History
Ambrose University is the product of an educational journeys which began in the second half of the twentieth century. [2]
Alliance University College (AUC) was originally established in 1941. The Western Canadian District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance established the Canadian Bible Institute in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1941. It was established under Gordon Skitch, superintendent of the Western Canadian District of the CMA, Willis Brooks, pastor of the Regina Alliance Tabernacle and George Blackett, former principal of Winnipeg Bible Institute and future principal and president of the new institute. In 1949, it was Western Canadian Bible Institute (WCBI). It was renamed again in 1957 as the Canadian Bible College (CBC). The Canadian Theological College (CTC) was established in 1970 as a graduate sister school to CBC, and was renamed Canadian Theological Seminary (CTS) in 1982.
Nazarene University College (NUC) was first established in 1921 in the basement of the Calgary First Church of the Nazarene. In 1927, the school relocated to Red Deer, and was named Alberta School of Evangelism, and then Northern Bible College (NBC) In 1940, it began offering theology degrees and was renamed again as the Canadian Nazarene College (CNC). In 1960, CNC moved to Winnipeg and was established as the official Canadian university college for the Church of the Nazarene. CNC moved back to Calgary in 1995, became an accredited university college in 1999, and changed its name to Nazarene University College (NUC).
In 2003, CBC/CTS officially relocated to join NUC on the same campus, received accreditation in 2004, and changed its name to Alliance University College (AUC).
AUC and NUC maintained a close relationship and were often referred to as Alliance University College-Nazarene University College (AUC-NUC), though the two granted degrees independently until 2007.
In 2007, AUC and NUC became a single institution, known as Ambrose University College, in honour of Saint Ambrose. [1] [3] A new campus opened in west Calgary the following year. [4]
In 2012 Gordon T. Smith was named president. [5]
In 2014, Premier and Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education Dave Hancock approved the change of name to Ambrose University, dropping the word "College" to better reflect the nature of the institution. [6]
In April of 2023, Dr. Smith announced a plan to retire from his role as president and began the process of transitioning out of leadership. [7] At that time, the Board of Governors Presidential Search Committee began its process of finding a candidate for the presidency. On January 15, 2024, the Search Committee, on behalf of the Board of Governors, announced that Rev. Dr. Bryce Ashlin-Mayo, the Dean of Theology and the Seminary, would be the next President of Ambrose University. [8] Dr. Ashlin-Mayo officially took office on May 6, 2024. As of now, no changes to the President's cabinet have been made known and the Dean of Theology role remains vacant.
Affiliation
Ambrose is the official Canadian school of both the Church of the Nazarene and The Christian and Missionary Alliance. It is one of 10 colleges and universities affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene in North America and one of 8 colleges and universities affiliated with The Christian and Missionary Alliance. [9] It is the Nazarene institute for the Canada field. [10]
It is also an affiliate of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
The Jaffray Centre for Global Initiatives was founded in coordination with Ambrose University. The institution is now separate but maintains a close relationship with Ambrose University. The Jaffray Centre's director is Dr. Charles Cook. [11]
The Canadian Poverty Institute was also founded in coordination with Ambrose University. The Canadian Poverty Institute, which is also separate from Ambrose, is housed in Ambrose University's main and only campus. The Canadian Poverty Institute's director is Derek Cook. [12]
Ambrose University's Undergraduate Student Council is affiliated with a local municipal lobby group, the Calgary Student's Alliance, and a provincial lobby group, the Alberta Student's Executive Council (ASEC). [13]
Academics
Ambrose's mission is to "produce graduates who are consciously and actively Christian in all aspects of life," and to "serve the church by providing excellent preparation for pastoral ministry.". [14]
In 2023, AU offered 255 courses to 920 students. [15] Students come from over 30 Christian denominations and traditions. [16]
AU provides undergraduate and graduate-level education for pastoral ministry, as well as undergraduate level education in select liberal arts and science degrees. In 2021 the School of Business at AU was officially launched as a separate program school.
Ambrose is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada to offer its Seminary degrees. The university is also accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education to offer undergraduate ministry and theology degrees, and by the Province of Alberta in the conferring of undergraduate degrees in selected disciplines.
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as non-charismatic, dispensational, and generally Calvinistic. Today, MBI operates undergraduate programs and Moody Theological Seminary at the Chicago campus. The Seminary also operates a satellite campus in Plymouth, Michigan. Moody Aviation operates a flight school in Spokane, Washington.
Trevecca Nazarene University (TNU) is a private Nazarene liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1901.
Bible Training Institute, established in 1892, was a bible college which aimed to evangelise the working classes in Scotland. It was closed in 2018 due to financial deficit.
The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) is a private, Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts. Established as a holiness college in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1900, the college moved to Rhode Island for several years. With its expansion to a four-year curriculum, it relocated to Wollaston Park in 1919. It has expanded to additional sites in Quincy and, since the late 20th century, to satellite sites across the state. Its academic programs are primarily undergraduate, with some professional graduate education offered.
Emmanuel Bible College is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian Bible college located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
Tyndale University is a Canadian private interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Toronto, Ontario, which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Tyndale students come from over 40 different Christian denominations.
Alliance University was a private Christian university affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Located in New York, New York, the university offered undergraduate and graduate programs; in addition, it included Alliance Theological Seminary.
Simpson University is a private Evangelical Christian liberal arts college in Redding, California. Originally founded in 1921 in Seattle as Simpson Bible Institute, the institution relocated to San Francisco in 1955 and then to Redding in 1989. It is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
William Tyndale College was a private nondenominational Christian college located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States. Named after 16th-century Protestant scholar William Tyndale, the college was founded as the Detroit Bible Institute in 1945, and became accredited by the American Association of Bible Colleges in 1954 and North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1988. William Tyndale College closed on December 31, 2004. Its motto was In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological education, Biblical studies and practical ministry training.
The Sydney College of Divinity (SCD) is a consortium of Christian theological educational institutions and Bible colleges based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The college is structured as a federation of member institutions, each of which retains its autonomy and respective theological traditions. Member institutions represent a range of Christian churches.
Prairie College is an interdenominational Christian College located in the town of Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. Founded as Prairie Bible Institute, classes began on October 9, 1922, on the property of the McElheran family farm.
Robert Alexander Jaffray was a missionary to China, Indonesia and several other countries, with The Christian & Missionary Alliance, who served as the founding principal of the Alliance Bible Seminary, in Hong Kong, and principal contributor and editor of the Chinese language Bible Magazine. Jaffrey founded the first Chinese missionary society called the "Chinese Foreign Missionary Union" (CFMU) in 1929. His life is chronicled in the biography, Let my people go!: The life of Robert A. Jaffray (1947), by A.W. Tozer.
The Nazarene Theological College (NTC) is a theological college located in the Thornlands suburb of Redland City in Queensland, Australia. NTC is a member institution of the Sydney College of Divinity.
Alberta Bible College is a Canadian Bible college offering Christian Higher education to young adults and older adults in Alberta. Non-Denominational, ABC is born of roots in Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
Alliance Theological Seminary was an evangelical Christian seminary affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, last located in Manhattan.
Gordon Edwin Dirks is a Canadian educator and politician, who has held political office in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Alliance Bible Seminary, is a C&MA seminary, located in Cheung Chau, Hong Kong. The seminary was originally founded in 1899 in Wuzhou, Guangxi, under the name Alliance Bible College. Established by missionaries Dr. Robert Glover and Robert A. Jaffray, ABS was the first C&MA seminary to be founded overseas, and one of the first seminaries in South China. In 1949, the seminary was moved to Cheung Chau, Hong Kong by Dr. William C. Newbern after the Communist takeover of mainland China. ABS was founded before any church plant and trained many of its students for missionary work. After they graduated, most were sent to establish new churches. Hence, most churches of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Hong Kong were planted by their graduates.
