Faith Baptist Bible College Celebrates Centennial

Faith Baptist Bible College & Theological Seminary is celebrating the centennial of its founding this year. 

The centennial web page includes planned events, a timeline, names of presidents, and several historic photographs.

The institution was founded as Omaha Bible Institute in 1921 and is now located in Ankeny, Iowa.

Omaha Bible Institute changed its name to Omaha Baptist Bible Institute in 1953 and was affiliated with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. 

The institution changed its name to Omaha Baptist Bible College in 1960 and moved to Ankeny in 1967 as Faith Baptist Bible College.

Canby Bible College Announces Closure in Oregon

Canby Bible College in Canby, Oregon announced that it will be closing. The institution was founded in 1998. You can visit the institutional website for a statement by CBC President and Canby Foursquare Senior Pastor Ron Swor or read "Canby Bible College Closing Permanently after 22 Years," on the Canby Now website with reporting by Tyer Francke.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Cincinnati Christian University Suspends Operations

Cincinnati Christian University announced that it will cease operations in 2020 and will partner with Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, MO to offer programs in Ohio.

CCU was founded on September 23, 1924 via merger of McGarvey Bible College in Louisville, KY, and Cincinnati Bible Institute to form The Cincinnati Bible Seminary (CBS). The name changed to Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary in 1987 and to CCU in 2004.

You can read more in an article by Erin Caproni posted October 28, 2019 on the Cincinnati Business Courier website, "Cincinnati university to shutter mid-year."

Cincinnati Public Radio posted "Cincinnati Christian University Closing," by Tana Weingartner on October 29, 2019.



WCPO-TV posted "Cincinnati Christian University decides not to fight for accreditation, will close in 2020."

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Davis College Seeks to Sell Main Campus and Secure Merger

WBNG-TV in Binghamton, NY is reporting that Davis College in Johnson City, NY is planning to sell its main campus and intends to merge with World of Life Bible Institute located in Chester, NY.

Davis College intends to eliminate debt with proceeds from the sale of the campus and "...explains that the 2019-2020 school year will act as a transition year, where about 15 seniors will commute to the main campus for courses and are expected to graduate in either December 2019 or May 2020." 

Enrolment has fallen significantly since Davis last reported enrollment of 288 students to IPEDS.


Jeff Platsky of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin also reported on the sale of the campus in "Adam Weitsman close to a deal to buy Davis College property in Johnson City."

Davis College was founded as Practical Bible School in 1900.  The name changed to Practical Bible College in 1933 and to Davis College in 2004.

Both Davis College and the Word of Life Institute operate as private, non-profit institutions.  Word of Life reported 522 undergraduate enrollment to IPEDS.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Dillard University Prepares for Sesquicentennial

Dillard University in New Orleans, LA is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1869.  You can visit the 150th anniversary web page for upcoming events that include a performance by Patti LaBelle at the 150th Founding Anniversary Gala on May 11th and other information.

Dillard was founded as Union Normal School.  In 1889 a medical department opened, including a schools of pharmacy and nursing.  The medical department was named Flint Medical College and it was affiliated with Sarah Goodridge Hospital and Nurse Training School.  The medical college was discontinued in 1911 with the hospital and nursing school continuing under the name of Flint-Goodridge Hospital which later merged in 1920 with Straight College to form Dillard University.  You can find "A Brief History of Dillard University" on the institution's web site.

The Times-Picayune offers "Dillard University: The jewel of Gentilly, in 56 archived photos," brief historical sketches for context.

Information on the campus can be found in brochure published by Dillard, The Architecture of Dillard University 1933 - 1997, that is available through the Internet Archive.

Reflections on the Significance of Campus Renovation

The High Plains Reader published an intriguing article, "Gateways to History are Best Kept Open," by Ken Smith.  Smith focuses on the armory, a building built in 1905 on the campus of the former Manual Training School in Ellendale, ND.  His article also includes an historical sketch of the institution that evolved to become a branch campus of the University of North Dakota before closing in the early 1970s.

Work on the armory is now finished and in September, 2018 the current occupant of the campus, Trinity Bible College, will host an open house and also open two other renovated campus buildings of similar vintage, a residence hall and the president's home.  

Smith comments that , "Saving and refurbishing these structures is an accomplishment that deserves notice around the state and region. It hasn't been cheap or easy, but this good work deserves recognition far and wide."  

He also draws an interesting contrast with a controversy involving the University of North Dakota's upcoming decision on possible destruction of buildings of Wesley College.  Smith also notes an irony where the "...state’s leading secular university is about to demolish a set of buildings that were once devoted to a religious purpose. (While) Here in Ellendale our religiously based college is about to finish restoring a pair of buildings that were once devoted to a secular purpose."

Southeastern Bible College Suspends Operations

The trustees of Southeastern Bible College (SBC) in Birmingham, AL announced on June 1, 2017 that the institution will be suspending operations.  The statement posted on the SBC website indicates that a planning process will start to try and reopen at some future point in time.

SBC was founded in 1935 as Birmingham School of the Bible.  The name changed to Southeastern Bible School in 1943 and to Southeastern Bible College in 1950.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit and for-profit closures.  Each tab includes basic information for each institution, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Victory University Closing (TN)

George Brown and Stephanie Scurlock posted an article and video on the WREG website (Memphis, TN) indicating that Victory University will be closing.

The institution was founded as the Mid-South Bible Center (MSBC) with Reverend Thomas McKinney serving as director and received its charter of incorporation on December 19, 1944.  McKinney was succeeded by Dr. J. Howard Goddard in 1948. MSBC established a three-year Bible Institute and enrolled ten students in the fall semester of 1948. The State of Tennessee authorized an amendment to the Charter of the MSBC to change the name to Mid-South Bible Institute.

In the fall of 1958 a four-year collegiate program was offered and on May 26, 1960 changing the college name to Mid-South Bible College.  The institution was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Accreditation in 1968.  The name was changed to Crichton College in 1987 honoring the death of former president, James B. Crichton.  

Crichton College became a private, for-profit institution of higher learning in 2009 and in May 2010, the Board of Directors approved the name change to Victory University.

A list of presidents follows:

• Thomas W. McKinney (1940′s)
• J. Howard Goddard (late 1940′s – 1953)
• James B. Crichton (1953-1984)
• Roger Clapp, Acting President (1984)
• Robert Hilgenberg (1984-1989)
• Lawrence McGrath, CEO/President (1989-1991)
• Jimmy Latimer, Chancellor (1989-1992)
• Larry Brooks (1992-1997)
• Roger Clapp, Interim President (1997-1998)
• Ronald Schmidt (1998-2003)
• Robert Brian, Acting President (2003-2004)
• Larry Lloyd (2004-2009)
• Larry Linamen, Interim President (2009)
• John M. Borek, Jr. (2009-2011)
• Shirley Robinson Pippins (2011-present)

Kingswood University (NB, Canada)

Randy Boswell explores reasons for the recent name change in 2011 from Bethany Bible College to Kingswood University.  The institution was founded in Woodstock, New Brunswick as Holiness Bible Institute in 1945 by the Reformed Baptist Church of Canada.  The name changed in 1947 to Bethany Bible College with relocation to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  The institution then moved to Sussex, British Columbia in 1965.  

Kingswood was formally accredited by New Brunswick in 1983 and accreditation was first granted in 1987 by the Association for Biblical Higher Education and reaffirmed in 2009. 

Alberta Bible Colleges

Dave Halliday's article, Alberta Bible Colleges Struggle to Stay Afloat, in the Edmonton Journal focuses on the successes and struggles of the province's institutions. Halliday notes that enrollments are growing at Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute in Camrose and Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills. Taylor Seminary and Vanguard College are also included in the discussion.

An earlier article by Elise Stolte on July 15, 2011, Alberta Bible College Closes it's Doors, focuses on the announced closure of Gardner College [Camrose, Alberta, CA]. The institution began in 1933 to train leaders for the Church of God. The denomination was initially founded in 1880 in Indiana.

Bible College Movement in Canada

Al Hiebert, former Dean at Providence College, offers an interesting overview of the bible college movement in Canada. Hiebert notes that Providence was previously Winnipeg Bible College and may hold the record for most relocations by an institution.