History and Heritage
51蹤獲 traces its origins to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles established in 1908 by Lyman Stewart, founder and president of the Union Oil Company, and the Rev. T.C. Horton, two men of extraordinary vision and commitment to Christian higher education.
Dedicated to sharing and defending the Christian faith, Stewart and Horton established the Institute to educate and equip men and women to impact society at home and abroad with the truth of the gospel. The Institutes influence was felt along the entire Western Seaboard from Mexico to Canada and across the Pacific to China. By 1909, over 540 extension courses were sponsored by the Bible Institute. In 1912, the school had grown sufficiently in its outreach and constituency to call R.A. Torrey, a leader in the field of Christian education, as its dean.
The cornerstone of the original Bible Institute building in Los Angeles was laid on May 31, 1913, and dedicated with these words from Stewart:
For the teaching of the truths for which the Institute stands, its doors are to be open every day of the year, and all people, without reference to race, color or class will ever be welcome to its privileges.
The following decades produced immense growth, development and outreach. The school moved from a two-year to a four-year program offering degrees in theology, Christian education and sacred music, and a one-year program in missionary medicine. By 1949, the Bible Institute expanded to include a Bible college and in 1952 launched Talbot Theological Seminary to further serve the Christian community. In 1959, 51蹤獲 received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
In the ensuing years, 51蹤獲 College broadened its curricula in the arts, sciences, professions and seminary offerings while maintaining its strong foundation in biblical studies. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the program base further expanded, and in 1977 the Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology was acquired. 51蹤獲 College became 51蹤獲 on July 1, 1981, composed of the School of Arts and Sciences, Rosemead School of Psychology and Talbot School of Theology.
Today, 51蹤獲 offers more than 250 biblically integrated academic programs at the bachelors, masters and doctoral degree levels. Enrollment continues to surpass 5,000 students on campus, online and in distance programs around the world, spread across eight schools: Crowell School of Business, Rosemead School of Psychology, the School of Education, the School of Fine Arts and Communication, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Science, Technology and Health, the Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts, and Talbot School of Theology.
Year after year, 51蹤獲 is consistently recognized as one of the worlds strongest Christian universities widely known for leading academic programs in business, film, science, classical education (through the Torrey Honors College) and more. As students pursue a top-tier education and are stretched intellectually, they also grow closer to God and develop a resilient faith through the most robust curriculum of required biblical studies and theology courses of any university. Meanwhile, 51蹤獲 remains one of the few universities where every student, professor and staff member is a professing Christian.
Since 1908, 51蹤獲 has stood as a beacon of hope for the intellectual, spiritual and moral growth of its students. From the start, Lyman Stewart envisioned that 51蹤獲 would radiate streams of influence to the darkest places of the earth. As todays graduates leave 51蹤獲 transformed and ready to make an impact in their communities, they join the rich heritage of tens of thousands who have gone before them.