 This
postcard appears to be an architect's drawing of Baptist Bible College
showing what it would look like from the air when completed. This
drawing probably does not exactly match the completed buildings. The
only building that can be identified with certainty is the Administration
Building, which is the L-shaped building at the top left side of the
picture.
Baptist Bible College began in 1950 when a group of Baptist ministers
gathered in the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, and established
a Christian school dedicated to training men and women for the Baptist
ministry. During the summer of 1950 a five-acre tract of land on the
northeast corner of Summit and Kearney was purchased for the school.
The land had formerly been a Springfield city park. The first structure
built on the site was a dormitory. At the beginning of the fall 1950
semester, Baptist Bible College had to use the High Street Baptist
Church facilities for classes. Later in the fall, four army barracks,
similar to those at O'Reilly General
Army Hospital, were purchased. These were used to teach the 107
students. Dr. G.B. Vick served as president of the college from 1950
to 1975. The second president was Dr. W.E. Dowell, who served from
1975 to 1983. The third president was Dr. A.V. Henderson, who served
from 1983 to 1986. Dr. Leland R. Kennedy served from 1986 to 2002.
The current president is Mike Randall.
Until 1978 no tuition was charged to attend the college. As of April,
2002, Baptist Bible College has 10,804 alumni. A mentoring program
at the school helps keep the students on track. |
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