Southeastern University of the Assemblies of God
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| Motto | Transforming Minds. Engaging Culture. |
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| Type | Private |
| Established | 1935 |
| Affiliation | Assemblies of God |
| Chancellor | Tommy Barnett |
| President | Kent J. Ingle |
| Provost | William C. Hackett |
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Academic staff
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165 |
| Students | 7,000 |
| Location | Lakeland, Florida, U.S. |
| Campus | 88 acres (360,000 m2) |
| Colors | Black, Red |
| Nickname | Fire |
| Mascot | Scorch |
| Website | www |
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Southeastern University is a private Christian liberal arts university in Lakeland, Florida, United States. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama, as Southeastern Bible Institute, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became a liberal arts college in 1970. The school has six colleges and is the largest Assemblies of God educational institution in the United States. It offers 55 bachelor’s degrees, 16 master's degrees, and two doctoral degrees. Since President Kent J. Ingle came to Southeastern in 2011, the university has launched 80 extension sites across the nation, an increase from the previous year’s 50 extension sites. The sites are in 29 states, including Florida, which has 19. The degrees offered at the sites include a variety of associate, bachelor's, and a master’s degree in ministry and leadership.
Southeastern University was founded in 1935 by Assemblies of God Alabama District Superintendent J.C. Thames and other Southeastern district leaders as the Alabama Shield of Faith Institute and was later renamed the South-Eastern Bible Institute (SEBI) in 1936. Originally located in a former high school building in New Brockton, Alabama, it opened its doors to students on November 4, 1935, under the direction of four faculty members. Two years later, in May 1937, the first graduation exercises were held. Seventeen students received diplomas for the two-year academic program.
SEBI continued classes in New Brockton until 1940 when a decision was made to consolidate the school with Beulah Heights Bible Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. The school was known from 1940 to 1942 as the Beulah Heights—South-Eastern Bible Institute. In the fall of 1942, the district superintendents of the Southeastern districts accepted the invitation of the Rev. Ralph Byrd and his congregation to move the school to another location in Atlanta where it was once again renamed SEBI. In 1946, the school’s board of directors voted to secure a permanent location for the full development of the school. A new campus location was purchased later that year in Lakeland, Florida. The Atlanta campus was sold, and development of the new site began. Student body growth continued at the new central Florida campus along with the academic program.
SEBI became South-Eastern Bible College in 1956 when the school began offering four-year, bachelor’s degree programs. After adding education degrees, the college’s board of directors changed the school name to Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in 1977. In 1986, Southeastern was granted regional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Accreditation was reaffirmed in 1991, 2001, and 2011. In 2005, Southeastern College officially became Southeastern University, and began offering its first master's degree programs, and formed the colleges of arts and sciences, business, Christian ministries and religion, and education. Since then, the university has also formed the colleges of behavioral and social sciences and natural and health sciences. In 2014, it began its first doctoral program, the EdD.
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