Brewton-Parker College

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Brewton-Parker College

new college logo

Established:	1904
Type:	Private
Religious affiliation:	Southern Baptist Convention
Endowment:	$13.3 million^[1]
President:	Dr. David R. Smith
Faculty:	189^[1]
Students:	1,119^[1]
Location:	Mount Vernon, GA, USA
Campus:	Rural, 280 acres (1.13 km²)
Colors:	Orange & Blue
Mascot:	Barons
Affiliations:	NAIA
Website:	http://www.bpc.edu/

Brewton-Parker College is a four-year college whose main campus is located in Mount Vernon, Georgia, USA. Brewton-Parker is affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention.

1 History
2 Campus
3 Organization
4 Students and faculty
5 Sports, clubs, and traditions
6 Noted alumni
7 Noted faculty
8 References
9 External links

History

Organization

In 1904, Reverend John Carter Brewton, pastor of the McRae Baptist Church, and Charles Benton Parker, a prominent businessman in McRae, resolved to establish a private boarding school to serve elementary and high school students from Montgomery County and the surrounding area. As there were no public high schools at that time, the school played an important role in furthering the education of the area’s youth. The Telfair and Daniell Baptist associations were enthusiastic supporters and agreed to establish a school in whichever community provided the most support. The towns of Mount Vernon and Ailey, bidding together, submitted a winning bid of $15,000 and fifteen acres of land. The associations announced that the school would be located between the two towns. The Montgomery County Superior Court granted a charter for the Union Baptist Institute on April 28, 1904. Other Baptist associations joined the movement, and the delegates of these associations elected a board of trustees with Rev. Brewton as president.^[2]

Formation

Union Baptist Institute formally opened on September 12, 1905, with 7 teachers and 160 pupils, offering a curriculum for grades one through eleven. The school's first year was very successful and as word spread, enrollment more than doubled to 365 and five additional teachers were hired. The campus consisted of four buildings: the academic building, now known as Gates Hall, a boys' dormitory, a girls' dormitory and a dining hall.

The name of the school was changed to Brewton-Parker Institute in 1912, to honor the two men who had contributed the most toward its establishment. Brewton-Parker Institute received accreditation in 1918 from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Junior College

A college freshman class was added in 1923; a sophomore class was added in 1927, elevating Brewton-Parker Institute to junior college status. By this time, public education was established and elementary education was transferred to the Montgomery County Board of Education in 1929, leaving only high school and junior college courses on campus. High School instruction was dropped from the school in 1948, and Brewton-Parker Institute officially became Brewton-Parker Junior College. That same year, the Georgia Baptist Convention agreed to accept ownership of and responsibility for Brewton-Parker from the twenty-one Baptist associations of southeast Georgia.

College

By the early 1980s, public two-year community colleges had been established throughout the state. At the same time, there was a greater demand for graduates of four-year colleges. Plans were made to offer the school's first baccalaureate degree, the Bachelor of Ministry. Applications were made, curriculum was developed and on December 9, 1986, approval was given by the Georgia Baptist Convention and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Brewton-Parker Junior College became a four-year institution, Brewton-Parker College.

BPC now offers undergraduate degrees in seven academic departments with 36 majors. Most of its programs have internships, offering practical, hands-on experience as well as academic content. Further, in applicable areas, undergraduates are encouraged to participate with faculty in performing research and presenting papers.

As the only independent college in rural southeast Georgia, BPC plays an important educational role in one of the state’s poorest areas. It serves many first generation college students and provides learning assistance to other, non-traditional students seeking to improve their knowledge and skills. Among private colleges, Brewton-Parker enrolls three times as many minority students as the national average.

Campus

The main college campus is in Mount Vernon on 270 acres (1.1 km²) and includes forty-six buildings, outdoor athletic properties, and a five-acre lake. The college offers classes in Savannah, Hinesville where it built a facility, Glennville, Baxley, Norman Park, and Newnan. Most of these students come from nearby communities and, after graduation, many of them choose to return to these communities.

Organization

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Students and faculty

Student demographics:

73.2% Caucasian
24% African American
2% Hispanic
0.5% Asian American or Pacific Islander
0.3% Native American^[1]

There is a 2:1 female-male student ratio and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio.

Sports, clubs, and traditions

Brewton-Parker is a member of the NAIA and fields teams for baseball, basketball, cheerleading, soccer, softball, and women's volleyball in intercollegiate competition. Intramural sports include basketball, football, softball, table tennis, tennis, ultimate Frisbee, and volleyball.

Student groups at the school include a drama/theater group, a student-run newspaper, choral group, Council of Intramural Activities, Student Activities Council, Rotaract, Circle K, Alpha Omega Campus Ministry ,and a Baptist Campus Ministry.

The college also recently created an in-depth Creative Expressions BFA, which brought with it several extracurricular opportunities in creative writing, film production and analysis, visual art and musical theatre.

Noted alumni

State senator Tommie Williams
State representative Greg Morris
Walter Ray, a past chairman of the State Board of Pardons and Parole.
Wallace Moses made it to the Georgia Baseball Hall of Fame.
Woodrow Babe Davis signed with the Cleveland Indians and later the Detroit Tigers.
Sandra Roos, soccer player in the 90s from Holland was NAIA All-American and played on the Dutch National Team
In 1996 eight BPC girls from the soccer team were chosen to be on the Olympic Exhibition Team
Dennis Holmberg ‘69 has just completed 27 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays organization
Johnnie “Trae” Wiggins ’04 was drafted by the Atlanta Braves Farm team.

Noted faculty

H. Lee Cheek, Jr. is Chair of the Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science. He is one of the world's leading scholars of American political thought generally, and of John C. Calhoun's political thought, more specifically.
William Faw is Dean of External Programs and a Professor of Psychology; is a well-known scholar of consciousness studies.
David W. Moffett is Professor and Chair of the Education Division. His research in utilizing technology in teaching and learning is extensive and he is a pioneer in online course delivery.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Brewton-Parker College - College Overview. Peterson's. 2007-03-27.
^ The New Georgia Encyclopedia: Brewton-Parker College

External links

v • d • e Southern States Athletic Conference

Auburn Montgomery • Berry • Brenau • Brewton–Parker • Columbia • Emmanuel • Faulkner • Georgia Southwestern State • Lee • Reinhardt • Shorter • Southern Polytechnic State • Southern Wesleyan