The King's College

"This article is about The King's College in New York. For other colleges with similar names, see King's College."

Infobox_University
name = The King's College


established = 1938
type = Private
endowment =
staff =
faculty =
president = Andy Mills
provost =Marvin Olasky
students = 200
undergrad =
postgrad =
doctoral =
profess =
city = New York
state = NY
country = United States
campus = The Empire State Building
free_label =
free =
colors = Blue
mascot =
nickname =
footnotes =
website = [http://www.tkc.edu www.tkc.edu]
coor =
logo =

The King's College is a four-year Christian institution of higher education with classrooms and offices in New York City's Empire State Building.

The King's College offers a curriculum founded in a common core which emphasizes writing, history, theology, philosophy, economics, and political theory. It offers Bachelor's Degrees in Business Management and Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) and is profiled in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute Guide to the top 50 American colleges.Fact|date=July 2008

History

Dr. Percy B. Crawford founded The King’s College in 1938 in Belmar, New Jersey. In 1955 he moved the college to the former Briarcliff Lodge site in Briarcliff Manor, New York. During its time in Briarcliff, The King's College sponsored the The King's Tournament, in which East Coast Christian colleges competed each year. [ [http://www.montreat.edu/Athletics/AthleticLinks/HallofFame/tabid/135/ctl/Details/mid/2364/ItemID/482/Default.aspx Montreat College Athletics Hall of Fame ] ] [http://www.montreat.edu/news/Reflection/REFLECTION99.pdf] Dr. Robert Cook and Dr. Friedhelm Radandt were the college’s second and third presidents. Financial difficulties forced the college to close in 1994, but in 1999 King's leased two floors of the Empire State Building in New York City and moved its campus there. On 1 January 2003 J. Stanley Oakes Jr. became the fourth president; five years later, Oakes became chancellor and Andy Mills became the fifth president.

Religious Affiliation

The King's College mission statement says, "Through its commitment to the truths of Christianity and a biblical worldview, The King’s College seeks to transform society by preparing students for careers in which they help to shape and eventually to lead strategic public and private institutions, and by supporting faculty members as they directly engage culture through writing and speaking publicly on critical issues." Faculty members sign a Christian statement of faith. King's encourages but does not require church attendance and stipulates that students who desire to be campus leaders should "manifest godly character." Students through an honor code pledge not to cheat, lie, or steal, but King's does not monitor their viewing or listening habits or require a particular style of dress.

Degree Programs

The King's College offers two distinct majors, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. The King’s PP&E program melds a prestigious program begun at Oxford University during the 1920sFact|date=July 2008 with an emphasis on a Christian worldview. Students read Plato and Aristotle, the Federalist Papers and Alexis de Tocqueville, Adam Smith and Milton Friedman. The emphasis is decidedly decentralist in politics, classical in philosophy, and free market (with biblical ethics) in economics. Students also take courses in theology and Western civilization. The curriculum places persuasive writing and speaking at the center of nearly every course.

The Business Management Program teaches King’s students not just the techniques of management, such as accounting and marketing, but also how to understand the social, political, and economic foundations of free markets. It is not enough for students to become wealthy: They must be equipped to act wisely in prosperity, face the ethical questions their success brings, and use what they have for the betterment of society. Faculty members include a venture capitalist, a former bank executive, and a Wall Street investment specialist. The program aims to prepare students to manage both profit and non-profit organizations.

Within the PPE program, students are able to pursue concentrations in literature, media, theology, and foundations of education. For example, media students learn about print, television and film products, and meet New York writers, editors, and TV and film producers. Literature students focus on reading original works by great writers. They learn to read, interpret, and grapple with the issues presented in the texts for themselves.

King’s allows students to gain academic credit for internships; King’s students have done internships year round at institutions such as NBC, ESPN, Sony, ABC, FOX News, and Oppenheimer. King’s also uses its central location and connections to bring in speakers and discussants, Christian and non-Christian, who connect theory with the world outside classroom walls. Authors regularly drop in for conversation with students and professors; late in 2007 Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens debated Christianity and atheism in a King’s event that not only drew students but hundreds of New Yorkers, plus the cameras of C-SPAN, FOX News, and many others.

The college is accredited by the New York State Board of Regents and is also currently undergoing accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

tudent Housing and Activities

Student housing is provided in two high-rise apartment buildings. One is located on the same block as the Empire State Building, on the east side of Herald Square, while the other is located three blocks North.

King’s also has many student groups, including The Artisan’s Guild, which puts on annual events showcasing student art and talent; BreadBreakers, which meets weekly for potluck-style dinners; The King's Dancers, which schedules dance practices, performances, and outings; and The King's College Film Society which gathers to watch and discuss thought-provoking and controversial films.

Other organizations include The King's Council, the King’s student government group; Student Voice, the King’s student newspaper; The King's College Intramural Table Tennis League; and The Tent, a voluntary, student-led Christian worship and prayer group.

Houses

All students enrolled at the college are divided into houses. Upper-classmen can assume leadership roles within their house, taking the role of President, Chamberlain, Helmsman, or Scholar. Each house is also assigned two faculty/staff members to serve as mentors and to help the houses accomplish their individual missions.

Houses are named after historic leaders. Current houses include:
* House of C. S. Lewis; [http://lewis.tkc.edu/ Visit the House of Lewis Website]
* House of Clara Barton
* House of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
* House of Elizabeth I
* House of Margaret Thatcher
* House of Ronald Reagan; [http://www.houseofreagan.com Visit the House of Reagan Website]
* House of Sojourner Truth
* House of Susan B. Anthony
* House of Winston Churchill; [http://churchill.tkc.edu Visit the House of Churchill Website]

Students typically develop strong ties within their houses, which help them connect in small groups, pray for each other, and work together to influence New York City by reaching out to local high schools, coordinating blood drives, or mentoring urban youth.

Criticism and response

In 2005 The King's College sought state reaccreditation but came under fire from State Board of Regents member John Brademas, who complained that the school was using the same name that current Columbia University had in the 18th century. King's received sympathetic coverage in The New York Post, the Village Voice, and other publications. The college also responded with a new emphasis on the intellectual breadth and power of scholarly approaches founded on the truths of Christianity and a biblical worldview. The Regents reaccredited it.

The King's College now emphasizes both "great ideas" and "great location." Among the better-known King’s faculty members are Marvin Olasky, the King’s provost who is also editor-in-chief of World magazine; Peter Kreeft, the well-published theologian; Udo Middelmann, head of the Francis Schaeffer Foundation; Anne Hendershott, author and urban affairs specialist; and Bret Schundler, the former Jersey City mayor and New Jersey Republican leader who founded the King’s Policy Center, which distributes podcasts of public policy speeches and author conversations.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.tkc.edu The King's College]
* [http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg01_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1950&previousPageSection=&popupNetCostDetail=falseundefined College Data Profile]
* [http://www.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz200504050746.asp Stanley Kurtz: National Review Online]