Biola's former Los Angeles building: under construction (top) and complete in 1916 (bottom): It was demolished in 1988, after damage ina 1987 earthquake.[2]
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]
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]
TheSchool 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 LGBT students without endorsing same-sex marriage and related policies.[48]
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]
Center for the Study of the Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit Today
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:
The King's Business was a monthly publication of Biola from 1910 to 1970. In the first decades of its publication, it was the leading journal for conservative Christianity and the early fundamentalist movement. In fact,The Fundamentals andThe King's Business shared the same chief editor (R. A. Torrey) and were supported by the same "concerned laymen" (Lyman and Milton Stewart).[59]
Philosophia Christi is a peer-reviewed journal published twice a year by the Evangelical Philosophical Society with the support of Biola University as a vehicle for the scholarly discussion of philosophy and philosophical issues in the fields of ethics, theology, and religion. The journal is indexed by ThePhilosopher's Index andReligious & Theological Abstracts.
Journal of Psychology and Theology has as its purpose to communicate recent scholarly thinking on the interrelationships of psychological and theological concepts, and to consider the application of these concepts to a variety of professional settings. The major intent of the editor is to place before the evangelical community articles that have bearing on the nature of humankind from a Biblical perspective.[60]
Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care has as its purpose advancing the discussion of the theory and practice of Christian formation and soul care for the sake of the educational ministries of the church, Christian education, and other para-church organizations through scholarly publications that are rooted in Biblical exegesis, systematic theology, the history of Christian spirituality, philosophical analysis, psychological theory/research, spiritual theology, and Christian experience.[61]
Christian Education Journal has as its purpose to strengthen the conception and practice of Christian education in church and para-church settings.[62]
Great Commission Research Journal is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to research and scholarly thinking on church growth.[63]
Biola Magazine is the official magazine of Biola University.[64]
Talbot Magazine is the official magazine of Talbot School of Theology.[65]
The Point is a magazine produced by Biola's journalism program that won the 2008 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award, the highest honor for a collegiate magazine.[67]
The Inkslinger is a student creative arts journal.[68]
The Bells is a humorous, fictitious news site created by and for Biola students.[69]The Bells is a satire similar toThe Onion.
Open Biola is an online database allowing visitors from anywhere in the world to easily search, stream, download and share videos and other learning materials that engage academic topics from a Christian perspective.[70]
^Mal Couch (2000),The Fundamentals for the Twenty-First Century: Examining the Crucial Issues of the Christian Faith, Kregel Academic,ISBN0825423686,p. 16.Archived August 28, 2024, at theWayback Machine
^George M. Marsden (1982),Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925, Oxford University Press,ISBN0195030834,pp. 118-123.Archived August 28, 2024, at theWayback Machine
^Marsden, George (1987).Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism. Eerdmans. pp. 39–40, 87, 95.
^Williams, Robert; et al. (1983).Chartered for His Glory: Biola University, 1908-1983. La Mirada, CA: Biola University. pp. 48–51.
^Draney, Daniel (2008).When Streams Diverge. pp. 200–211.
^Tom Sitton and William Francis Deverell (2001),Metropolis in the Making: Los Angeles in the 1920s, University of California Press,ISBN0520226275,pp. 238-243.Archived August 28, 2024, at theWayback Machine
^Mitchell, Morgan (February 17, 2016)."The Point | Biola University".Pointmag.biola.edu.Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. RetrievedApril 6, 2016.
