Briercrest Family of Schools
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The Briercrest College and Seminary is a group of related Christian educational organizations in Saskatchewan, Canada. They include Briercrest College and Seminary, Caronport High School, and Briercrest Distance Learning. The college is accredited by The Association for Biblical Higher Education.[1]
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[edit] History
In the early 1920s, Annie (Copland) Hillson led a home Bible study in the village of Briercrest, Saskatchewan, with a friend who was shut in due to poor health. The study soon grew to include several members of the community who enjoyed solid Bible teaching from visiting preachers and community women, including Mrs. Hillson and Mrs. Isabel Whittaker. Eventually the group formed a new church, the Briercrest Gospel Assembly.
The people needed a pastor to lead the church and the Bible school they felt God calling them to open. A name that was brought forth time and time again was Henry Hildebrand, a young 23-year old man. At the time Henry was a student at Winnipeg Bible Institute and a circuit riding preacher with Canadian Sunday School Mission (CSSM).
Mr. Sinclair Whittaker, one of the believers at Briercrest, was a successful businessman and a member of the provincial legislature. He took it upon himself to contact Henry, informing him of their need for a pastor and their desire to open a Bible school. They had consulted many highly respected Christian leaders about the idea, but received discouragement from them all, but eventually Hildebrand agreed to join them at Briercrest.
Briercrest Bible Institute opened its doors on October 19, 1935, and 11 students enrolled. A rented house served as dormitory, classroom, and office for the school. Mr. Hildebrand was principal and Mrs. Annie Hillson, Mrs. Isabel Whittaker, Jean Whittaker, and Margaret Rusk helped with teaching and administration. Donald McMillan joined them in the second term as assistant principal. By January 1946, the student body had grown so much that the school rented all the available space in Briercrest, including the disused Yale Hotel. About six months before the end of the war, knowing that enrollment would go up when the soldiers returned home, Mr. Whittaker said to Mr. Hildebrand, "Henry, from all I know, an airport is what we will need after the war. Let us pray that God will give one of them to us."
Mr. Whittaker used his experience in business and politics to arrange the purchase of Royal Airforce Base #33 in Caron for $50,000—five percent of its value. The new facility was dedicated on July 1, 1946, and the incredible task of converting the airbase into dormitories, classrooms, offices, and staff housing began.
Caronport High School opened in September 1946, and a grade school also began that year. Enrollment grew in all of the schools and many new buildings (named after the pioneers who helped build the ministry of Briercrest) were constructed to accommodate the growing student body. The late 1960s were hard times for the schools as enrollment declined for five consecutive years, the farm economy was in recession, and even Christian people seemed to question the value of Christian education.
In the early 1970s, the schools began to recognize the need for academic credibility. Briercrest became a candidate for accreditation with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (now the Association for Biblical Higher Education) in 1973, and earned full accreditation in 1976. Substantial investment was made in the library and the number of books grew from 9000 in 1971 to over 30,000 volumes in 1985 (and 71,000 today). In 1979, a distance learning program was launched. In 1982, the name Briercrest Bible Institute was changed to Briercrest Bible College. The seminary began in 1983 and by 1985, faculty members had an average of 8.6 years of post-secondary training. All of these developments were coupled with aggressive expansion of academic programs. College enrollment grew significantly from 285 in 1970 to 775 in 1985.
In the past twenty years, the schools have continued to pursue academic credibility and program quality. There have also been continued efforts to clarify the identity of the schools, which are now known as Briercrest College and Seminary, and their sister school, Caronport High School. The mission statement of Briercrest College and Seminary is:
"A community of rigorous learning that calls students to seek the kingdom of God, to be shaped profoundly by the scriptures, and to be formed spiritually and intellectually for lives of service."
Evangelism and mission outreach have always been central to the life and training of Briercrest. From the first year, staff and students have gone out from Briercrest to bring the gospel to the nations. Briercrest's first alumni missionary, Reg Glen, was both a member of the first graduating class and a faculty member. He and his wife, Kay, sailed for Southern Rhodesia, Africa, in October 1941. Today Briercrest has over 19,000 alumni serving God in 75 countries around the world.
Throughout their 72-year history, Briercrest has had 5 presidents: Henry Hildebrand (1935-1977); Henry Budd (1977-1990); John Barkman (1990-1996); Paul Magnus (1996-2004); and Dwayne Uglem (2004-present)—Sinclair Whittaker served as president of the board until 1950.
[edit] Governance
The Board: The governance of Briercrest College and Seminary is vested in the 25-member Board of Directors who ensure that operational policies contribute to the guidance, empowerment, growth, and direction of the senior leadership and staff, while ensuring the health and mission of the schools. Future Presidents
President’s Cabinet
- Dwayne Uglem, Ed. D., President - Merrill Dyck, M.A., Vice President of Finance and Operations - Wes Olmstead, Ph. D., Vice President of Academics - Glenn Runnalls, M.A., Dean of Students - Wayne Durksen, M.A., Vice President of Advancement
Chancellor: Dr. John Barkman, Ph. D., D.D. John Krahn, Ph. D., Chairman of the Board
[edit] Student Life
Dormitories at Briercrest College and Seminary have a rich history of being named after people who have had significant impact throughout the history of the schools. Current dormitories at Briercrest include:
- Isabel Whittaker (women), often called "Whit" - Sinclair Whittaker (men), often called "Whit" - Hillson Hall (varies between being a women's and men's residence from year to year) - Bergren Place(women) - Sundbo Place(married students, women, and men) - Lewis Apartments (men), known fondly as "LA" or "the Loo" - Eliason Manor (men) built in 2005
The last of the war-building dormitories, known most recently as "Gable Heights," was demolished in summer 2005.
Most students participate in the meal plan in a dining hall run by Sodexho-Marriott Foods. The Briercrest dining hall was completely remodelled in the summer of 2001.
Caronport offers one of the most extensively developed Christian education campuses in Canada. The centrepiece of the campus is the 2,400-seat Hildebrand Chapel. Erected in 1988, it is the largest church auditorium in the province. Facilities also include a 25,000-square foot library, nine student dormitories, a 42-room inn, recently renovated dining hall, double-court gymnasium, ice rink, tennis courts, numerous sports fields, Subway franchise, and two coffee shops.
