21st-Century Challenges to Biblical Higher Education

By Gary Weedman Our colleges face the same 21st-century issues as the rest of higher education: rising costs, changing demographics, the impact of technology, the effect of globalization, and, especially for us, a question of whether what we do provides value relative to expense or need. The history of our institutions makes these challenges even more acute, since from their origins they have been independent of one another, which hinders any unified response to these 21st-century challenges. I want to address five issues that we must consider if our schools are to remain healthy and effective.   1. Show Me

2012 College Reports: Building, Teaching, Serving, Growing!

By Staff We asked colleges and seminaries associated with Christian churches and churches of Christ to provide updates on what”s happening at their institutions. Here”s what they had to say (these are listed alphabetically):   Alberta Bible College Practical ministry experience has been a hallmark of the education and equipping experience at Alberta Bible College since its inception 80 years ago. Under the direction of the learning services team, ABC is more fully integrating several new practical ministry lab experiences into its regular programs, in addition to the ongoing weekly involvements in local churches and parachurch ministries. Beginning this fall,

Emmanuel Offers Web-based Degree Completion

By Jennifer Taylor Last month, Emmanuel Christian Seminary (Johnson City, TN) began offering a new independent study course called “Current Trends in Theological Education” to help students complete unfinished degrees. The online course is designed for previous Emmanuel students who have been absent from course work for more than five years and have completed every degree requirement except the thesis. The new course covers each of the five academic areas studied at ECS””Old Testament, New Testament, church history, doctrine, and Christian ministries. In each area students will complete about 400 pages of reading, review lectures by various faculty members, and

Lipscomb University Adds Benefit to Prison Program

By Jennifer Taylor Five years ago, Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN) established the Lipscomb Initiative for Education (LIFE) program to provide opportunities for their students and inmates at the Tennessee Prison for Women (TPFW) to learn and grow together. Each semester as many as 30 Lipscomb students enroll in a liberal arts course held at the prison; classes have included art history, Christian ethics, and conflict management. Both students and faculty travel to the prison for classes. The Lipscomb students work toward their bachelor”s degrees and, until recently, the inmates worked for credit hours to be applied toward a future degree

Lincoln Christian to Begin Offering MA in Bioethics

By Jennifer Taylor Next month, Lincoln (IL) Christian University and Seminary will begin holding classes for its new Master of Arts degree in bioethics. The off-campus program will be taught at the Methodist Medical Center of Illinois in Peoria and will also include online components and some clinical experiences. LCU&S designed the program for three groups of students: health care professionals (physicians, nurses, paramedics, medical school students in residence, and hospital administrators); pastors, chaplains, and counselors; and others working in related fields, including pharmaceutical representatives, hospital legal counsels, and graduate theology, philosophy, or political science students. The program will “produce

ACU Adds Major in Digital Entertainment Technology

By Jennifer Taylor In Abilene (TX) Christian University”s digital entertainment technology program, students practice a variety of skills while preparing for careers as animators, computer game designers, and app developers. The interdisciplinary major combines the creative with the computerized, requiring work in art, script development, and writing as well as technological comprehension. Abilene professors provide training in the full process from concept to publishing, with an optional focus on mobile game development.  “We wanted to become Christian leaders in the digital entertainment industry,” says Brian Burton, assistant professor of information technology. He says the demand for the program”s students exceeds

WJU Makes Connections in One-Day Fund-raiser

By Jennifer Taylor  This fall, William Jessup University (Rocklin, CA) tried a new approach to fund-raising””and set a record in the process. Vice President for Advancement Eric Hogue had three goals: to recruit new donors, help WJU students, and to raise the money without taking the staff away from work. “Give:24″ accomplished all three. Every member of the staff, faculty, and administration was encouraged to participate by asking 24 friends and family members to give $24 each. They made the requests and promoted the effort via social media and e-mail during the month of August; donors could give online during

Johnson, Other Colleges Partner for PhD Program

By Jennifer Taylor Eight Christian universities and graduate schools have partnered together to offer an online PhD in leadership studies. This new Center for Global Studies, under the sponsorship of Johnson University (Knoxville, TN), will prepare students around the world for academic or ministry leadership. The program “is an online, research-based, interdisciplinary degree that seeks to facilitate the leadership abilities and roles of Christian men and women working in inter-cultural, cross-cultural, and/or international contexts,” the center writes. The degree includes classes in ethics and research and requires focused electives in educational leadership, organizational leadership, or theology of leadership. The proposal

Milligan Recognized as ‘College of Distinction’

Milligan College in Tennessee is one of the 200 colleges and universities nationwide to be featured in the 2011-2012 Colleges of Distinction, a college guide honoring schools demonstrating excellence in education. Institutions featured in the guide take a holistic approach to admissions, consistently excel in providing undergraduate education and have a truly national reputation, according to the guide”s criteria. “One of the things we frequently hear from our students and alumni is how much they appreciate Milligan”s faculty,” said Milligan President Bill Greer. “The caring faculty and the many opportunities students have to serve inside and outside the classroom are

Milligan Names Greer Next President

Bill Greer has been selected to serve as the next president of Milligan College in Tennessee. Greer was appointed Milligan”s next president by the college”s board of trustees. He will assume leadership on July 15, following the retirement of current president Donald R. Jeanes. Greer, a 1985 Milligan College graduate, currently serves as the college”s vice president for institutional advancement. He will become the 15th president in the college”s 145-year history. Greer has more than 25 years of experience as an academic and business leader, fund-raiser, community volunteer, and church elder. At Milligan, he is the J. Henry Kegley professor

Charting a Course Through the Humanities

By LeRoy Lawson The West in the World, Vol. 1, 3rd Edition Dennis Sherman and Joyce Salisbury Columbus: McGraw-Hill Fleming”s Arts and Ideas, 10th Edition Mary Warner Marien and William Fleming Thomson Wadsworth, 2005 Greek Tragedies, Vol. 1, 2nd Edition David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, editors Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992 The Odyssey Homer; Stanley Lombardo, translator Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000 The Aeneid Vergil; Sarah Ruden, translator New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008 Beowulf Seamus Heaney, translator New York: Norton, 2001 COURSE: Humanities 101: Ancient and Medieval Cultures PROFESSOR: Lawson REQUIRED READING: see above The Milligan College freshmen who signed up

Our Annual Campus Tour

By Mark A. Taylor Several trends are notable in our annual “campus tour” this year. Our colleges have become externally focused. The reports are rich with accounts of mission trips and community service projects. Many of these schools are thrusting their students into the world for a taste of the service they will render after they graduate. Our colleges continue to strive toward excellence. Two are changing their names to reflect a redefined mission. Others describe new degree programs, several building projects, cooperative programs with other universities, and in one case, a total campus move. Although many of these colleges

Back to College””45 Years Later

By LeRoy Lawson When Pat Magness was a Milligan College student in the late 1960s, she was Patty Phillips and I was her professor. Now Dr. Magness is the head of the area of humane learning. She is my boss. Which goes to show you that it pays to be nice, even to freshmen. You never know . . . My rank indicates my place on the academic totem pole. One step lower and I”d be in the dirt. I”m a visiting substitute adjunct professor of freshman humanities. This just may be my all-time favorite title. Dr. Magness extended the invitation to

2011 College Reports: “˜God Is at Work on Our Campus”

By Staff We asked colleges and seminaries associated with Christian churches and churches of Christ to provide updates on what”s happening at their institutions. Here”s what they had to say (these are listed alphabetically): Alberta Bible College Alberta Bible College”s endowment scholarship gives students a highly subsidized tuition rate of $5,850 per year. This allows many students to focus on their ministries and complete their program with little or no debt. ABC deeply integrates classroom learning with real-world experience. Our students” lives reflect this emphasis on ministry and the important work they accomplish. Jackson, a second-year student, transferred from another

Jackson Appointed to Lead William Jessup University

This week, William Jessup University (Rocklin, CA) announced the appointment of John Jackson as the school”s sixth president. Jackson is currently executive director of Thriving Churches International and executive pastor at Bayside Church in Granite Bay, CA. He holds a PhD in educational administration and organizational studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is author of several books on leadership, communication, and church ministry. Click here to learn more and watch a short video greeting from Jackson.

KCU Adds Biology Pre-Professional Degree Program

This week, Kentucky Christian University announced a new Biology Pre-Professional degree program beginning in August. The program will prepare students for further study and careers in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and veterinary medicine. Like all other KCU degrees, students will double-major in Biblical Studies, equipping students to not only succeed in highly competitive career fields but to do so grounded in a strong faith. Find out more at www.kcu.edu.

Atlanta Christian College Becoming Point University

Atlanta (GA) Christian College will soon have a new name and a new location! This week ACC announced the 2012 relocation of its main campus from East Point, GA (outside of Atlanta), to the town of West Point, GA (near the Georgia-Alabama line). The school will become Point University beginning July 1, 2011. “Just as God frequently called the Old Testament heroes to new and exciting lands, he often accompanied that life transition with a symbolic changing of name,” the school writes. “Not only does “˜Point University” reflect where the school has come from and where it is going, but

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