Tyndale University College and Seminary

This article is about the university and seminary in Toronto, Ontario. For the unaccredited seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, see Tyndale Theological Seminary.

Tyndale University College and Seminary
Motto	Douloi Cristou
Motto in English	Servants of Christ
Established	1894
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	Transdenominational
Chancellor	(currently vacant)
President	Dr. Gary V. Nelson[1]
Students	1315
Undergraduates	604
Postgraduates	661
Doctoral students	50
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada Coordinates: 43°48′0″N 79°23′09″W / 43.8°N 79.38583°W / 43.8; -79.38583
Campus	Suburban
Colours	blue      and burgundy
Nickname	Talons
Affiliations	CBIE, ATS, CHEC
Website	www.tyndale.ca

Tyndale University College and Seminary is an accredited Christian institution of higher education in the Protestant Evangelical tradition located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Tyndale students come from over 40 different Christian denominations and more than 30 different ethnic groups^[2]. Tyndale offers undergraduate and graduate programs. A student residence is located on its main campus at 25 Ballyconner Court, Toronto.^[3]

History

The Toronto Bible Training School was founded in 1894 and soon changed its name to Toronto Bible College. It became the first permanent Canadian Bible school and only the third in North America.^[4] The founders' vision of TBC was to train laypeople as "Sunday School teachers, Pastors' Assistants, and as City, Home and Foreign Missionaries."^[5] The institution's leadership was largely Baptist and Presbyterian, but also included Methodists and Anglicans.^[6] The TBC graduation service was always a significant Toronto event, held initially at Massey Hall, and then moved to the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium to accommodate crowds as large as 6,000.^[7]

In the 1940s, the school's president, John McNicol, steered a path between modernism and ultra-fundamentalism (specifically dispensationalism)--both of which McNicol denounced as threats to the health of the church.^[8] This unique position gained TBC the support of evangelicals in a variety of mainline denominations.^[9]

In 1968, Toronto Bible College merged with the London College of Bible and Missions from London, Ontario. LCBM began in 1935 as London Bible Institute, led by Dr. J. Wilmot Mahood. The newly merged institution was named Ontario Bible College (OBC). This merger brought more students to the Toronto-based institution from other evangelical denominations including the Associated Gospel Churches, the Brethren, and the Mennonite Brethren.^[10] In 1976 OBC relocated to a former Jesuit seminary (Regis College) in Willowdale, Toronto (formerly City of North York), designed by modernist architect Peter Dickinson. In the same year, the institution also established a graduate school named Ontario Theological Seminary (OTS). OBC/OTS was given degree granting powers by the Government of Ontario in 1986,^[11] and received full accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools in 1989.^[12]

By 1995, the institution had become insolvent and filed to make a proposal to creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act in Canada. A new president, Brian Stiller,^[13] and CFO, Winston Ling,^[14] were brought on and a new board was chosen. In 1998 the school was renamed Tyndale College and Seminary after William Tyndale, a Reformation theologian of the sixteenth century. The leadership intended the name change to indicate their vision to build "a world-class centre of Christian higher education in Canada."^[15]

William Tyndale

In 2003, the Ontario Legislature authorized Tyndale to change its name to Tyndale University College & Seminary. Tyndale was also given the right to confer the Bachelor of Arts degree in the humanities, social sciences and business, as well as undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level degrees in religion, theology, and divinity.^[16] On December 5, 2007, Tyndale was given ministerial consent by the Province of Ontario to offer a 12-month Bachelor of Education program to prepare teachers for primary, junior, and intermediate grades.^[17]

In June 2006, Tyndale entered into an agreement to acquire a neighboring facility, St. Joseph's Morrow Park, from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto.^[18] A key reason for Vatican approval of the pending transfer of the campus from Catholic to Protestant hands was Tyndale's commitment to maintain the aesthetically significant chapel as "sacred space".^[19] The facility transfer will be implemented over a period of up to ten years.^[20]

St. Joseph's Morrow Park, Tyndale's future Bayview Ave. Campus‎

In the 2009-10 academic year, Tyndale Seminary was the largest accredited seminary (by head-count) in Canada with more than 650 students^[21] and the University College received high rankings in the 2009 Maclean's University issue's measure of student satisfaction (see below).^[22] In 2011, student satisfaction was amongst the highest of all Canadian universities.^[23] While students ranked the quality of teaching and classroom discussion above average,^[24] the Maclean's study also found the institution below average in some educational practices, including active and collaborative learning.^[25]

Academics

Undergraduate

The university college offers the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Religious Education, and Bachelor of Education.

The four-year Bachelor of Arts offers an integrative Great Books program in its first year. Majors in business administration, English, history, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies receive a foundation of general knowledge before moving on to their areas of specialization. Tyndale offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in human services conjointly with Seneca College, which allows a student to earn a BA degree from Tyndale plus a diploma in either early childhood education or social service work from Seneca. Graduates of the twelve-month BEd program are eligible for a Certificate of Qualification from the Ontario College of Teachers. The Bachelor of Religious Education (BRE) is a three-year professional degree for students preparing for various forms of Christian ministry. Tyndale also offer a one-year Certificate in Christian Studies.

In 2008 Tyndale received the top score in the Canadian University Survey Consortium survey of students who agreed or strongly agreed that they are satisfied with the quality of teaching they have received; the results were subsequently published in the Maclean's 2009 University issue.^[26] Tyndale also ranked first overall in the number of students who strongly agreed that they are satisfied with their "decision to attend this university".^[27]

Seminary

The seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and approved to grant the following graduate degrees: Doctor of Ministry, Master of Theology, Master of Divinity, and Master of Theological Studies. In addition, Tyndale Seminary also offers graduate diploma programs in six areas of concentration: Christian studies, leadership, missions, pastoral and Chinese ministry foundations, spiritual formation, and youth and family ministry. The seminary offers courses in the traditional day and evening format and online.

Tyndale Seminary offers all of the courses required by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy for certification as a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist.^[28] Graduates of this program can move toward credentialing in the Province of Ontario to offer psychotherapy in agencies (secular or Christian) or in private practice.^[29]

In 2006, an agreement was reached with the Association of Canadian Chinese Theological Education to establish the Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Tyndale Seminary (CCSTTS) for the training of Mandarin-speaking students and pastors.^[30]

Centres

Tyndale Seminary houses three centres: the Hudson Taylor Centre for Chinese Ministries, the Tyndale Centre for Leadership, and the Tyndale Intercultural Ministries Centre. The Hudson Taylor Centre for Chinese Ministries, named after Hudson Taylor, has a mission to advance Chinese ministries in North America and around the world.^[31] The Tyndale Centre for Leadership is mandated to foster the development of Canadian Christian leaders in congregational contexts, Christian organizations, the marketplace and public sectors. The Tyndale Intercultural Ministries Centre's mandate is to link a vast network of local churches, denominations and mission organizations, in partnership with church and para-church organizations by offering training seminars and professional development workshops.^[32] The seminary is also home of the Tyndale Association of Spiritual Directors.^[33]

Accreditation

Tyndale University College and Seminary is fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada to award its graduate theological degrees.^[34] The University is also accredited with the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities,^[35] as well as the Association for Biblical Higher Education.^[36] Tyndale is an affiliate of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities^[37] and the Christian Higher Education Canada (CHEC) association.^[38]

Alumni

Tyndale University College and Seminary and its predecessor institutions have had more than 9,000 alumni.^[39] Notable alumni include:

• Grove, Merlin (1929–1962), farmer, missionary, and martyr
• Smith, Oswald J. (1889–1986), pastor, author and missions advocate
• Zacharias, Ravi (b. 1946), apologist and evangelist

References

1. ^ D. Koop, "Incoming Tyndale president surprised, equipped, eager," Christian Week, March 1, 2010.
2. ^ Cf. About Tyndale, (official webpage).
3. ^ http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/lists/itrp/6921.html Ontario University Residences list
4. ^ Cf. R. G. Sawatsky, Bible Schools, The Canadian Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. (1988), p. 212; also W. Unger and G. Niebuhr, Bible Colleges and Institutes, Global Anabaptist-Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, 1990.
5. ^ John Stackhouse, Jr., Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century: An Introduction to Its Character (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1998), 55. Early key supporters included Toronto Mayor William Holmes Howland and Elmore Harris, first President of TBC and heir to the Massey-Harris Company.
6. ^ Cf. Stackhouse, Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century, 55.
7. ^ Cf. Stackhouse, Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century, 58, with reference to graduation in 1937.
8. ^ Stackhouse, Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century, 61-64.
9. ^ George A. Rawlyk and Mark A. Noll, Amazing Grace: Evangelicalism in Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1994), 337.
10. ^ Cf. Stackhouse, Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century, ch. 7; cf. also Timothy Larsen and Jon Vickery, For Christ in Canada: a history of Tyndale Seminary, 1976-2001 (Toronto: Tyndale University College and Seminary, 2004).
11. ^ Province of Ontario, An Act respecting the Ontario Bible College and Ontario Theological Seminary, 1986 and 1982, Bill PR18, 1986.
12. ^ George Rawlyk, The Canadian Protestant Experience, 1760-1990 (Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1993), 231.
13. ^ Jim Cantelon, "From Bankruptcy to Higher Education: Interview with Brian Stiller, June 2009.
14. ^ John T. Zietlow, "Green Eyeshades Give Way to the Ministry's Executive Suite: The CFO Role as turnaround strategist," Christian Leadership Alliance, 2007.
15. ^ Cf. Government of Ontario, Tyndale College & Seminary Act, 2003.
16. ^ Province of Ontario, Tyndale College & Seminary Act, 2003; also Province of Ontario, Tyndale University College & Seminary Act, 2005; and Tyndale University College & Seminary Act, 2005.
17. ^ John Milloy, Minister of Education, Province of Ontario, Letter to Dr. Earl Davey, Provost, Tyndale University College and Seminary, Dec. 5, 2007.
18. ^ Patricia Paddy, Tyndale expands its territory: Catholic convent purchased for $40 million, Christian Week, July 21, 2006.
19. ^ Lloyd Mackey, Ottawa Watch, Canadian Christianity, October 26, 2006.
20. ^ Tyndale University College & Seminary Expands onto Bayview Avenue, Tyndale Connection, 12, no. 2 (Fall 2006): 1; cf. also Tyndale press release, June 24, 2010: Tyndale and the Toronto Catholic District School Board finalize moving date.
21. ^ Member Schools Offering Approved Degrees, Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.
22. ^ 2009 Student Surveys: Small schools excel, Canada lags behind the U.S. and the undergrad revolution, Maclean's, Feb. 4, 2009.
23. ^ 2011 Student Surveys: Complete Results, Maclean's, February 28, 2011; 2011 Web-exclusive charts, Maclean's, February 24, 2011.
24. ^ [1], Maclean's, February 24, 2011.
25. ^ 2011 Student Surveys: NSSE benchmarks, Maclean's, March 14, 2011.
26. ^ 2009 Student Surveys: Small schools excel, Canada lags behind the U.S. and the undergrad revolution, Maclean's, Feb. 4, 2009.
27. ^ Ibid.
28. ^ Ontario Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
29. ^ Master of Divinity: Counselling Major, Academic Calendar, Tyndale Seminary.
30. ^ Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Tyndale Seminary, Official website; also First Chinese Seminary in Canada to Equip Chinese Leaders for World Mission, Young Disciples of Jesus.
31. ^ Hudson Taylor Centre for Chinese Ministries (Official Website).
32. ^ Cf. Tyndale Intercultural Ministries (TIM) Centre webpage.
33. ^ Tyndale Association of Spiritual Directors webpage.
34. ^ "Member Schools: Tyndale University College and Seminary". Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. http://www.ats.edu/MemberSchools/Pages/SchoolDetail.aspx?ID=528. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
35. ^ Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Privately Funded Ontario Institutions with Degree-Granting Authority.
36. ^ Association for Biblical Higher Education.
37. ^ Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
38. ^ Members, Christian Higher Education Canada.
39. ^ Cf. About Tyndale, (official webpage).

External links

• Official website

Christianity portal