Southwestern Christian College: Academic Accomplishment at its Finest
G.P. Bowser founded Southwestern Christian College in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1948. A member of the Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), the school was originally named the Southern Bible Institute and began with a small group of forty-five students. The following year, after a large area of land previously used by the Texas Military Institute became available in Terrell, Texas, the school moved its operations 70 miles east and renamed itself Southwestern Christian College.
To this date, an important structure of Texas history still stands on the site of the current campus. Built by a man named Terrell (later the town's namesake), the octagonal building served as protection from Native Americans in the region. Now called the Round House, it is listed as one of only twenty structures of its kind in the United States.
Long before Southwestern Christian moved to Terrell, a man named W. B. Toone managed a co-educational institution on the land from 1896 to 1904. Mr. Toone's wife had been born in the Round House as a daughter of the original Terrells. After selling the land to a group of Methodists in 1904, Mr. Toone repurchased the land in 1908 before selling it again to Colonel Perry, founder of the private Texas Military Institute.
Southwestern Christian College remains the only historically African-American institute of higher education affiliated with the Church of Christ. Although primarily a junior college, Southwestern Christian expanded its curriculum in 1984 to include a number of junior- and senior-level classes. The current administration building was constructed in the 1950s and originally housed all of the school's activities -- classrooms, dormitories, offices, etc. The Doric Johnson Library was completed in 1974, providing the school with over 26,000 volumes, journals and newspapers.
Southwestern Christian currently offers more than 20 different academic programs, allowing students to work toward degrees in disciplines such as Biblical studies, Christian ministry, practical ministry, education, mathematics, history, English and foreign languages. In addition, Southwestern Christian also offers a vast selection of online courses designed to help students earn their degrees from home on their own time.
The institution was fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1973.
At present, Southwestern Christian is presided over by Dr. Jack Evans. President of the school since 1967, Dr. Evans first served the school as dean beginning in 1963. He is the author of several books and speaks frequently at seminars and presentations around the globe. With such apt leadership at the helm of Southwestern Christian College, the school stands poised to continue into the future in the pursuit of knowledge and integrity.
If you would like to know more about Southwestern Christian College, please visit us on campus or on the Web (www.swcc.edu). We would be delighted to show you around our school and welcome you to our family!
