- Gordon College (Massachusetts)
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This article is about the private college. For public institution of higher education, see Gordon College (disambiguation).
Gordon College 
Seal of Gordon CollegeEstablished 1889 Type Private Religious affiliation Non-denominational Endowment $27,059,080 President D. Michael Lindsay 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°WCoordinates: 42°35′23″N 70°49′22″W / 42.589780°N 70.822880°WCampus 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 (1962-1970) Colors Navy blue and white Athletics ECAC, NCAA (TCCC) Sports Baseball, basketball, cross-country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor), and volleyball Nickname Fighting Scots 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 Protestant.
Contents
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]
Organization
As a product of its Baptist heritage, Gordon is largely evangelical and Protestant, but not tied to one Christian denomination. Students are required to be professing Christians to attend the school,[4] and faculty are required to sign that they agree with the college's own statement of faith.[5][6] The school has a semester system divided into quads and a 4-week long May term.
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] It offers undergraduate degrees from 38 majors and 42 concentrations.[9] Gordon offers both a graduate degree in education and music. The Graduate Education program offers M.A.T., M.Ed., and C.A.G.S degrees. The Graduate Music program offers a M.M.Ed.degree, Licensure-only options, and workshops. [10]
Student life
There were a total of 1,599 student enrolled at Gordon College in 2011, of whom 1,514 were undergraduates.[11]
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). Many other outreach programs are led by Gordon College, based in other sites, such as Lynn, MA, where the school has several partners for community development. Several student-led groups organize spring break, winter break and summer break community service trips and mission trips to different sites around the country and the globe.
Religion
Students who attend the college must be Christians and are asked to fill out a Statement of Faith.[12] 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[13] and has a dorm visitation policy that allows for male-female visitation only during particular hours.[14] Chapel is offered on Mondays and Wednesdays while an academic convocation takes place on Fridays; attendance is required to graduate.[15]
Notable persons
Alumnus Christian Smith is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. Former Gordon College president Harold Ockenga was a leading figure of 20th century American evangelicalism, part of the reform movement known as "Neo-Evangelicalism". Alumnus Pete Holmes is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and cartoonist. Thomas Howard, writer and scholar, is a notable former faculty member who was "obliged to resign" after converting to Catholicism.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d American universities and colleges: a dictionary of name changes by Alice H. Songe. Rowman & Littlefield (1978), p. 79
- ^ A. J. Gordon Heritage Project at Gordon College
- ^ a b c d History at Gordon College
- ^ Assumptions and Principles
- ^ Staff Application for Gordon College
- ^ Faculty Handbook for Gordon College
- ^ Details on Gordon College, NEASC
- ^ a b Stats and Facts
- ^ Academics
- ^ http://www.gordon.edu/graduate
- ^ National Center for Education Statistics: Gordon College
- ^ Assumptions and Principles of the Gordon College community
- ^ Summary of Behavioural Expectations at Gordon College
- ^ Residence Life Information and Policies
- ^ Chapel Attendance Policy at Gordon College
- ^ "L'affaire Hochschild and Evangelical Colleges: Is a Catholic out of place on Wheaton's faculty?" by Thomas Albert Howard. Books and Culture: A Christian Review.
External links
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Categories:- Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
- Universities and colleges in Massachusetts
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges
- Nondenominational Christian universities and colleges
- Christian College Consortium
- Educational institutions established in 1889
- Council of Independent Colleges
- National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities members
- Liberal arts colleges
- Wenham, Massachusetts
- Universities and colleges in Essex County, Massachusetts
- Members of the Annapolis Group
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