Biola
University was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute Of Los
Angeles by Lyman Stewart, president of the Union Oil Company of
California (subsequently known as Unocal and later purchased by the Chevron
Corporation), Thomas C.
Horton, a Presbyterian minister and Christian author, and
Augustus B. Prichard, also a Presbyterian minister.In 1912, the school
appointed R. A.
Torrey as dean, and in
1913 began construction on a new building at the corner of Sixth and Hope St.,
in downtown Los Angeles, which included a 3,500-seat auditorium, two large neon
signs on top of the building proclaiming "Jesus Saves", and a set of
eleven bells on which hymns were played three times each day.
These early
leaders wanted the school to focus on the training of students in the Bible and
missions, rather than a broad approach to Christian education that was typical
of most Christian liberal arts colleges. The Institute offered a diploma after
completion of a two-year curriculum. This model was based largely on the Moody
Bible Institute.
Beginning in the 1920s, attempts were made to broaden the curriculum, but it
was not until 1949 that the institution took the name "Biola College"
and 1981 when it was renamed "Biola University". Biola re-located to
La Mirada, California in 1959Biola University is officially non-denominational,
but the most represented denominations at the university are Baptist and Evangelical
Free.
Biola is well
known for its conservative evangelical doctrine, while many other evangelical
schools identify as either moderate or liberal. The vast majority of students
and faculty identify themselves as evangelical, but Biola students and faculty
hold to myriad perspectives within the overall schema of Protestant orthodoxy. Biola holds to the key doctrine of Biblical
inerrancy, the idea that
the original writings of the Bible were without error with regard to both
theological and non-theological matters. As a final guarantee of strict
adherence to its theological worldview, the university requires every faculty
member, when first hired and again upon application for tenure, to submit their
understanding of and complete agreement with each item of the doctrinal and
teaching statements to the Talbot School of Theology for evaluation.
Biola's
Student Government Association (SGA) equips student leaders to provide funding
for student initiatives and representation for the undergraduate student body
in order to foster Christ-centered community. SGA also sponsors student
initiated and student run clubs on campus through which anyone can get
involved, create community, and develop teamwork and leadership skills. There
are more than 40 active clubs on campus.The Biola Student Missionary Union
(SMU) is the largest student-led missions organization in the United States.
The ministry focuses in three primary areas: Biola, our city, and the Nations.
Students from every background and skill set can live out the Great Commission
in their lives through the Missions Conference, Impact Teams, Short-Term
Missions trips and many other opportunities.
SMU exists to mobilize students to
align their lives towards the completion of the Great Commission. Their desire
is to consistently raise up generations of student leaders who passionately and
obediently serve Jesus throughout their lives.In May 2012, an underground LGBTQ
community, calling themselves the Biola Queer Underground, launched a website
in support of promoting dialogue and reconsideration of Biola's expulsion
policy regarding homosexual behavior. The covert group requested to be accepted
as a facet of diversity within the campus, declaring that, despite traditional
church teaching on homosexuality, they held similar Christian beliefs and
values to the university.The website was advertised on campus without
authorization, and garnered national attention from the mainstream media.