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Former name | Bible Institute of Los Angeles (1908–1949) Biola College (1949–1981) |
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| Motto | Above All Give Glory to God |
| Type | Private university |
| Established | February 25, 1908; 117 years ago (1908-02-25) |
Religious affiliation | NondenominationalEvangelicalism |
Academic affiliations | CCCU |
| Endowment | $154.6 million (2018)[1] |
| President | Barry H. Corey |
| Provost | Matthew J. Hall |
Academic staff | 475[citation needed] |
| Undergraduates | 3,596 (2022) |
| Postgraduates | 1,959 (2022) |
| Location | , United States 33°54′20″N118°01′00″W / 33.9056°N 118.0167°W /33.9056; -118.0167 |
| Campus | Suburban, 96 acres (39 ha) |
| Colors | Red, White, Black |
| Nickname | Eagles |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II –PacWest |
| Website | biola |
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Biola University (/baɪˈoʊlə/) is aprivate,nondenominational,evangelical Christian university inLa Mirada, California, United States. It was founded in 1908 as theBible Institute of Los Angeles as a center for biblical and missionary training. Its campus indowntown Los Angeles features iconic "Jesus Saves" signs and a 3,500-seat auditorium. In 1949, it became Biola College and later adopted the name Biola University in 1981. The school relocated toLa Mirada, California, in 1959 and has maintained a strong evangelical identity rooted in conservative theology, as reflected in its association withThe Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth.
Over the years, Biola expanded its academic offerings beyond biblical studies, adding multiple schools and graduate programs including theTalbot Theological Seminary, Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology, School of Intercultural Studies, Crowell School of Business, and School of Education. Today, Biola offers 47 undergraduate majors, over 150 professional fields of study and degrees ranging from B.A. to Ph.D., all integrated withChristian doctrine.
Biola is also known for its conferences, centers, and athletics. It hosts annual events such as the Missions Conference and the Torrey Memorial Bible Conference and it became a notable venue for earlyintelligent design conferences. The university supports several academic centers, including the Center for Christian Thought and the Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts. Athletically, the Biola Eagles compete inNCAA Division II within thePacific West Conference, fielding 18 varsity sports. Notable alumni include filmmakerZach King, U.S. Senate Majority LeaderJohn Thune, theologianJosh McDowell, and apologistNabeel Qureshi.
Biola University was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles byLyman Stewart, president of the Union Oil Company of California;[3] Thomas C. Horton, aPresbyterian minister and author; and Augustus B. Prichard, also a Presbyterian minister.[4][5][6]
In 1912, the institute appointedR. A. Torrey as dean, and in 1913 began construction on a building at the corner of Sixth and Hope St. in downtown Los Angeles, which included a 3,500-seat auditorium, two largeneon signs (added later) on top of the building proclaiming "Jesus Saves", and acarillon of 11 bells on which hymns were played three times each day.[2][4][7][8] The early leaders wanted the institute to focus on training students in the Bible andmissions rather than the broad approach toChristian education typical of Christianliberal arts colleges. The institute offered a diploma after completion of a two-year curriculum. This model was based largely on theMoody Bible Institute.[9] Beginning in the 1920s, attempts were made to broaden the curriculum,[10] but it was not until 1949 that the institution took the name "Biola College" and in 1981 was renamed "Biola University". Biola re-located to La Mirada, California, in 1959.[2][4][7][11][12]
The school has a tradition of conservative theology, documented in the 1917 four-volume version ofThe Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth.[13][14]
As of 1925, John Murdoch MacInnis was the school's second dean. He was a Presbyterian minister who had been an instructor at the school for about two years. MacInnis served as dean until his forced resignation on December 31, 1928. His administration had been turbulent.[15] In 1927, Biola published a book by MacInnis entitledPeter the Fisherman Philosopher, which became the focus of an intense national controversy in which MacInnis was accused by fundamentalists of advocating liberal theological positions.[16][17] Eventually, MacInnis was forced to resign, and all remaining copies of the book, along with the printing plates, were destroyed.[18]
In 1929,Charles E. Fuller a businessman, evangelist, and graduate of Biola, was drafted as vice president to find a new dean and a president. Elbert McCreery and William P. White, both associated with Moody Bible Institute, were chosen to fill these posts.[19]
During theGreat Depression, the institute suffered serious financial difficulties.[7] In 1932, Louis T. Talbot, pastor of the Church of the Open Door, assumed the presidency and helped raise much-needed funds.[7] During the next two decades, Talbot concentrated efforts on academic programs as the school's mission.[7]Talbot Theological Seminary became Biola's first graduate school and in 1977, Biola acquired the graduate programs of Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology and relocated them to the La Mirada campus.[7] Biola added a School of Intercultural Studies in 1983, through funds from the abandoned property of theHunan Bible Institute in China,[20] a School of Business in 1993,[7] and a School of Education in 2007.[21]
Biola holds two annual student conferences, the Missions Conference during the spring semester and the Torrey Memorial Bible Conference during the fall semester.[22][23]
The Torrey Memorial Bible Conference is also a three-day conference dedicated to students' spiritual growth. Every year, a specific topic is chosen that is geared towards the typical college student's spiritual needs.[24]
The university also holds the Biola Media Conference, an event for Christian entertainment professionals to increase their skills.[25]
On November 16, 1996, the university hosted the first national conference onintelligent design. Later, Intervarsity Press publishedMere Creation,[26] a collection of the papers presented at the conference. Subsequent intelligent-design conferences were held at the university in 2002 and 2004.[27]
Since 2015, Biola requires students to attend five conference sessions and twenty chapel services per semester, or face a financial penalty.[28]
On October 8, 2007, Biola opened theCharles L. Feinberg Center for Messianic Jewish Studies inManhattan. The center offers a master's degree in divinity in Messianic Jewish studies in cooperation withChosen People Ministries.[29]
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Forbes[30] | 335 of 500 |
| U.S. News & World Report[31] | 236 (tie) of 394 |
| Washington Monthly[32] | 429 of 442 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[33] | 501 (tie) of 600 |
Biola offers 47 undergraduate majors, 80 concentrations, and more than 150 professional fields of study. Degrees awarded includeB.A.,B.S.,B.M.,B.F.A.,M.A.,M.B.A.,M.Div.,Th.M.,D.Min.,D.Miss.,Psy.D.,Ed.D., and PhD. All areinstitutionally andprofessionally accredited and integrated with Christian doctrine.[34][35]
The schools are:
Crowell School of Business is an undergraduate and graduate business school located inLa Mirada, California, at Biola University. In 1993, the school was established as the fifth school of Biola University. In 2005, the school was renamed the Crowell School of Business.
Crowell offers aMaster of Business Administration (MBA) and aMasters in Professional Accountancy (MPAcc), both of which can be obtained through a full-time or part-time schedule. Both programs are accredited through theWestern Association of Schools and Colleges; the MBA program is also accredited by theAccreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. The undergraduate program at Crowell offers majors in accounting and in business administration with emphasis in international business, management, marketing, marketing management andbusiness analytics. The school offers a minor in business administration available to all undergraduates at Biola University. The undergraduate program boasts approximately four hundred students, making it the largest undergraduate program at Biola.[citation needed]
The School of Education was established in 2007, originally started as the Education Department in 1952. It offers biblically integrated courses and programs that exist to train those who desire to make an impact as educators and administrators in public, private, homeschool, charter and international schools. At the undergraduate level, the School of Education is home to the elementary education, multidisciplinary majors andliberal studies, which consistently rank among the most popular undergraduate majors at Biola. At the graduate level, the School of Education offersMaster of Arts in Teaching andMaster of Arts in Education programs.
All undergraduate students are required to take 30 units of Bible classes, regardless of their major.[36]
In its 2017 college rankings,U.S. News & World Report placed Biola in its "Best National Universities" category,[37] ranking Biola 159 out of 311 national universities.[38] Biola was one of only two national universities in theCouncil for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) to be included in the first tier.[39] In 2013, Biola was listed as one of nineteen "up-and-coming" national universities byU.S. News.[40] In 2017,Niche ranked Biola as #33 of 364 best Christian colleges in America and #11 of 90 safest college campuses in California.[41]
Torrey Honors College, formerly Torrey Honors Institute, is a classical literaturegreat books program started by John Mark Reynolds in 1995[42] and named afterReuben Archer Torrey.[43] Classes in the department are used to meet most of the general education requirements at Biola University in four years; the program does not offer a major or minor. The Torrey Honors College is patterned after theOxfordtutorial system, employing reading, discussion, writing, mentoring, and lectures.[43]
Biola has over 40 student organizations and clubs.
In May 2012, an undergroundLGBTQ community, calling themselves the Biola Queer Underground, launched a website in support of promoting dialogue and reconsideration of Biola's expulsion policy regarding homosexual behavior.[44] The covert group requested to be accepted as a facet of diversity within the campus, declaring that, despite traditional church teaching on homosexuality, they held similar Christian beliefs and values to the university.[44] The website garnered national attention from the mainstream media.[45][46] The Biola administration released a formal statement on their conservative Christian views on human sexuality shortly afterwards.[47] Since 2013, The Dwelling, a university-sanctioned LGBTQ organization, has been established. It seeks to support LGBTQ students without endorsing same-sex marriage and related policies.[48]
The Biola athletic teams are called theEagles. The university is a member of theDivision II level of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in thePacific West Conference (PacWest) since the 2017–18 academic year; while its men's and women's swimming & diving teams compete in thePacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference (PCSC).[49] They were also a member of theNational Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the West Region of the Division I level. The Eagles previously competed in theGolden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1994–95 to 2016–17.
Biola competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and water polo; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo.[50] Former sports included men's golf and men's wrestling.
In 2012, Biola inducted three alumni into Inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame. The athletics department inductedTodd Worrell (baseball), Becky White (volleyball and women's basketball) and Wade Kirchmeyer (men's basketball). The school has since inducted 14 more alumni, including: Jim Blagg,Clyde Cook, Musa Dogonyaro, Ronn Johnson, Natasha Miller, Ben Orr, Jessica Pistole, Rianne Schorel andTim Worrell.[51]
Biola also has a club men's lacrosse team that competed in theWestern Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL) from 2001–2009, and has since competed in theSouthwestern Lacrosse Conference (SLC). A club women's lacrosse team began competition in 2012 in the Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL). Biola also has a club men's rugby team that began playing in the SCRFU in 2013.
On July 20, 2016, Biola University's application for membership into the NCAA Division II had been approved for the three-year membership process. The Eagles continued as an active member of the GSAC and the NAIA for the 2016–17 school year while completing Provisional Year One with the NCAA. In Provisional Year Two (2017–18), Biola joined the PacWest Conference and competed primarily against NCAA opponents. With successful completion of Provisional Year Three (2018–19) of the membership process, the Eagles will gain full, active NCAA D-II membership and become eligible to compete for NCAA Division II championships beginning as early as 2019–20.[52]
Biola has four university centers:
In 2012, the Biola University Center for Christian Thought (CCT) was launched, funded by a $3.03 million grant from theJohn Templeton Foundation, the largest academic grant ever awarded to Biola University.[53] The CCT is a forum where leading Christian thinkers from around the world gather to research and discuss issues of significance to the academy, the church, and the broader culture.[54] In 2013, the Biola University Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts (CCCA) was launched, funded with a grant from philanthropists Howard and Roberta Ahmanson's Fieldstead and Company.[55] The CCCA sponsors events and symposia, produces online resources and strives to facilitate thoughtful reflection on the interplay of Christian faith, the larger culture and the world of the arts.[56]
In October 2014, Biola launched the Center for Marriage and Relationships (CMR). The center exists to build and sustain healthy relationships and marriages in the church and broader culture.
In Fall of 2017, Biola launched the Center for the Study of the Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit Today, funded by a $3 million donation.[57] Located within Talbot School of Theology, the center is a 10-year initiative that provides resources for students and scholars.[58]
The university has been involved in the publication of the following magazines and academic journals:
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