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Celebrating Twenty Years of Service
Assessing the Mission of Church-Related Higher Education
1976-1996
by Karen A. Longman, Ph.D.
The year was 1976: Nelson Rockefeller was vice
president; gasoline cost 59 cents a gallon. It was the "Year of the
Dragon" in China; George Gallup, Jr. had declared it to be the "Year of
the Evangelical" in the United States. Christian higher education was
coming of age; the Christian College Coalition was formed.
The Council's Roots
Until the 1950s there were few bonds
transcending denominational lines within the world of Christian higher
education. The Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges, now called
the Council of Independent Colleges, was launched in 1955 to serve the
needs of smaller and unaccredited schools, many of them Christian colleges
and universities.
In the mid-1960s, recognizing the unique educational
mission of Christ-centered colleges, the Commission of Higher Education of
the National Association of Evangelicals proposed that an association for
such institutions be created. Aided by a $300,000 grant from the Lilly
Endowment and the active encouragement of Earl McGrath, director of the
Temple University Higher Education Center and Carl F.H. Henry, editor of
Christianity Today, the Christian College Consortium was founded on July
1, 1971 as the "first major cooperative venture" in this sector of
American higher education. Ten institutions (Bethel/MN, Eastern Mennonite,
Gordon, Greenville, Malone, Messiah, Seattle Pacific, Taylor, Westmont and
Wheaton) banded together with the goals of more effectively integrating
faith and learning, cooperatively promoting the cause of Christian higher
education, developing domestic and international student programs, and
continuing to explore "the possibility of a university system of Christian
colleges"... the long-standing dream of Carl Henry and other Christian
scholars. Dr. Ed Neteland, academic dean of Trinity College (IL), served
as the first executive director of the Consortium.
The Consortium's membership fluctuated
somewhat in the early 1970s as Christian colleges from across the country
sought the benefits of collaboration on projects of common interest. In
March of 1975 the Membership Committee of the Consortium accordingly
recommended to President Gordon Werkema that a prospectus be developed for
a more broadly based "Council for Christian Colleges."
The Executive Committee of the Consortium and
Consortium presidents received Gordon Werkema's recommendation in October
of 1975 that an organization be formed primarily to focuson three stated
objectives:
- The monitoring of legislation, judicial
activity, and public opinion on matters which could affect the freedom
of Christian colleges to function educationally and religiously.
- The development of unified positions on
critical issues for presentation to other organizations, governmental
bodies and public policy formers.
- The development of an offensive position on
potential erosions of religious and educational freedom in the Christian
college movement.
The Council's Founding
An informational mailing about the proposed
emergence of the "Christian College Coalition" drew favorable response
from 38 colleges and universities from across the United States.
Presidents from 26 institutions joined together at the Capitol Hill
Quality Inn on September 21-22, 1976 at the association's founding
meeting. As part of that meeting each president articulated his perception
of the need for "a group that would adequately represent the Christian
college."
Emerging from the discussion was the specific
rationale for the formation of the Council:
"... the fact that there is now no group which
effectively and exclusively represents colleges seriously interested in
preserving a permeation philosophy in education and religion;
... the fact that there is a need for study,
research and promotion of the distinctives and rights which Christian
colleges are not willing to give up to the government;
... the fact that in any power struggle
between public and private education, "public" is going to win politically
and therefore those who have the most reason to be private or independent
should have a leadership position;
... the fact that legal counsel and
representation can be effectively provided at a more reasonable cost for a
group, i.e. a class action."
Elected to serve on the first board of the
Council were: Richard Chase - later named Chairman (Biola); Robert
Baptista (Taylor); David LeShana (George Fox); Robert Lucky (Marion); Carl
Lundquist (Bethel/MN); and Dan Weiss (Eastern). Officers of the Council
board were named at a meeting on November 17, 1976 in Indianapolis; dues
were set at $700 per year. During that same time, since start-up funding
from the Lilly Endowment had been expended, Consortium dues stood at
$10,000 per year. The first official meeting of the Council board was held
on February11, 1977 in conjunction with NAICU meetings in New Orleans.
The Council's First Decade
From its founding in 1976 until 1982, the
Council shared staff and office space with the Christian College
Consortium, first at 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, then at 11 Dupont
Circle and finally -- until its move to permanent Council-owned facilities
on Capitol Hill in 1990 -- at 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. A noteworthy
date in the history of the Council was its incorporation in January of
1982 as an entity independent from the work of the Consortium; Carl
Lundquist, former president of Bethel College (MN) was named president of
the Consortium with the office moving to St. Paul.
While the administrative offices remained in
the vicinity of Dupont Circle, the center of higher education activity in
Washington, D.C., an innovative new program for students from Christian
colleges was created in 1976 and based on Capitol Hill by John Bernbaum, a
young scholar on "temporary" leave from his position as historian and
contributing editor of the Foreign Relations of the United States series
for the U.S. Department of State. Bernbaum's dream of introducing the
"best and brightest" Christian students to Washington's public policy
arena -- and giving them a vision for their own involvement there -- has
resulted in 1,500 American Studies Program students spending time in this
internship/seminar program; nearly 200 alumni are currently working in the
Greater Washington area.
Gordon Werkema served as president of the
Consortium and Council until October of 1977 when he assumed the role of
executive vice president of Seattle Pacific University (WA). He was
succeeded November 1, 1977 by John Dellenback, former four-term
Congressman from Oregon and director of the U.S. Peace Corps during the
Ford Administration. Hired from outside the world of Christian higher
education, Dellenback delighted in the story of first meeting with member
college presidents and explaining that his wife Mary Jane was not
available because of her regularly scheduled tap dancing lesson!
The Dellenback Years
The "Dellenback Years" from 1977 until 1988
were a time of expanding programs and building a solid membership base (a
"critical mass," in Dellenback's words) for this cooperative work in
Christ-centered higher education. Expanding the membership "to a possible
75 colleges" was a priority agenda item at the Council's Executive
Committee meeting in October of 1978. After steady growth in the late
1970s and early 1980s, that goal was met in 1986 when Redeemer College
(ONT) became the 75th member institution and the first Canadian liberal
arts college to be accepted into membership. Such growth was tracked with
keen interest by the Council staff-- the addition of every ten schools was
celebrated with a dinner hosted by the Dellenbacks!
In 1978 Rich Gathro, now vice president for
student programs, joined the Council staff as part-time director of
internships for the American Studies Program, which expanded in scope from
30 to 40 students each semester that fall. He became full-time associate
director in 1980. Karen Longman, currently vice president for professional
development and research, joined the staff in 1980 as program director.
Jerry Herbert, now director of the American Studies Program, joined the
ASP faculty in 1981, which continued under John Bernbaum's direction.
In August of 1979 the first annual
Faith/Learning/Living Institute, involving 13 faculty, was held at Trinity
College (IL) to address "the transmission of Christian values and moral
decision-making in the face of the knowledge explosion in many areas such
as health, the family, communication,the environment and career planning."
Two small faculty conferences had been coordinated by the Consortium prior
to the development of the Institute concept.
These Institutes, hosted by Trinity College
(IL) and coordinated by professor of history Ken Shipps, laid the
groundwork for an expanding series of faculty development workshops
andconferences planned by Shipps and Karen Longman. This important work of
the Council, which has expanded to include almost 100 faculty workshops
and conferences, began in 1983 with a $135,000 grant to the Council from
the National Endowment for the Humanities for a project titled
"Christianity and the Humanities" (upon notification of this Federal
funding, the NEH program officer commented, "It's good to know that God
hears the prayers of the Protestants!"). Funding for such faculty
development work has subsequently been received from the Maclellan
Foundation, the Murdock Charitable Trust and the Pew Charitable Trusts. In
total, approximately 2,000 faculty have participated in five-day regional
and national workshops focused on integration issues.
Increasing the credibility and visibility of
Christ-centered higher education was another major thrust of the Council's
work during the Dellenback years. In 1982, and subsequently in 1984and
1986, the Council released A Guide to Christian Colleges, published by
William B. Eerdmans. Beginning in 1988 the Council opted to partner with
Peterson's Guides of Princeton on a volume called Consider a Christian
College (1988, 1990 and 1992) and Choose A Christian College (1994). In
total, more than 125,000 copies of these Council guides have reached the
hands of college-bound students and those advising students on college
choices.
Admissions-related efforts included the
National Marketing Initiative supported by a $125,000grant from the
Maclellan Foundation and the Consortium for the Advancement of Private
HigherEducation (CAPHE). Included in the project was the carefully
targeted distribution of 30,000 copies of Consider A Christian College, a
$50,000 research project released in 1986 which analyzed how college-bound
students perceive Christian liberal arts colleges, and five-day Enrollment
Management Seminars involving 31 member institutions in 1988 and 1989.
Publications became a major component of the
Council's focus on the integration of faith, learning and living with
contracts for two book series in the mid 1980s. John Bernbaum worked with
Baker Book House to coordinate a series including Economic Justice and the
State, Salt and Light: Evangelical Political Thought in Modern America and
Why Work? In 1986 the Council entered into a contract with HarperCollins
for an eight-volume "Supplemental Textbook Series." A Series Advisory
Board chaired by Nicholas Wolterstorff of Yale Divinity School and
disciplinary task forces have guided the preparation of paperback volumes
offering a biblical worldview in seven fields: psychology, biology,
literature, history, business, sociology and music. Major five-day
national conferences in each discipline have allowed faculty from across
theCouncil colleges to critique the draft manuscripts and interact with
colleagues about the contents prior to publication of each volume in this
"Through the Eyes of Faith" series. The project has attracted considerable
international interest with foreign rights purchased by InterVarsity
Press-England and InterVarsity Press-Korea; various volumes have also been
translated into Russian, Danish, Dutch and French.
During the Dellenback Years the student
program work also expanded with the addition of theLatin American Studies
Program in 1986. Under the guidance of John Bernbaum, the "LASP" was
designed with input from more than 35 Council faculty members from 24
member institutions. Dr. Roland Hoksbergen of Calvin College (MI) directed
the program for its first three years. In total, 478 students from 56
member institutions have participated in the LASP; Anthony Chamberlain has
served as director since August of 1990.
In the mid-1980s various new cooperative
programs were initiated, including the participation of more than 50
colleges in a Faculty Exchange Program and in the Council's Tuition Waiver
Exchange Program. A January Term Exchange Program was begun, allowing
students from Council colleges on the 4-1-4 calendar to study on another
campus or overseas under the auspices of a sister institution. Council
presidents, academic deans, student deans, chaplains and coaches were
meeting on an annual basis, sometimes in conjunction with other
professional associations. A new "Fellows" program was launched, bringing
a series of faculty and administrators on sabbatical leave to serve with
the Council's Washington office and student programs. Numerous study tours
for faculty and administrators to visit Latin America and the Middle East
have been well-received.
The Council's tenth anniversary, celebrated at
the 1986 Annual Meeting, featured U. S.Secretary of Education William
Bennett, U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield and Don North, president of the
Burlington Northern Foundation. Also on the program were reflections by
President Richard Chase of Wheaton College (IL), who reviewed the history
of the Council's first ten years and Council board chairman Dan
Chamberlain of Houghton College (NY), who presented "A View of the
Future," including the need to increase the vitality, visibility and
viability of Christian higher education. Affirming the good work already
underway, he called for expansion in the areas of faculty development,
internationalizing the curriculum, student programs ("We must begin
programs in Asia and in Africa") and efforts to make our internal
administrative organization "less secular, more Christian, more human, and
more humane."
At the 1986 Annual Meeting Gene Habecker,
president of Huntington College (IN) and chairmanof the board's
Development Committee, announced the board's decision to launch a $2
million campaign intended to "develop an endowment fund and acquire a
physical facility" as a permanent base for Council operations in
Washington, D.C.
The Second Decade
The last few years of the Dellenback era were
a time of laying the foundation for the Council interms of its
strengthened national image and for the "National Capital Campaign" that
emerged into a $3.1 million initiative. In February of 1987 the board of
directors voted to approve the new logo of the Council, which had shared
the logo design of the Consortium since its founding. The new "C" image
connoted the concept of centeredness and was intended to project an
impression naturally linked to the words Christian College Coalition. All
publications received a facelift as part of a unifying image for the
organization.
In November of 1987 the board approved the
purchase of two facilities on Capitol Hill: $1.375 million for a new
condominium complex being developed at 327 Eighth Street, NE and $300,000
for the adjacent townhouse at 329 Eighth Street, N.E. Even in making the
decision to develop a permanent presence for the Council, the board was
aware that Dellenback would be leaving his position the following year and
that a major fund raising effort would fall to the incoming president.
"The Dellenback Years" concluded with membership at 77 institutions as
well as the inauguration of numerous student and faculty programs. "JD"
has continued to chair World Vision's U.S. board of directors following
his departure from the Council.
The Augsburger Years
In February of 1988 the announcement was made
to presidents at the Annual Meeting of theappointment of Myron Augsburger
as incoming president of the Council. As a former president and professor
of theology at Eastern Mennonite College and Seminary (VA), Augsburger had
moved to Washington in 1981 where he helped to found Washington Community
Fellowship, an interdenominational church on Capitol Hill.
A man of great vision and passion, Augsburger
built upon the foundation that had been laid and sought to use the
"instrument" of the Council both responsively to address the stated needs
of the campuses and prophetically in providing leadership to Christian
higher education. Encouraging faculty and students to develop global
understanding and a commitment to racial/ethnic diversity were two of
Augsburger's driving themes. Early in his presidency the Supplemental
Textbook Series picked up momentum, with national conferences for the
business and history books held in May and June of 1988. By the conclusion
of the Augsburger era, seven books in the "Through the Eyes of Faith"
series had been released: psychology, biology, literature, business,
history, sociology and music.
Work on the building project consumed enormous
amounts of time; Rich Gathro had assumed responsibility for the location
and development of the facility while many others focused on the
fund-raising need. Solid groundwork was laid by the co-chairs of the
Council's "National Capital Campaign," Senator Mark Hatfield and Ken
Wessner, chairman of the board of The ServiceMaster Company, with staff
support from Nancy Goodrich, who was hired to direct this effort. That
effort culminated in the January 1989 decision of the board to name the
condominium facility "The Dellenback Center." Students in the American
Studies Program began living in the Center in the fall semester of 1988;
the entire Council staff moved into the adjacent townhouse facilities in
March of 1990.
Fund raising effectiveness was a concern not
only for the Council but came to the fore in the late1980s through a major
project funded by the Lilly Endowment. A $30,000 grant in the spring of
1989 allowed the Council to conduct an assessment of fund raising efforts
among the Council's 78 member institutions. The resulting publication,
Friends, Funds and Freshmen, was edited byWesley Willmer of Biola
University (CA) and printed in 1990. That study led in November of 1990 to
a $510,000 three-year project funded by Lilly on "Increasing Fund Raising
Effectiveness"and directed by Rebekah Basinger, formerly of Messiah
College (PA). At the project's conclusion in June of 1994, fully 100% of
the member institutions had participated in at least one grant activity;
one-third had requested development office audits under the project.
In December of 1989 the Council brought
together representatives of nine member institutions plus various
parachurch groups to discuss Christian higher education's response to "the
breakthtaking changes occurring in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe."
Under the guidance of John Bernbaum, such gatherings led to the visit of
16 Soviet academic leaders in the fall of 1990and the subsequent formation
of "The Russian Initiative," a multi-faceted project involving 18 member
colleges that included coordination of student and faculty exchanges,
feasibility research on a possible Russian Studies Program and an MBA
project that linked Russian and American business professors. Also
included was a feasibility study of a Christian university in Russia, a
vision which eventually led John Bernbaum in the summer of 1995 to leave
the Council and devote full-time work to this facet of the original
Russian Initiative. His wife, Marge, continues as student program manager.
Augsburger's commitment to global
understanding and justice issues was reflected not only in his strong
support of the emerging work in Russia but also in a variety of new
Council initiatives. His dream of regular "Think Tanks" led to the first
such gathering in Zurich, Switzerland in thesummer of 1990.
Representatives from eight countries met with Council faculty and
administrators to discuss the issues raised in the United Nations'
statement Our Common Future. Subsequent "Think Tanks" housed in The
Dellenback Center included topics of racial diversity and speakers such as
Carl F. H. Henry, Os Guinness, Lesslie Newbigin and Stanley Hauerwas.
In the fall of 1989 work began on issues of
racial diversity. A Minority Concerns Task Force was convened in the
spring of 1990 in Philadelphia; a subsequent meeting was held at The
DellenbackCenter. These conversations led to the formation of the Office
of Racial/Ethnic Diversity, a project involving 14 "model site" campuses
that provided financial support to cooperative work this area under the
direction of Deborah Bailey and Rhonda Roorda. Released in 1991,
Ethnic-Minorities and Evangelical Christian Colleges, a book co-published
by the Council and edited by D. John Lee of Calvin College (MI), offered
an "unflattering study" urging attention to diversity issues on Christian
campuses. For 2.5 years the "ORED" assisted with various faculty
development efforts and the annual Multicultural Congress on Access and
Equity as well as developing a quarterly newsletter called "The Open
Door."
In the fall of 1990 Augsburger announced the
formation of a cooperative summer program withthe Center for Medieval and
Renaissance Studies at Oxford that has allowed Council students to spend
six weeks in England each summer since 1991. In January of 1991 the
Council opened the first semester of the new Los Angeles Film Studies
Center, the culmination of a six-month feasibility study which focused on
the goal of equipping Christian students to work within the established
film industry structure. Directed by Doug Briggs (formerly of Bethel
College, MN) since its inception, the LAFSC has served 162 students from
48 member institutions. The Center's long-range vision is to bring a
significant Christian presence to the 1,000 "thoughtmakers" who shape the
film industry.
Seeking to equip Christians for work in
selected "strategic career paths" where Christians are typically
under-represented was also the goal of the Harvey Fellows Program,
launched in 1991and fully funded by the Mustard Seed Foundation. The
fellowships, in the form of $12,000 scholarships renewable for up to two
additional years, are awarded to college graduates who are enrolled in the
best graduate programs in their field. An annual Harvey Fellows' week-long
summer institute is hosted at the Council's headquarters.
Adding further to the global dimensions of
Augsburger's contributions to the Council was the establishment in the
fall of 1993 of the Middle East Studies Program (MESP) in Cairo. Emerging
from four years of discussion and collaboration, including a 1991 faculty
workshop on "The Muslim World in the Christian College Classroom," the
MESP has been directed since its inception by Cliff Gardner, formerly with
the American University of Cairo. In total, 89 students from 34 member
institutions have participated in the MESP.
Similarly, in January of 1994 the new Russian
Studies Program was launched as an outgrowth of the Russian Initiative.
Director Harley Wagler oversees the program, which is based in Nizhni
Novgorod but also allows students to spend time in Moscow and St.
Petersburg. A total of 62 students from 29 institutions have participated
in the RSP thus far.
In September of 1993, Augsburger announced his
decision to conclude his Council leadership and turn his attention to a
new phase of ministry effective June 30, 1994. The Search Committee's work
was completed by the 1994 Annual Meeting, where Robert Andringa was
announced as the incoming president of the Council. Founder and president
of CEO Dialogues, Andringa brought strong non-profit experience and an
extensive knowledge of higher education policy and government relations,
having served on the House Committee on Education and Labor and as the
executive director of the Education Commission of the States.
The Andringa Years...
Stressing "quality, relevance and unity,"
Andringa began work at the Council on July 1 of 1994. His immediate goals
were to strengthen the infrastructure of the Council and to build a wider
base of awareness, political support and financial support within the
evangelical community for Christian higher education. Working with the
board of directors, a new Standing Policies Manual was developed and a
system of advisory "councils" and board "committees" was implemented to
provide clarity to the Council's organizational structure.
Within the early months of Andringa's
presidency, two significant new projects received grant support. A
three-year project entitled "Taking Values Seriously: Assessing the
Mission of Church-Related Higher Education" was supported by a $222,000
award from the Fund for theImprovement of Postsecondary Education; 50
member institutions began collaborative work on a study of freshmen,
seniors, faculty and alumni. Supportive funding was also included for a
series of national and regional assessment conferences over the grant
period. Also launched in his first year was a $200,000 Pew-supported
"Global Stewardship Project" that involves 17 member institutions in a
series of conferences and interdisciplinary projects.
Fall of 1994 saw not only the release of the
fourth edition of Choose A Christian College byPeterson's but also the
first edition of a new resource, Research on Christian Higher Education,a
venture co-sponsored by the Council and Messiah College (PA). In addition,
work began in 1995 on a summer institute funded by Fieldstead, "Capstone
in the Capital," which involved a dozen student newspaper editors in a
month-long program of interaction with top journalists from Washington,
D.C. and across the country. An Executive Leadership Development Project
also received grant support in the summer of 1995. Designed to strengthen
and equip new presidents, chief academic officers and potential academic
leaders, the project involves summer institutes for those new to academic
leadership and a two-year mentoring process.
Council membership reached 90 member
institutions at the 1995 Annual Meeting, with the addition of Southwest
Baptist University (MO). Also breaking new ground at the meeting was the
decision of the board to change the organization's name to the Council for
Christian Colleges & Universities to more accurately reflect the
organization's membership and purpose. In addition, a new category was
created for "non-member Affiliate" institutions from around theworld that
share a similar commitment to offering Christ-centered higher education.
Technology, with all of its complexity and
potential, emerged in 1995 as one of the major priorities of the Council.
A survey of member institutions in April of 1995 for a cover story in
Christianity Today concluded that the majority of colleges were already
linked to the Internet and that others would soon be coming "on line." A
co-sponsored conference in October of 1995 at Cedarville College (OH) on
the topic of "Campus Networking" drew 125 participants from 52 colleges. A
pre-conference meeting at Cedarville led to the decision to develop a
Council Web site through Gospel Communications Network, thus opening the
opportunity for a collective presence for the 90 member colleges on the
Web and for various "discussion groups" among administrative and faculty
colleagues.
The consummate networker, Andringa has
encouraged the Council to partner wherever win-win relationships can be
established. The Cedarville technology conference, the Eastern College
(PA) co-sponsorship of activities through the Center for Christian Women
in Leadership, and other similar initiatives are focused on tapping
expertise within the Body of Christ for the benefit of all member
institutions. The first two Presidents' Dialogues, informal opportunities
for presidents and spouses to share concerns over the period of a few days
together, proved to be enormously successful; two additional Dialogues are
planned for the summer of 1996.
Using expertise and contacts made during his
years of working for Congress and governors,Andringa increased the
Council's involvement in the D.C. higher education community and its work
to protect student aid appropriations, sort out accreditation issues, etc.
The Council soldits adjacent townhouse and nearby DeArmond House as part
of its consolidation efforts and to solidify its financial health.
At the commissioning service for Andringa in
July of 1994, Senate Chaplain Richard C. Halverson affirmed the work of
the Council as an organization that "stands clearly in honoring Christ."
Perhaps never in history has there been a more opportune time for
Christian higher education to bear witness in the midst of cultural
malaise. According to Halverson, "This is your moment in human history."
All those involved with the Council's first twenty years are grateful to
God for the privilege of serving in this corner of the vineyard. Looking
back, much has already been accomplished:
- Close to 100 colleges and universities have
joined together around the common commitment to Christ-centered higher
education, achieving what no individual institution could accomplish
alone;
- In total, 2,388 students have benefitted
from participation in the Council's semester programs. Many others have
participated in various student exchange programs and cooperative
programs;
- Annual conferences for administrative and
faculty development have served approximately 3,000 participants;
- Several million dollars in grant support
from foundations and corporations has been directed through the Council
toward our member institutions as various projects have focused on
equipping the next generation for service and for leadership. This is
missions, in the highest sense of missions. Helping students to catch a
vision of being "the presence of Christ" wherever their lives may take
them.
To God be the glory! Great things He has done...
Jan 1997
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