John Brown University

===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.