Ridley College (Melbourne)

Ridley College is an Evangelical theological college of the Anglican Church of Australia affiliated with the Australian College of Theology. It is situated in Parkville, an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. It had been well known for its affiliation with the University of Melbourne in the past.

Ridley is located near the centre of Melbourne. It is close to the University of Melbourne and the Joint Theological Library and next to the Church Missionary Society's Federal Training College (St Andrew's Hall). The campus itself contains a mixture of buildings: some dormitories specifically for the residential college and others are classrooms set aside for theological students.

Prior to 2008 Ridley was a residential college for students attending Melbourne University.

History

Ridley was founded in 1910 as a place of both theological education and university residence. It was formally affiliated with the University of Melbourne in 1966 and, in 1972, became the first of the university's colleges to house both men and women.

The theological college has committed itself to the formation and equipping of students for ordination in the Anglican Church, or wider Christian ministry, in both their thinking and their characters. Graduates serve in formal and informal ministry capacities around the world.

Named for the sixteenth-century English martyr, Nicholas Ridley, Ridley's reputation has been bolstered by its prominent principals, including the well-known New Testament scholar Leon Morris (1914–2006, Principal 1964–1979). [Ridley College: "History of Ridley", http://www.ridley.unimelb.edu.au/study/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=214&op=page. Ridley College, 2007]

Residential college: 1910-2005, 2006-2007

The Ridley Residential College, like many of the residential colleges clustered around the northern periphery of the University of Melbourne, used to provide various academic, social and religious programs for the residential students. Due to rising costs the residential college was closed in 2005. It reopened as a temporary specialty residential college providing accommodation specifically for international students in 2006. The majority of residents of Ridley College for that period were international students of the University of Melbourne, RMIT University and Monash University (Parkville Campus). The residential college was closed at the end of 2007.

Residential students were housed in the L shaped Baker building and the Alckin building which runs parallel to Mile Lane.

ervices and facilities

In the dining hall for residential students, food was served three times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was a common room in which college members can play table tennis, pool and watch television. [ [http://www.ridley.unimelb.edu.au/live/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=212&op=page Ridley College: Live: Rooms and Facilities: Common Rooms] ] Residential College members could also cook in the common room.

Theological college

Leon Morris

Leon Lamb Morris (March 15, 1914 — July 24, 2006) was a New Testament scholar, warden of Tyndale House, Principal of Ridley College and visiting professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (USA). He wrote a number theological works and commentaries on the Bible, notable among them are The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross; The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance; New Testament Theology; The Gospel According to John; and The Gospel According to Matthew.

Administration

Ridley is governed by a council made of clergy and lay people from a variety of backgrounds. Mr Richard Prideaux is the current chair of the council. The current principal of the College itself is the Revd Canon Peter Adam. Administrative staff include a registrar, secretarial staff and business manager among others. [Ridley College: "Ridley College: Student Manual 2007", page 17. Ridley College, 2007]

Ridley College may soon be ceasing its residential role. Its affiliation with the University of Melbourne was terminated in July 2007. [ [http://www.unimelb.edu.au/Council/minutes/jul07.html University of Melbourne Council Meeting No 6/07] Resolution 9.3] .

Ridley college is part of the Australian College of Theology (ACT). It is a government recognised tertiary institution which makes most degrees eligible for Fee Help.

Academic resources

Ridley College Bookshop

Located on campus at Ridley College, Ridley College Bookshop is a theological bookshop strongly linked to the academic community. The bookshop carries titles from all the major and independent and family publishers and focuses on providing a wide range of theological titles, with an emphasis on Scripture commentaries, Bible background and ministry needs. It also provides a wide variety of titles on Christian spirituality, church history and books for children.

Leon Morris Library

The Ridley College Library, named after the late Leon Morris, holds 44,000 volumes and 150 periodicals. The library is part of the Stanway building and sits above the bookshop and contains study areas and catalogue access.

eRidley

At the beginning of 2007 Ridley launched a distance education program. The program continues to offer new units online each year.

tudent culture, services and facilities

Theological students dine on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the dining hall next to the Betteridge room. The ground floor of Wade Lounge, until the end of 2007, was set aside for student recreation. It contains a kitchen, lounge area and pool table. The student recreation area is now located on the ground floor of the Bearham building. The Theological Student Association takes part in organising chapel and social events and also runs a student newsletter. At lunch times and during study breaks students can often be found inside Café Red on the opposite side of Walker Street.

Faculty

Along with nearly a dozen visiting faculty the ten faculty members are: [Ridley College: "Ridley College: Student Manual 2007", page 15. Ridley College, 2007]

*The Revd Dr Peter Adam: Principal, Theology and Preaching
*The Revd Rhys Bezzant: Church History and Theology
*The Revd Dave Fuller: Youth and Children's Ministry
*The Revd Adrian Lane: Ministry Skills
*Mr Andrew Malone: New Testament, Greek and Online Program Supervisor
*The Revd Dr Doug McComiskey: New Testament and Postgraduate Supervisor
*The Revd Anthea McCall: New Testament
*The Revd Andrew Reid: Old Testament and Hermeneutics
*The Revd Richard Trist: Supervised Field Education
*The Revd Dr Lindsay Wilson: Vice-Principal, Old Testament and Hebrew

Notes

ee also

*Trinity Theological School, Melbourne
*Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
*Presbyterian Theological College
*Bible College of Victoria

External links

* [http://www.ridley.edu.au Ridley College]
* [http://bookshop.ridley.edu.au Ridley College Bookshop]