Covenant College

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Covenant College
Motto:	"In All Things Christ Preeminent"
Established:	1955
Type:	Private Christian Liberal Arts College
President:	Niel B. Nielson
Location:	Lookout Mountain, Georgia, USA
Campus:	Mountaintop Campus Near Chattanooga, TN
Colors:	blue      & white
Nickname:	The Scots; Lady Scots
Affiliations:	Presbyterian Church in America, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Covenant Theological Seminary, NAIA, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Appalachian Athletic Conference, IAPCHE
Website:	http://www.covenant.edu

Covenant College is a four-year Christian college that emphasizes the liberal arts. Founded in 1955 in Pasadena, California, the college moved its campus to Lookout Mountain, Georgia in 1965^[1]. It is an educational institution of the Presbyterian Church in America. Covenant stands in the Reformed and Presbyterian traditions.

[edit] Academics

The college offers Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Education degrees, and several pre-professional programs. The college also has two adult education programs, Quest (established 1984)^{[citation needed]} and The Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education (BSECE), a degree completion program in early childhood education for professionals. In addition, Covenant is home to the Chalmers Center for Economic and Community Development (established 1999), which offers courses and programs in community and economic development in the urban United States and throughout the developing world.^{[citation needed]}

Covenant's faculty is composed of 58 full-time teaching faculty members, 88% of whom hold doctorates or terminal degrees in their fields. The student-faculty ratio is 14:1.^{[citation needed]}

The college has over 5,000 alumni living both in the United States and abroad. Alumni are employed in a variety of fields, such as education, ministry, music, business, the military, science, and journalism. Over 60% of graduates go on to earn graduate degrees.^{[citation needed]}

The college has been accredited since 1971 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).^[2]

Niel Nielson has been president of Covenant since 2002. The college's previous presidents are Robert G. Rayburn (1955-1965), Marion Barnes (1965-1978), Martin Essenburg (1978-1987) and Frank Brock (1987-2002).

[edit] Athletics

Covenant has sports teams that compete intercollegiately in men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, baseball, softball and women's volleyball. Covenant competes in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. College teams are known as the Scots and Lady Scots.

[edit] Campus

The campus is located atop Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

[edit] Carter Hall

Carter Hall is the signature building on campus. It was originally named The Lookout Mountain Hotel and was built by Paul Carter, for whom the building is now named, in 1928. It was popularly known as the "Castle in the Clouds." However, since it was completed less than a year before the Great Depression, the hotel soon went bankrupt. It opened and closed several times prior to 1960, when it shut down for the last time. Bill Brock, the grandfather of the college's fourth president, Frank Brock, served on the original board of the hotel.^[3]

Both the exterior and interior of Carter Hall are Austro-Bavarian Gothic revival in style. The building has had two towers in its history. The first tower was similar in design to the Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Lady) in Munich. Poor maintenance before acquisition by the college required it to be rebuilt. The new tower, though considerably simpler in style, maintains the architectural style of the original tower.^{[citation needed]}

Covenant College bought the building in 1964, upon relocating to Lookout Mountain, Georgia. At this time, the building was renamed Carter Hall, after Paul Carter, the Chattanooga, Tennessee businessman who originally planned, built and owned the hotel. During the first few years of Covenant's operation on the mountain, all the functions of the college were contained within Carter Hall. At that time, it housed the chapel, the library, the classrooms, the professors' offices, and all of the dorm rooms, as well as the dining hall and administrative offices, which are still located there today.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Founders Hall

Founders Hall contains three wings, each named for members of the founding generation of Covenant College.

Belz Hall, the first to be built, was completed in 1972, is named after pastor and Christian educator Max Belz, a member of Covenant College’s original board of trustees. Belz hall houses approximately 100 students and was originally known as the men’s dorm. In 1990 and 1993, two new wings were added to the structure, and the building became known as Founders Residence Hall.

Schmidt Hall, completed in 1990, is named for Rudy and Collyn Schmidt, co-founders and long-time friends of the college who were actively involved with it since its inception.

Rayburn Hall was completed in 1993 and is named for Robert G. Rayburn, the founding president of Covenant College.

[edit] Maclellan/Rymer Hall

The Maclellan wing of the hall, built in 1998, was named in honor of the Maclellan Foundation, a longtime supporter of Covenant College. The Rymer wing of the building, completed in 2000, was given by Ann Caudle Rymer and her son, S. Bradford Rymer, Jr.

[edit] Andreas Hall

Andreas Hall, completed in 2007 as part of the BUILD campaign, is located slightly south of Maclellan/Rymer Hall, and is the newest addition to the college's residence halls. It is so named for Lowell Andreas, a recent financial supporter of Covenant College. It houses over 100 students and is four stories tall.

[edit] Accreditation non-compliance warnings and restoration

This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (January 2008)

In December 2005, SACS reviewed the college and found that the college had "significant non-compliance with the core requirements."^[4] As a result, its accreditation was given the status of warning. An official statement was released: "This warning comes as a result of some questions about our adult degree completion program, reviewed in the fall of 2004. The fact is that Covenant College remains fully accredited, with full accreditation status for the entire college program. However, the warning requires that we address specific issues regarding our adult degree completion program." The college sent its final report to SACS in February 2006.^[5] The warning for accreditation was removed and the college's accreditation was completely reaffirmed. ^[6]

[edit] Soulforce Equality ride visit

This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (January 2008)

On April 2, 2007 a gay rights group, Soulforce Equality Ride, visited Covenant to confront the college about its stance on homosexual behavior.^[7] College officials offered the group a room on campus for dialogue, but this offer was rejected. College officials informed Soulforce that they would not be welcome on campus.^[8] The morning of their visit, several dozen students and faculty members conversed with Soulforce members at the entrance to the college. Later in the day four Soulforce members crossed on to college property and were arrested by local officials.^[9]

[edit] Notable alumni

• Michael Cromartie, chairman, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
• Joel Belz, founder of God's World Publications and former editor of World (magazine).
• James Ward, Pianist, songwriter.
• Randy Nabors, Pastor of New City Fellowship in Chattanooga, TN.
• Bill Davis, Philosopher and Ethicist.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Covenant College website
• Chalmers Center website
• The Bagpipe, Covenant's student newspaper