Covenant College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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, and is distinct among small Christian colleges for its commitment to a Reformed understanding of doctrine, piety, and culture.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Academics

The college offers Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, 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

Maclellan/Rymer Hall is the newest residence 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] Notable alumni

• Michael Cromartie, chairman, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
• Mark David Chapman, the man convicted of murdering former Beatle John Lennon on December 8, 1980. Chapman followed his fiancée to Covenant, but dropped out after one semester.^[4]
• Joel Belz, founder of God's World Publications and former editor of World (magazine).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Covenant College website
  • 50th Anniversary website
  • WKLT Scots Radio, Covenant's radio station
• Chalmers Center website
• The Bagpipe, Covenant's student newspaper