1960, the school gained accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and the trustees changed the name of the institution to Spring Arbor College. The high school program was dropped, and Spring Arbor launched its four-year program in 1963.