Regent University - History

History

Plans for the university (originally named CBN University) began in 1978 by Christian Broadcasting Network founder and current Chancellor Pat Robertson. In 1990, the name was changed to Regent University. The university's name is designed to reference a regent, who is someone that exercises power in a kingdom during the absence of the sovereign; according to the school's catalog, "a regent is one who represents Christ, our Sovereign, in whatever sphere of life he or she may be called to serve Him." The university's current motto is "Christian Leadership to Change the World".

The first class, consisting of seventy-seven students, began in fall of 1978 when the school leased classroom space in Chesapeake, Virginia. The first students were all enrolled in what is now the School of Communication & the Arts. In May 1980, the first graduating class held its commencement, while the School of Education opened the following October. Simultaneously, the university took residence for the first time on its current campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The school proceeded to open its Schools of Business, Divinity, Government, and Law by the mid-1980s. In 1984, Regent University received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; later in the decade; it started a distance education program.

Five years later, Regent began outreach programs geared to teachers in the Washington, D.C. area, which eventually led to the opening of its Alexandria campus. In 2000, Regent began an undergraduate degree-completion curriculum under the auspices of a new program, the Center for Professional Studies, which became Regent School of Undergraduate Studies in the fall of 2004.