Motto | Walk a different path. |
---|---|
Type | Private, Nonprofit |
Established | 1913 |
Affiliation | Nondenominational Christian |
President | Todd J. Williams |
Academic staff
|
124 |
Students | 981 |
Undergraduates | 665 |
Postgraduates | 317 |
Location | Langhorne Manor, Pennsylvania, United States |
Campus | Suburban, 96 acres |
Colors | Crimson (Pantone 209), Black, & White |
Affiliations | Association for Biblical Higher Education, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, NCAA Division III |
Mascot | Highlanders |
Website | www |
Cairn University is a Christian university in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1913, the university has six schools: Divinity, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Music, and Social Work. All students take a minimum of 30 semester hours of Bible.
On July 8, 1913, W. W. Rugh founded the Bible Institute of Philadelphia as an extension of the National Bible Institute of New York. After teaching public school in his earlier days, Rugh spent several years walking a circuit to teach Bible classes throughout eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This led him to establish an institution where the Scriptures could be taught on a daily basis.
Around the same time, C. I. Scofield and William L. Pettingill, leading Bible teachers of their day, were holding a large conference in the Philadelphia area. Encouraged by numerous requests to establish a permanent school to continue teaching, the two men co-foundedPhiladelphia School of the Bible on October 1, 1914. Scofield, known internationally for his Bible teaching and his work on the Scofield Reference Bible, became the first president of PSOB and Pettingill was the first dean.
On October 8, 1921, Rugh's school became independent of the New York school and changed its name to Bible Institute of Pennsylvania (BIOPA).
Both BIOPA and PSOB focused on training lay people in the Scriptures for service in the church and their communities. No degrees were conferred.
In 1951, the two schools merged to become Philadelphia Bible Institute (PBI), located at the YWCA Building at 1800 Arch St. At the time of the merger, William A. Mierop from BIOPA was appointed president and Clarence E. Mason, Jr. from PSOB, academic dean. PBI offered a three-year Bible diploma. By 1958, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted the institute approval to offer a four-year program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Bible degree, and then changed its name to Philadelphia College of Bible. In 1967, the school received regional accreditation from the Middle States Association, becoming one of the first Bible colleges accredited by MSA.
During the 1970s, PCB continued to develop its academic offerings and was authorized to grant two additional degrees, the Bachelor of Music and the Bachelor of Social Work.
Students were required to take 55 credit hours of Bible, doctrine, and "Bible college distinctives" courses.