Heartland Baptist Bible College is a private independent Baptist Bible college in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Before 1998, the college was located in San Dimas, California, and was known as Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College.
 | |
| Type | Private unaccredited Bible college |
|---|---|
| Established | 1966 |
Religious affiliation | Independent Baptist |
| Chancellor | Sam Davison |
| President | Jason Gaddis |
Administrative staff | 50 |
| Location | , , United States |
| Website | www |
History edit
In November 1966, the Western Baptist Bible Fellowship, composed of pastors from that region, met in Las Vegas and created the Pacific Coast Baptist Fellowship. The school received the approval of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI), but was not owned by the BBFI and retained its independence.[1]
Classes at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, a co-educational college, began in fall, 1966 in rented facilities upstairs at the NE corner of the intersection of Glassell and Chapman - "The Circle" - in Orange, California. Under the direction of Rev. Ted Hicks, one of the founders and the first president, and then pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Santa Ana, the college grew and became a preacher-training facility. From Orange, it moved to progressively larger campuses in Walnut and Pasadena. In 1972, the college acquired a 150-acre (0.61 km2) campus in San Dimas that had been built in 1928 as a home for underprivileged boys, then became a campus of California State Polytechnic University. The school enforced a strict code of student conduct.[2] Enrollment at PCBBC reached 500 students in the late 1970s, with students coming mainly from 300 churches in the western United States which were also responsible for a portion of the college's budget. However, enrollment declined in the following decade and by 1990 the school had 170 students.[3] The college then proposed to demolish the campus, sell 53 acres (210,000 m2) for a luxury home development, donate 80 acres (320,000 m2) for park land, and rebuild a more compact campus on the remainder.[4]
In Summer 1998, because of its financial problems and policy disagreements within the BBFI education establishment, the school moved to Oklahoma City, and was renamed Heartland Baptist Bible College.[5] Heartland also withdrew from its affiliation with the BBFI.
Heartland was granted an exception to Title IX in 2018, which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. [6]
Accreditation status edit
Heartland Baptist Bible College is not accredited by any recognized accreditation body, nor does it seek accreditation.[citation needed]
Sports edit
Although Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College did have intercollegiate sports teams when it was in California,[7][8] HBBC does not now participate in any intercollegiate leagues, but it does offer intramural sports for students who wish to participate.
Notable alumni edit
- Paul Chappell, Pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church and President of West Coast Baptist College
- Diane Downs, convicted in the 1983 shooting of her three children (did not graduate and was expelled)[9]
- David J. Edmondson, former RadioShack CEO[5] attended the college but falsely claimed to have received a psychology degree from Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College.[10]
- Ralph Shortey, former Oklahoma State Senator and convicted child sex trafficker[11]
References edit
- ^ William H. Brackney, Congregation and campus: Baptists in higher education (Mercer University Press, 2008), ISBN 978-0-88146-130-5, pp. 367–368. Excerpts available at Google Books.
- ^ James Rainey, "Well-Kept Campus, Well-Scrubbed Students", Los Angeles Times, October 14, 1990.
- ^ James Rainey, "Bible College Says, 'Let There Be Growth'; San Dimas: A plan to replace all buildings on campus--and a 114-house development that will finance the construction--has torn the shroud of secrecy from a small Baptist school.", Los Angeles Times, October 14, 1990.
- ^ James Rainey, "County OKs 114-Home Project of Bible College, Developer", Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1991.
- ^ a b Floyd Norris, "At RadioShack, Some Questions (and Now, Answers)", New York Times, February 16, 2006.
- ^ "Worst List: The Absolute Worst Campuses for LGBTQ Youth". Campus Pride. 17 May 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ Tracy Dodds, "Starting Over at the Bottom: Westphal Hoping He Can Build New Career as a Coach", Los Angeles Times, February 18, 1986
- ^ Gordon Monson, "Shelter From a Tricky Double Play", Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1986.
- ^ Geringer, Joseph. "Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love". TruTV. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
- ^ Morrison, Mark (February 22, 2006). "RadioShack's Lesson: Trust, but Verify". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Phillips, Kristine (November 20, 2017). "Former Oklahoma state senator admits to child sex trafficking while in office". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 13, 2017.