Houghton College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Houghton College is a 4-year Christian liberal arts college, affiliated with the Wesleyan Church[1]. Houghton's main campus is in the Genesee Valley of southwestern New York (Houghton, New York), and a secondary suburban campus is in West Seneca, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It also has campus extensions in the Adirondack Park of New York, Australia, Tanzania, and London, England.

Houghton began as Houghton Seminary, offering high school-level work, in 1883, and began offering college level classes in 1899. The founder was Willard J. Houghton, a Wesleyan Methodist minister. It was chartered as a liberal arts college by New York State in 1923 and accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 1935.

The school offers baccalaureate degrees in 48 fields as well as masters degrees in music and soon to be masters degrees in education and theology. A recent $15 million gift enabled the establishment of the Greatbatch School of Music[2], and a wide range of graduate degree programs were added to an existing strong undergraduate program that includes general music, composition, conducting and performance. The student body is interdenominational, with recent demographics showing 10% of the students as a part of the Wesleyan church.

The sports teams are the Highlanders[3]. Houghton fields teams in men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, women's field hockey and volleyball, and co-ed track and cross country. Most of the teams have enjoyed some degree of success, with the women's soccer team reaching the NAIA National Tournament six times since 1998, including three-straight trips.

Houghton College is a member of the Christian College Consortium and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

[edit] History

Houghton College received a permanent charter as a four-year liberal arts college in 1927; in 1935, the college gained full accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Houghton consistently receives high rankings by independent college ranking publications, as an excellent academic institution, as well as an affordable, "best value" school and as a school that promotes high standards of character virtues.

In 1969, Houghton College merged with the Buffalo Bible Institute, an institution that was established by Christian business people to provide training and education to bring glory to God. Houghton began offering courses at its suburban West Seneca campus and using the suburban location to provide a launching pad for student internship and ministry opportunities.

In 1991, the Program for Accelerating College Education (P.A.C.E.) was added for adult students to attain a college degree. This program allows Houghton College to offer a liberal arts education that, "combines the skills needed for a career with the doctrine and values of the Christian faith."[4]

[edit] Presidents of the College

• James S. Luckey, 1908-1937
• Stephen W. Paine, 1937-1972
• Wilber Dayton, 1972-1976
• Daniel R. Chamberlain, 1976-2006
• Shirley Mullen, 2006-present

[edit] Historical Personages

Taken from the fourth floor of Gillette Hall (formerly East Hall) showing the quad of Houghton College's main campus. Buildings pictured from left to right are the Library, Paine Science Center and the Luckey Building.

Stephen W. Paine served as president of the college for thirty-five years. He taught classical languages in addition to his duties as president. When he became president in 1937 he was twenty-eight years old, making him the youngest head of a college in the U.S. at the time. Paine was a well known Greek and Biblical scholar in his time, and served on the translation committee of the New International Version[5] of the Bible as well as numerous other important evangelical national organizations, including the International Bible Institute[6].

The Ortlip family is responsible for most of the artistic heritage of the college. H. Willard Ortlip was a benefactor of the college, and together with his wife Aimée was responsible for the historic mural in the foyer of the campus chapel. Several Ortlip family members have taught art and painting at the college over the years, and the new art gallery on campus is named for the Ortlips. The Ortlip Art Gallery[7], an all-purpose exhibition space, located in the College's Center for the Arts was named for H. Willard and Aimee Ortlip and their family.

[edit] Academics

Center for the Arts- home of the Greatbatch School of Music and the Ortlip Art Gallery

Houghton College grants two-year and four-year degrees in forty-six majors. The college has sixteen academic departments: Art, Biology, Business and Economics, Chemistry, Communication, Education, English, Foreign Languages, History and Political Science, Intercultural Studies, Mathematics and Computer Science, Music, Physical Education and Recreation/Leisure, Physics and Earth Science, Psychology and Sociology, and Religion and Philosophy.

The college offers graduate degrees in music, made possible by a $15 million endowment. Degrees include the master of arts (M.A.) and master of music (M.M.). A master of arts degree in theological studies will begin courses in the fall 0f 2008. A graduate degree in literacy education (M.Ed.) has been approved and will begin in the fall of 2009.

[edit] Rankings

[edit] Profile

[edit] First Year Honors

A distinctive Houghton academic program, the First Year Honors Program[8] provides unique opportunities for qualified first year Houghton students. The honors program has three options: London Honors, East Meets West, and Science Honors.

The honors program initially began with the London Honors program in 1996 through the efforts, in part, of Dr. William Christopher Stewart, professor of philosophy, and Dr. A. Cameron Airhart, professor of history. The London Honors Program involves the second semester of the first-year spent in London, England, with several trips elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The program explores the roots of Western culture and ideas through studying history, literature, philosophy and the fine arts.^[1]

In 2004, Dr. Meic Pearse[9], author of such books as "Why the Rest Hates the West," and "The Gods of War," joined the Houghton faculty as professor of history and the East Meets West[10] portion of the First-Year Honors Program was added thereafter. This program involves the first two semesters spent at Houghton studying and preparing for travels in the Eastern Mediterranean during Mayterm. Study sites include such cities as Venice, Split, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb. East Meets West also emphasizes development of Western culture and history while focusing on its relationship with Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Soon to be added beginning fall of 2009 is the Science Honors Program.[11] Whereas the London Honors and East Meets West programs focus on history, literature, and the arts, the science honors program will be for those who are drawn to such areas as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry and others. The goal for this program is for the participants to work together in a collaborative process to solve a real-world problem. The topic for the first installment of the program will be researching alternative sources of energy and designing and building a working vehicle.

Acceptance into one of the honors programs is by invitation through an application and interview process based on but separate from the general application.

[edit] Campus Life

[edit] Clubs and Organizations

Numerous student groups are active on the campus in all areas of interest. Some of these include: Allegany County Outreach, the Boulder, the Star, the Intercultural Student Association, Clown Ministry, Habitat for Humanity[12], Gadfly Society (the Houghton Philosophy Student club), Equestrian Club, Evangelicals for Social Action[13], Dayspring, Swim Club, Climbing Club, Global Christian Fellowship, and Youth for Christ[14]. The college also provides both interscholastic and intramural athletics.

Looking through the Center for the Arts tunnel in winter

[edit] Housing

The majority of the College's students live in College-owned housing. There are two dormitories for female students, Gillette (formerly East Hall) and Lambein, while the men live in Rothenbuhler (formerly South Hall) and Shenawana. The college also owns numerous townhouses and a building of flats.

Students also have the opportunity to apply to live in approved off-campus housing, called Community Living Opportunities (CLOs). This option is generally open only to Juniors, Seniors and Super Seniors, and a limited number of spots in the program are available. Super Seniors (those students with over 120 credits) automatically qualify for CLO housing.

[edit] Traditions

• The Gum Tree(s).

On the path leading up to the Nielson Center and Art Building, certain trees in close proximity to the path have become the recipients of unwanted chewing gum. It is hard to say when this tradition began or what its original purpose was (avoiding being caught chewing gum in class, perhaps?).

• Walk around the quad.

The day of graduation, the seniors are lead around the quad by a bagpiper dressed in traditional Scottish attire. Graduates pass through a line of professors before proceeding into Wesley chapel to begin graduation ceremonies.

[edit] Athletics

The Houghton Highlanders field 10 varsity teams. The women are able to participate in soccer, basketball, field hockey, volleyball, track, and cross country. The teams provided for the men are soccer, basketball, track, and cross country. The Houghton Highlanders are members of the NAIA and American Mideast Conference. Houghton is a member of the "Champions of Character" program of the NAIA. It is a "program [that] is designed to instill an understanding of character values in sport and provide practical tools for student-athletes, coaches and parents to use in modeling exemplary character traits."

[edit] Campus Issues

[edit] Dancing

Since the creation of Houghton Seminary, in 1883, by Willard J. Houghton, the college has followed suit with traditional Wesleyan values of opposing the use of tobacco products, alcohol, and dancing. The opposition to these "Three Deadly Sins" has been upheld until recent times. Much discussion has been held for several years on changing the college's policy on dancing. At the beginning of the 2007-2008 academic year an advisory board, the President's Task Force[15], was formed to review the college's "Statement of Community Responsibilities"[16]. On 9 February 2008, during the bi-annual SPOT event, President Mullen revealed the final decision to allow dancing at Houghton College. Houghton College is the first Wesleyan college to permit dancing. The official decision permits social dancing on campus which can only be hosted by campus organizations, while under purview of the college advisory board[17]. All dances must first be approved by the Office for Student Life, at least until the end of the 2007-2008 academic year. No decisions have been made or approved by the Senate pertaining to dances after this date. This means that organized dancing could occur after the 2008 Spring semester ends, without Student Life or board approval.
The first ever dance at Houghton, a square and line dance hoedown, was held 19 April 2008.

[edit] Chapel Attendance

One of the expectations in the [Community Covenant]is that students at Houghton attend at least two-thirds of the chapels provided throughout the semester. Chapels take place Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and this roughly amounts to going to at least two chapels a week all semester.

Questions have risen as how exactly to keep track of chapel attendance and what the merits of such a tracking system are.

[edit] Notable Alumni

• Dr Robert Beckford, leading UK theologian, academic, and film-maker based at the Oxford Brooks University.^[2]
• Ronald Enroth, prolific author and Professor of Sociology, Westmont College.
• Kenneth (K.J.) Hill, former professional soccer player of the Charlotte Eagles.
• Diane M. Komp, author and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Yale University.
• Neil MacBride, Vice President, Anti-Piracy and General Counsel of the Business Software Alliance, formerly Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del.) and Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justicelink.
• Richard J. Mouw, prominent Christian educator, leader, author and president of Fuller Theological Seminary.
• Paul Pang, General Director, Schools for Christ Foundation, Hong Kong.
• Sanjeev Parmar, former professional soccer player with Charlotte Eagles, an American soccer team, and the Wizards, a Canadian soccer team.
• Barbara Pinto, ABC's Chicago-based news correspondent.^[3]
• Bruce Waltke, Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary and Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies, Regent College.
• Anthony C. Yu, comparative literature and religion scholar and Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://www.houghton.edu/