Gordon College

Gordon College
Seal of Gordon College
Established	1889
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	Evangelical
Endowment	$27,059,080
President	R. Judson Carlberg
Provost	Mark L. Sargent
Students	1,648
Undergraduates	1,529
Postgraduates	119
Location	Wenham, Massachusetts, United States 42°35′23″N 70°49′22″W / 42.589780°N 70.822880°W / 42.589780; -70.822880Coordinates: 42°35′23″N 70°49′22″W / 42.589780°N 70.822880°W / 42.589780; -70.822880
Campus	Rural
Former names	Gordon Bible Institute (1889-1916), Gordon Bible College (1916-1921), Gordon College of Theology and Missions (1921-1962), Gordon College and Divinity School (1962-19
Sports	Baseball, basketball, cross-country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor), and volleyball
Colors	Navy blue and white
Nickname	Fighting Scots
Athletics	ECAC, NCAA (TCCC)
Affiliations	Annapolis Group, CCCU, CCC, NEASC
Website	www.gordon.edu

Gordon College (GC) is a liberal arts college located on the former Princemere estate in Wenham, Massachusetts, northeast of Beverly. Founded by Baptist minister A. J. Gordon as a missionary training institute, the college is largely undergraduate and evangelical.

History

Adoniram Judson Gordon opened a Bible school named Gordon Bible Institute in the basement of his Baptist church in 1889^[1] to train Christian missionaries for work in the Belgian Congo.^[2] It was renamed Gordon Bible College in 1916^[1] and moved out of its church and Newton Theological Institution facilities to The Fenway, into a facility given by Martha Frost, in 1919.^[3] In 1921, it was renamed to Gordon College of Theology and Missions.^[1] In the early 1950s, a Gordon student named James Higginbotham approached Frederick H. Prince about selling his 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) estate to the college and, in 1955, Gordon moved to its Wenham campus.^[3] Gordon sold its old facilities to the Wentworth Institute of Technology, the Prince Memorial Chapel on the new campus (since razed) was named for Frederick Prince, and Prince's mansion was renamed Frost Hall after Martha Frost. In 1962, the school changed its name again to Gordon College and Divinity School.^[1] In 1970, the Gordon Divinity School separated from the college and merged with the Conwell School of Theology in Philadelphia, once part of Temple University to form the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.^[3] Then in 1985, Barrington College of Rhode Island went bankrupt and merged into Gordon College.^[3][4]

Organization

As a product of its Baptist heritage, Gordon is largely evangelical, but not tied to a Christian denomination. Faculty are required be Protestant and students are required to be professing Christians to attend the school.^[5][6]

Academic associations

Gordon is a member of the Annapolis Group and the Christian College Consortium. It is also a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). Gordon has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) since 1961.^[7] The music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and the social work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Its teacher education program is recognized by the Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under the Interstate Service Compact.^[8]

Academics

Gordon College offers the BA, BM, BS, MAT, MEd, and MMEd degrees.^[8]

Student life

There were a total of 1,648 student enrolled at Gordon College in 2007, of whom 1,529 were undergraduates.^[9]

Extracurriculars

Gordon College has a student association, student ministries, intramural sports, and a Campus Events Council. There are student-led community service and outreach organizations, ranging from drama troupes to Big Brothers Big Sisters and Habitat for Humanity. Varsity sports are NCAA Division III, The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Teams represent Gordon College in baseball, basketball, cross-country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor).

Christianity

Students who attend the college must be professing Christians and are asked to fill out a Statement of Faith.^[10] Students must also sign a Life and Conduct Statement agreeing to the standards of behavior that Gordon values. Gordon College prohibits alcohol, tobacco, and narcotic or hallucinogenic drugs on-campus^[11] and has a dorm visitation policy that allows for male-female visitation only during particular hours.^[12] Chapel is offered on Mondays and Wednesdays while an academic convocation takes place on Fridays; attendance is required to graduate.^[13] On Sunday nights, students are able to participate in Catacombs, a student-led worship service of quiet music in the darkened chapel.

References

External links

• Official website