 | |
| Motto | Animos et spirito parati |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Prepared in mind and soul |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1966 |
| Endowment | $389,000 |
| President | Jack Klem |
| Provost | Anthony Abell |
| Founder | Arthur E. Steele |
| Location | , , 27°57′50″N82°41′49″W / 27.964°N 82.697°W |
| Colors | Maroon and Silver |
| Affiliations | NCCAA |
| Mascot | Cougar |
| Website | www.clearwater.edu |
Clearwater Christian College (CCC) was a non-denominational Christian college in Clearwater, Florida on Tampa Bay from 1966 until 2015.
Clearwater Christian College students were composed of roughly 80% residence hall students and 20% commuters, and there were a variety of student activities and organizations for all students to participate in. There were Greek letter organizations, student government, intramural sports, fine arts groups, yearbook, political club, a student newspaper, and other opportunities.
The CCC intercollegiate athletics teams, known as the Cougars, participated in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division II. The women's volleyball team won 13 national titles, including eight in a row during 2006-2013. The men's soccer team also won back-to-back national titles in 2009 and 2010. The women's soccer team won the 2012 and 2014 national title.
Clearwater was conservative and maintained student guidelines including a modest dress code, regulation of facial hair, limited physical contact between the sexes, and chapel attendance three times per week. Student rooms were inspected weekly for cleanliness, and a "white glove" inspection was performed once a semester. [1] The college used a relational approach to discipline in order to facilitate a spirit of growth and restoration whenever possible.
CCC was known as a Christ-centered liberal arts college with a general education curriculum in the arts and sciences plus an embedded Bible minor for all students. The most popular majors were business, elementary education, and general studies, but there was increasing demand for the programs in the division of science: biology, pre-med, exercise and sport science, psychology, and mathematics. Education majors earned Florida state certification. The interdisciplinary studies major was available for students who wished to focus on two academic disciplines without having to assume the coursework of a double major.
Clearwater Christian College had an agreement with the nearby University of South Florida (USF) to offer its students ROTC programs in Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.
Clearwater encouraged its students to participate in study abroad and missions trips. In the final years of operation, the college offered study abroad trips for college credit during spring break and summer break to Austria, Costa Rica, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. As a faith-based institution committed to serving God, CCC sponsored missions trips to international locations. Faculty, staff, and students ministered across the globe in Argentina, Brazil, China, Jamaica, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, and Thailand.
Clearwater Christian College was a denominationally unaffiliated Christian college; however most of their faculty, staff, and students came from various Baptist and independent Bible church backgrounds. The college's doctrinal statement focused on the historic fundamentals of Protestant Christianity. [2]
Students were required to attend Sunday services, chapel services, and spend time in Christian service. Small group, student-led devotional times occurred twice a week for prayer and peer edification, for all resident students.
In July 1965, Arthur E. Steele went to Florida looking for a place to found a Christian college, as a reaction to what the founders saw as trends in evangelical colleges away from biblical standards of morality. The school would emphasize doctrine and personal soul-winning, and was a reaction against the ecumenical movement, new evangelicalism, and ecumenical evangelism. Evangelist Jack Murray supported the founding as chairman of the Advisory Council. [3] These two founders were both graduates of Faith Theological Seminary, and had each served as a president of Shelton College.
Steele found Clearwater, Florida to be an ideal place to found a college. He soon acquired 50 acres (200,000 m2) waterfront at the eastern entrance of Clearwater. On September 17, 1966, the college officially opened with 15 students enrolled.
Clearwater Christian College received full accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS-COC) in December 1984 and in 1998 gained reaffirmation for SACS-COC accreditation.
In January 1987, the Board of Directors named George D. Youstra to succeed Steele as president. In the following years, enrollment tripled, new buildings were added, 89 additional acres of property were acquired, and new programs were offered. [4]
In May 2002, Richard A. Stratton assumed the presidency.
In the summer 2008, the College began its first graduate program in the area of Educational Leadership, and the Florida Department of Education granted full approval for Elementary Education graduates to be certified with a reading endorsement.
On May 7, 2012, John F. Klem became the fifth president of Clearwater Christian College. [5] However, the economic downturn across America caused student enrollment to drop significantly.
On June 5, 2015, the board of directors of the College announced the closure of Clearwater Christian College effective immediately, citing "ongoing struggles with maintaining enrollment, rising costs, and challenging development efforts" as reasons for the decision. [6]
Clearwater Christian College was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Education degrees. [7] CCC had been given Teacher Education Program Approval by the Florida Department of Education. [8]
Clearwater was a member of the following groups:
Belhaven University is a private evangelical Christian university in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1883, the university offers traditional majors, programs of general studies, and pre-professional programs in Christian Ministry, Medicine, Dentistry, Law, and Nursing.
Warner University is a private Christian university in Lake Wales, Florida. It is affiliated with the Church of God.
Maranatha Baptist University is a private Baptist university in Watertown, Wisconsin.
Trinity International University (TIU) is an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. It comprises Trinity College, Trinity Graduate School, a theological seminary, a law school, and a camp called Timber-lee. The university also maintains campuses in North Lauderdale, Florida & Miami, Florida; the camp is located in East Troy, Wisconsin. TIU is the only university affiliated with Evangelical Free Church of America in the United States and enrolls about 2,700 students. On February 17, 2023, TIU announced it was moving the undergraduate program to online modalities only and closed the residential campus at the end of the Spring 2023 semester.
Pensacola Christian College (PCC) is a private Independent Baptist college in Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1974 by Arlin and Beka Horton, it has been accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools since 2013.
Johnson University Florida is a private Christian university in Kissimmee, Florida. It is part of the Johnson University system with its main campus outside Knoxville Tennessee and an online campus. It is affiliated with the Independent Christian Church of the Restoration Movement. The campus will be closing in 2024.
York University is a private college affiliated with the Churches of Christ and located in York, Nebraska. It was founded in 1890.
Victory University, formerly Crichton College, was a private for-profit university in Memphis, Tennessee. It closed in May 2014 and was owned by California-based Significant Education. Victory University was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and offered on-campus and distance learning courses.
Campbellsville University (CU) is a private Christian university in Campbellsville, Kentucky. It was founded as Russell Creek Academy and enrolls more than 12,000 students. The university offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees.
Columbia International University (CIU) is a private Christian university in Columbia, South Carolina. It was founded in 1923.
Huntington University is a private Christian university in Huntington, Indiana. It is affiliated with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).
Providence Christian College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Pasadena, California. Founded in 2002, it is an independent, confessionally Reformed college with no formal denominational ties. The college offers one degree program, a bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies.
Arizona Christian University is a private Christian university in Glendale, Arizona.
Hope International University is a private Christian university in Fullerton, California. It enrolls around 1,140 students. While Hope is non-denominational, it has strong ties to the Restoration Movement and the Christian churches and churches of Christ. Hope is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Hope International University's Fullerton campus sits adjacent to California State University, Fullerton, with which it has contract programs. Enrollment stands at just under 1,200 students.
San Diego Christian College (SDCC) is a private, evangelical college in Santee, California, a suburb of San Diego. Founded in 1970, SDCC offers traditional, non-traditional, and graduate programs.
Southern Wesleyan University is a private Christian university in Central, South Carolina. It was founded in 1906 by what is now the Wesleyan Church. The institution is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
West Coast Baptist College is an independent Baptist Bible college in Lancaster, California, offering graduate and undergraduate degrees. West Coast opened in 1995 and is a member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), having been awarded Candidate Status on October 27, 2015; then approved for Accredited Status on April 18, 2019. This accreditation is not retroactive to those who graduated prior to 2015.
Point University is a private evangelical Christian college in West Point, Georgia and was founded in 1937 as Atlanta Christian College in East Point. The college announced its name change to Point University in 2011 and relocated its main campus to West Point in June 2012. As of 2022, over 2,000 students are enrolled both onsite and online.
Central Christian College of the Bible is a private Christian college in Moberly, Missouri. Founded in 1957, it is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education and focuses on biblical instruction and practical training for its students. It offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees and certificates in ministry-related programs. In 2020, Central began offering a graduate program for a Master of Arts in Ministry Leadership degree.
The University of Fort Lauderdale (UFTL) is a private non-denominational Christian university in Lauderhill, Florida. Founded in 1995, the school offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and has a mission statement of being a "premier Christian institution of higher learning empowering future leaders through higher educational degrees rooted in Biblical principles". UFTL co-founder Henry B. Fernandez leads the school as chancellor and CEO.
This school has come into being ...
