Biola University

Biola's former Los Angeles building: under construction (top) and complete in 1916 (bottom): It was demolished in 1988, after damage in a 1987 earthquake . [ 2 ] Biola University was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles by Lyman Stewart , president of the Union Oil Company of California; [ 3 ] Thomas C. Horton, a Presbyterian minister and author; and Augustus B. Prichard, also a Presbyterian minister. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] In 1912, the institute appointed R. 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 large neon signs (added later) on top of the building proclaiming "Jesus Saves", and a carillon 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 and missions rather than the broad approach to Christian education typical of Christian liberal arts colleges. The institute offered a diploma after completion of a two-year curriculum. This model was based largely on the Moody 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 of The 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 entitled Peter 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 the Great 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 the Hunan Bible Institute in China, [ 20 ] a School of Business in 1993, [ 7 ] and a School of Education in 2007. [ 21 ] Presidents William P. White (1929–1932) Louis T. Talbot (1932–1935) Paul W. Rood (1935–1938) Louis T. Talbot (1938–1952) Samuel H. Sutherland (1952–1970) J. Richard Chase (1970–1982) Clyde Cook (1982–2007) Barry Corey (2007– )

The Word , mural by Kent Twitchell 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 on intelligent design . Later, Intervarsity Press published Mere 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 the Charles L. Feinberg Center for Messianic Jewish Studies in Manhattan . The center offers a master's degree in divinity in Messianic Jewish studies in cooperation with Chosen People Ministries . [ 29 ]