John Brown University

==History==

===John E. Brown: background===
[[John E. Brown (evangelist)|John E. Brown]] (1879–1957) was not afforded the opportunity to pursue much education, as his family's financial difficulties forced him to begin working at the age of 11.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100114163107/https://www.jbu.edu/library/archives/historical_resources/founding_family/jb1.asp John Brown University Archives, "JBU's Founding Family: John Brown Sr"]</ref> As a teenaged laborer in [[Arkansas]], Brown encountered the [[Salvation Army]] and underwent a conversion experience. After his conversion, he became an itinerant [[Methodist]] evangelist, with his travels taking him across [[Arkansas]], [[Missouri]], [[Kansas]] and the [[Indian Territory]].

Subsequent to becoming an evangelist, Brown accepted a position as president of [[Scarritt Collegiate Institute|Scarritt College]] in [[Neosho, Missouri|Neosho]]. His two years as president were instrumental in developing his plan to establish his own college. However, Brown felt that the strong emphasis of that school on education without the benefit of life training was harmful to the students. As he said in 1903, "It might be my privilege to have a part in the building of school that would turn the minds of youth back from this exaggerated concept of the value of book knowledge, to the realization that all this is valuable only as it becomes a background for, or the foundation under, the real things of life."<ref name=KENNEDY>{{cite book |first1=Ralph |last1=Kennedy |first2=Thomas |last2=Rothrock |title=John Brown of Arkansas |publisher= John Brown University Press |date=January 1, 1966 |asin=B000OKBCS0}}</ref>{{rp|25}}

===Early years: presidency of John E. Brown Sr. 1919–1948===
Maintaining this goal of establishing a college that would provide an [[interdenominational]], [[Christianity|Christian]] education for needy students, who like himself, might not have had a chance of receiving an education, Brown laid the foundation in 1919 for the institution that would later be called John Brown University, John E. Brown College. To pay for the institution's free tuition, Brown developed his school as a Christian [[vocational college]]. Students worked jobs such as carpentry and helped in constructing the buildings on campus. The typical work-day was four hours in addition to class time.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090320110343/https://www.jbu.edu/library/archives/lantern/pdf/lanternv7oct07.pdf JBU Archives October 2007 Newsletter]</ref>

Apparently seeking to expand the reach of the growing college, John Brown announced in 1934 that the school was to be changed into a [[four-year university]]. The new university was divided into three colleges: the academic, vocational, and Bible colleges, fitting John Brown's stated vision of educating "head, heart, and hand".<ref name=KENNEDY/> {{rp|54}} Spreading the new university's fields of study into new technology, Brown soon purchased a local radio station ([[KUOA]]) from which to broadcast Christian programming and his own sermons. Brown had used radio extensively before but was eager to get the resources of [[radio]] into the hands of the university.<ref name=KENNEDY/>{{rp|55}} The expanded facilities, such as the distinctive Cathedral Group, which took root in the 1930s and 1940s, caused expenses for which the university had to pay. JBU began charging tuition in 1939, albeit a very small amount, and John Brown began to realize that financially, the [[vocational]] aspect of the school was more costly than anticipated. The university relied heavily on outside donations to break even financially.<ref name=Ostrander>{{Cite book |last=Ostrander |first=Rick |title=Head, Heart, and Hand: John Brown University and Modern Evangelical Higher Education |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |date=August 1, 2003 |isbn=978-1557287618}}</ref>{{rp|101}}

===Shift away from fundamentalism===
As the university grew, Brown continued to preach throughout the country and on the radio. He was well known for his attacks on [[liquor]], [[gambling]], [[dancing]], and other [[Christian fundamentalist]] issues of the time.<ref name=Ostrander/>{{rp|20}} This brought him into close proximity with [[Bob Jones Sr.]] founder of [[Bob Jones University]], who presented Brown with an [[honorary doctorate]] in 1937.

In the 1940s, the close ties between JBU and the [[Christian fundamentalist]] movement began to wane, as the university took an unexpected turn away from [[fundamentalism]]. John Brown himself was always a proponent of [[interdenominationalism]], and by aligning himself with [[Youth for Christ]] and other [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] organizations after [[World War II]], JBU was making a statement. John Brown's description of the school in 1948 as "[[interdenominational]] and definitely [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]]"<ref name=Ostrander/>{{rp |117}} is very telling in this regard.

===Presidency of John E. Brown Jr. 1948–1979===
When John Brown Sr. relinquished control of the university (at least in name, since he remained as chairman of the board) in 1948, he began a period of much-needed consolidation. During [[World War II]] the student body had dropped to barely over a hundred, and the high echelons of the school's leadership were being run almost exclusively by the Brown family.<ref name=Ostrander/>{{rp|99}} Under the second Brown, [[professors]] and administrators were hired who had more [[Academic degree|advanced degrees]], the Board of Trustees began to develop as a more independent body, and the students elected representatives to an independent council. All of this was beginning to occur by the end of the 1940s.<ref name=Ostrander/>{{rp|109}} Also, the university began construction on its Cathedral Group, composed of the chapel sanctuary, known as the Cathedral of the Ozarks, the Science building, and the Library, supposedly symbolizing in building form the idea of educating "head, heart, and hand". As much as JBU grew during this period, it still lacked [[accreditation]] and its student body continued to hover at around 300 during the 1950s. After the founder's death in 1957, John Brown Jr. worked to improve the quality of the education JBU provided. One crucial step was the abolition of the university's [[vocational college]]. Citing the shifting makeup of the workforce in the 1960s, the president did away with the vocational requirement, with the understanding that each department would provide practical career training as part of its curriculum.<ref name=Ostrander/>{{rp|141}} As a result of these reforms and others, JBU was finally nationally accredited by [[North Central Association]].

During the turbulent years of the [[Vietnam War]] and the [[peace movement]], JBU was relatively undisturbed. The school nurtured at that time a strong [[Christian Americanist]] vision of the world, tying American [[patriotism]] and [[political conservatism]] to [[conservative]] [[Christianity|Christian]] faith. Instead of joining the anti-war movement, many JBU students joined organizations like [[Campus Crusade for Christ]] and traveled to other campuses. When those turbulent times had come and gone, JBU faced the 1970s with uncertainty. Academic standards were low and classes were not challenging. The university recognized the need to improve its quality, so it brought in [[Elton Trueblood]], professor of philosophy at [[Earlham College]], who had written ''The Idea of A College'' which argued that colleges should focus on [[liberal arts]] over career preparation. Trueblood's visits in the mid-1970s inspired JBU to look for ideas in [[Arthur F. Holmes]]' ''Idea of a Christian College'' in which a Christian college seeks to integrate faith and learning.

===Presidency of John E. Brown III 1979–1993===
When John Brown Jr. stepped down as president, the job fell to his son, John Brown III, who immediately sought to improve the academic quality of the university. He visited [[Wheaton College (Illinois)]] and heralded its commitment to an integration of academic quality and Christian faith. To accompany his praise of Wheaton, he announced that the first consideration of JBU in selecting prospective students would be academic quality, and raising the entrance requirements. As expected, this began to attract more academically gifted students.<ref name=Ostrander/>{{rp|196–197}} Also, in the 1980s, an [[Honors course|Honors Program]] was established. However, the third Brown made sure to maintain JBU's historic emphasis on career training, through its non-liberal arts programs such as [[Engineering]], Construction Management, and [[Graphic Design]]. As well as academic programs, John Brown III instituted new building programs and a scholarship for [[Latin American]] students paid for by [[Sam Walton]].

===Presidency of George F. Ford 1993–1994===
John Brown III stepped down as president and was succeeded by George Ford, former Vice President of [[Roberts Wesleyan College]], who left after less than a year because of internal difficulties with the university. During Ford's brief presidency, the university began offering an undergraduate degree completion program ("The Advance Program") in various locations in Northwest Arkansas.<ref>"Advance Program to Help Working Adults," Brown Bulletin (Fall 1993), John Brown University</ref>

===Presidency of Lee Balzer 1994–2004===
The former president of [[Tabor College (Kansas)|Tabor College]] in [[Kansas]], Lee Balzer, took office after the Ford controversy with a plan to expand the university's reach. He extended the Advance Program for non-traditional students in other cities by establishing branch centers in [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]] and [[Little Rock, Arkansas]]. During his presidency, JBU offered its first graduate degrees, initially in [[school counseling]], and later including [[master's degree]]s in [[marriage and family therapy]], leadership and ethics, business ([[MBA]]) and Christian ministry. The Center for Marriage and Family Studies<ref>[http://liferelationships.com/ Center for Marriage and Family Studies]</ref> was established during the Balzer presidency. Under President Balzer, JBU also founded the Soderquist Center for Business Leadership and Ethics<ref>[http://www.soderquist.org/ Soderquist Center for Business Leadership and Ethics]</ref> to promote ethical principles in the business world. In addition, JBU's financial campaign at the end of the 1990s raised more than 39 million dollars to build Walker Student Center, Bell Science Hall, North Hall, and the Soderquist Business Center, all in the span of barely more than five years.<ref name=Ostrander/>{{rp|222}}

===Presidency of Charles Pollard 2004–present===
In 2004, Balzer retired. JBU selected Charles (Chip) Pollard, then Professor of English at Calvin College, to take the office of president for the institution. Since taking office, Pollard has overseen an interior and exterior renovation of the Cathedral Group, the expansion of North Hall, growth in the student body to over 2,000 students, and general consolidation after the rapid expansion of the past decade. Pollard's most notable legacy will likely be his extremely successful expansion of the JBU endowment, upgrade of the facilities and successfully growing the school's enrollment. Under the leadership of Pollard, JBU has seen significant growth through a number of sizable financial gifts. Graduate programs expanded to include the Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, MA in Higher Education and MFA in Collaborative Design.

It was announced in early 2010, after receipt of an $8 million anonymous donation, that JBU would construct a new engineering and construction management building. The building was completed in 2011 and named the Balzer Technology Building in honor of the school's former president. Later that year, a JBU engineering student turned successful alumnus and businessman, Bill Berry, provided the financial gift for the Berry Performing Arts Center<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jbu.edu/news/press_releases/?id=2969|title=JBU announces $5 million lead gift to Performing Arts Center|publisher=JBU|date=August 18, 2008|access-date=August 4, 2019}}</ref> which was completed in 2011. In 2012, it was announced that the Simmons family, owners of the privately held Simmons Foods located in Siloam Springs, would make a financial gift providing JBU with a new dining and gathering facility. The Simmons Great Hall was completed in mid-2013. The Health Education Building that houses the nursing department was completed in 2016.