Motto | Above All Give Glory to God |
---|---|
Type | Private |
Established | February 25, 1908 |
Affiliation | Non-denominational, Evangelical Christian |
Endowment | $105.4 million |
President | Barry H. Corey, Ph.D |
Provost | Deborah Taylor |
Academic staff
|
475 |
Undergraduates | 4,011 |
Postgraduates | 1,308 |
Location | La Mirada, CA, USA |
Campus | Suburban, 96 acres (39 ha) |
Colors | Pantone 186 (Red), Black and White |
Nickname | Eagles |
Affiliations |
CCCU GSAC |
Website | www.biola.edu |
Biola University is a private, Evangelical Christian university and is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) from downtown Los Angeles, in La Mirada, California. Founded in 1908, the university has over 40 major academic fields of study in six schools.
Biola University was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute Of Los Angeles by Lyman Stewart, president of the Union Oil Company of California (subsequently known as Unocal and later purchased by the Chevron Corporation), Thomas C. Horton, a Presbyterian minister and Christian author, and Augustus B. Prichard, also a Presbyterian minister.
In 1912, the school appointed R. A. Torrey as dean, and in 1913 began construction on a new building at the corner of Sixth and Hope St., in downtown Los Angeles, which included a 3,500-seat auditorium, two large neon signs on top of the building proclaiming "Jesus Saves", and a set of eleven bells on which hymns were played three times each day. These early leaders wanted the school to focus on the training of students in the Bible and missions, rather than a broad approach to Christian education that was typical of most Christian liberal arts colleges. The Institute offered a diploma after completion of a two-year curriculum. This model was based largely on the Moody Bible Institute. Beginning in the 1920s, attempts were made to broaden the curriculum, but it was not until 1949 that the institution took the name "Biola College" and 1981 when it was renamed "Biola University". Biola re-located to La Mirada, California in 1959.
In 1915 Torrey announced plans to organize an independent church that would meet in Biola's auditorium called the Church of the Open Door. This decision proved controversial with local Presbyterian and Baptist clergy.
In 1917, the Institute published a four-volume version of The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth (a series of essays affirming conservative Protestant beliefs), edited by Torrey and others, with funds donated by Lyman Stewart and his brother Milton.