Avondale College

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This article is about the Australian Adventist tertiary institution. For the New Zealand secondary school, see Avondale College, Auckland.
Avondale College
Avondale College logo
Motto: A Greater Vision
Established: 1897
Type: Private
President: Dr. John Cox
Faculty: ~150
Undergraduates: ~950 (2006)
Postgraduates: ~200
Location: Cooranbong, Lake Macquarie, NSW, Australia
Campus: Lake Macquarie (Cooranbong):Rural,

Sydney (Wahroonga):Urban,

Hunter Valley (Cessnock):Rural
Organisations: Member of Seventh-day Adventist Church
Colours: Navy blue, Maroon, White ?
Website: avondale.edu.au

Avondale College is an Australian tertiary education provider affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Avondale College has three campuses, Lake Macquarie being the primary campus situated in Cooranbong, New South Wales. The other campuses are the Sydney campus located at the Sydney Adventist Hospital in the Sydney-suburb of Wahroonga, housing most of the faculty of nursing and health, and the Hunter Valley campus located just north-west of Cessnock housing the school of Aviation.

Avondale College primarily focuses in the areas of teaching, theology, and nursing, but also offers bachelor's degrees in business, science and the arts as well as certificate studies in outdoor recreation, aviation and Office Administration. The nursing programme commences at the Cooranbong campus for one semester and is completed at the Sydney Adventist Hospital with hands-on experience gained in the hospital. Master's degrees are offered in theology, education, nursing, ministry, and some business related fields by distance education, including a one-month on-campus component in the winter semester.

Avondale College is an institution under the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists. The library contains a local research centre of the Ellen G. White Estate.

Contents

[edit] History and surroundings

A small Bible school was commenced in Melbourne in 1892,[1][2] on the counsel of Ellen G. White. She preferred a rural location, and as a result a search for a rural location was commenced in 1893.[2]

[edit] History of the land

Finding land for a college seemed to be an impossible task, as the small church in Australia at the time did not have the finances to support such a project. Eventually the committee searching for the land found a 1450-acre (6 km²) block of land near Cooranbong (75 miles north of Sydney) priced at $3 per acre ($741/km²) because of its "poor, sandy and hungry" land. They asked White to inspect the land, who gave her approval.[2] An agricultural expert from the government who was commissioned to look over the land reported that it was of extremely poor quality. The land was purchased in the Spring of 1895, and the Avondale School for Christian Workers was opened there in 1897.[2] In 1911 its name was changed to Australasian Missionary College.[2] The College was a major influence on later Adventist education.[2]

A common myth is the furrow story, in which Ellen White was reported to have had a vision concerning the land.[citation needed]

The Cooranbong shopping district and Freeman's drive now occupy some of the land that was part of the Avondale Estate, creating a disjoint estate. The Avondale Schools (a separate entity) and the Cooranbong Aerodrome (which up until 2006 was used as part of the aviation certificate training) are located on one section and the college on the other. The nearby Sunnyside museum has photographs of the college through its early years.

[edit] Heritage architecture

There are a number of historic buildings that have been preserved on the Cooranbong campus. These include Bethel Hall and College Hall (formerly the College Chapel), both of which are unique multi-story wooden buildings. The refurbished Chan-Shun Auditorium is based on the original auditorium.

[edit] Later history

Shortly after 1951, students could study a BSc through the external program of the University of London, and a BA through Pacific Union College.[2] In 1964 the institution was renamed to Avondale College.[2] In 1974 it received government accreditation to offer bachelor degrees of its own.[2] Masters degrees were first offered in the 1970s, through Andrews University, and from Avondale itself in the 1990s.[2] FEE-HELP was introduced for the college in 2005.[3] Avondale has offered PhD degrees since 2006 when it was approved to do so by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training.[3]

[edit] Academic structure

The college has a number of faculties:

The subjects Christian Studies I and II (or substitutes)[4] are required for all students. The first covers salvation and Christian belief and lifestyle, while the second has a more specifically Adventist focus. A three year study of student grades by faith tradition showed "little statistical variation", meaning "[b]aptised Adventists are not advantaged and those of other faith traditions are not disadvantaged".[5]

Avondale is the primary place of training for ministers in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia and New Zealand, and also has many students from the islands of the South Pacific. It is also open to students of any denomination.

The College runs Avondale Academic Press, a small academic publisher. The College is currently in the process of applying for and receiving University status from the Australian government.

[edit] Culture

Avondale College fosters a wide variety of students from varying cultural backgrounds and beliefs. Students come from continents as far away as the Americas, Europe and Africa. The majority of students are from Australia, New Zealand, North America and Pacific Islands.

On campus, many activities form part of student life. There are three dormitories for residential students. Watson Hall for males, Andre Hall for first year females, and Ella Boyd for senior females. The auditorium, gym, library, student services building, and cafeteria all provide meeting places for students. Worships are compulsory three times a week for residential students and once a week for outdoor students. Both Indoor and Outdoor students have ready access to on campus events and services.

In common with the Seventh-day Adventist community, Avondale College ceases secular activities on a Friday afternoon. Over the Sabbath hours students are encouraged to attend a variety of religious programs. Many students from neighbouring areas choose to go home on the weekend.

Evangelical author Philip Yancey gave a presentation at Avondale College Church on October 20, 2001, which was broadcast throughout the South Pacific Division.[6] He returned to speak again at Avondale in 2007.[7]

[edit] Avondale College Church

"College Church" is situated on the main (Lake Macquarie) campus. Its seating capacity is in the high hundreds, and is one of the largest Adventist churches in Australia.[8] Its main services are "7:28" (formerly "First Church") on Friday evenings; as well as small group Bible study or "Sabbath School", children's Sabbath School and a main church service on Saturday mornings.[9] Other major services are the Tuesday night males and females "combined worship" from 6:30 to 7:00pm. The church is also used 3 Wednesdays per month for the student "Forum" or assembly at 10am, and for other purposes. These assemblies are compulsory.[citation needed]

The annual Avondale College Murdoch Lecture started in 1997.[10]

The annual "Being Adventist" conference on Adventist Studies has been held since 2002.[11][12][13][10] Keynote speakers have been Fritz Guy at the September 13–15, 2002 conference, "Being Adventist in 21st Century Australia" (papers available online), Bill Johnsson in the August 22–24, 2003 conference, "Hebrews for Aussies in Century 21",[12] Alden Thompson in 2004, and Kendra Haloviak in 2005.[13][14] It was initiated by the "Membership and Relational Issues Committee" which formed in 2001.

[edit] Publications

Student publications include the Orana, "a means of introducing students and staff to each other" early in the semester, and the yearbook Jacaranda. The weekly campus newsletters is named Connections.[15]

Now-famous actor Russell Crowe featured in a video A Very Special Person in the early 1980s promoting the theology course at Avondale when he was just 18.[16]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Avondale College from the South Pacific Division website
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "AVONDALE COLLEGE" in Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists by Gary Land, p. 29–30
  3. ^ a b Stacey, Brenton. "Avondale approved to offer PhDs", Signs Publishing House, 2006-03-25, p. 3. Retrieved on 2006-03-27. 
  4. ^ For at least the Bachelor of Business degree, substitutes may be taken instead
  5. ^ Chuang, Linden (April 5, 2008). "Students not disadvantaged by Christian studies". Record 113 (12): 7. Warburton, Victoria: Signs Publishing Company. ISSN 0819-5633.  Reprinted on the Avondale College website here
  6. ^ "Best-Selling Author Speaks to Adventist Churches". Adventist News Network
  7. ^ http://avondale.edu.au/news/id/138/title/An%20evening%20with%20Philip%20Yancey
  8. ^ "The Avondale, Australia, Church Recognizes Tensions" by James Stirling. Adventist Today 10:5 (September 2002)
  9. ^ Avondale College Church
  10. ^ a b Arthur Patrick. Adventist Studies: An Annotated Introduction for Higher Degree Students, May 2006. Prepared for Avondale College. (Online version - without footnotes; probably an earlier version)
  11. ^ "The 'Being Adventist' initiative and the future" by Arthur Patrick. Adventist Today 10:6 (November 2002). See also "Conference explores Adventist identity". Record 2006
  12. ^ a b "The Being Adventist Conference in Retrospect", a report and consensus statement
  13. ^ a b brief news article on p.3 of the August 20, 2005 issue of Record
  14. ^ "South Pacific: Conference Explores Adventist Identity" from Adventist News Network. Conference held January 30 – February 2, 2006
  15. ^ Avondale Publications, from the Avondale College website. Accessed 2007-05-27
  16. ^ "Russell's Priestly Past" from the Internet Movie Database Movie/TV News for 22 March 2001

[edit] Other resources

  • Avondale: Experiment on the Dora by Milton Hook. Cooranbong, New South Wales: Avondale Academic Press, 1998
  • Avondale and the South Pacific: 100 Years of Mission edited by Barry Oliver, Alex Currie, and Doug Robertson. Cooranbong, New South Wales: Avondale Academic Press, 1997
  • The Changing Role of Ellen White in Seventh-day Adventism with Reference to Sociocultural Standards at Avondale College by Michael Chamberlain. University of Newcastle: PhD thesis, 2001. (Book Beyond Ellen White: Seventh-day Adventism in Transition announced on his website)

[edit] External links