Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
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| Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary |
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| Established: | 1969 |
| Type: | Seminary/Graduate school |
| Religious affiliation: | Non-Denominational Protestant |
| President: | Dennis P. Hollinger |
| Students: | 2,100 |
| Location: | South Hamilton, MA, USA Coordinates: 42°36′45″N 70°50′42″W / 42.61241°N 70.84512°W |
| Affiliations: | BTI |
| Website: | www.gcts.edu |
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is an interdenominational, theological seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with secondary campuses in Boston and in Charlotte, North Carolina, and with an extension site in Jacksonville, Florida.
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[edit] History
Gordon-Conwell was founded in 1969, with theologian Harold Ockenga as its first president.[1] It has a doubly-Baptist theological heritage: it is the product of a merger between Gordon Divinity School, formerly of Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, and the Conwell School of Theology, formerly of Temple University in Philadephia, Pennsylvania. Both Adoniram Judson Gordon and Russell Conwell were Baptist ministers; Gordon's divinity school was first established as the Boston Bible and Missionary Training School in 1889, while Conwell's theological school was originally chartered as Temple College in 1888.
Ockenga had wanted a strong evangelical voice in New England to contend with more liberal schools like Harvard and Boston University. With the financial backing of J. Howard Pew and the unifying influence of evangelist Billy Graham, Ockenga saw the two schools shed their theological and divinity schools and join them as Gordon-Conwell. Other former presidents include Robert Cooley (1981-1997), Walter Kaiser, Jr. (1997-2006), and James Emery White (2006-2007), and Haddon Robinson (acting, 2007-2008).[2]
[edit] Campuses
Altogether, Gordon-Conwell has over 2,000 students over four sites. The school's main 118-acre (0.48 km2) campus is in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. This campus offers a three-year full-time residential program.
Two secondary campuses exist in Boston and in Charlotte, North Carolina. The campus in Boston is known as the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME), and it is a program offered exclusively through part-time night and weekend classes. The Charlotte program is only offered part-time on weekends and generally attracts an older student body.
The newest extension site opened in 2006 and is located in Jacksonville, Florida.
[edit] Academics
The seminary offers over 19 degrees including the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theology (Th.M.), Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), and a wide range of specialized master's degrees.
[edit] Affiliations
The seminary has a Baptist heritage but has no specific Christian denominational affiliation. It is part of the Boston Theological Institute (BTI), a consortium of nine theological schools in the Greater Boston area.
[edit] Accreditation
Gordon-Conwell has been accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada since 1964[3] and by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges since 1985.[4] It is also certified by the United States Government for the training of veterans and the education of chaplains for military service.[5]
