Western Seminary - History

History

Portland Baptist Bible Institute was organized in the winter of 1925 through the work of Walter B. Hinson. In the following year, further efforts were begun to establish a graduate-level seminary to provide a theological education of greater depth in the Northwestern United States. The Western Baptist Theological Seminary was officially dedicated on October 4, 1927.

The Board acquired a mansion and 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land on the west slope of Portland's Mt. Tabor in 1944. Additional structures were built and classes convened at the new site in the fall of that year. The Portland campus continues to operate at this site today.

To date, Western Seminary has opened several extension campus locations in the Western United States to support residential studies in other major cities. The first branch campus was launched in San Jose, CA in 1986, followed by another in Phoenix, AZ in 1988. A Sacramento, CA campus was opened in 1991, as was the Seattle, WA campus in 1992. Since this time, the Phoenix and Seattle campuses have become independent seminaries.

Western’s presidents have been reputable leaders in theological education, including Earl D. Radmacher (1965–1989) and Bert Downs (1998–2008). The current president is Randal Roberts (starting in 2008).

Western has developed many solutions to help non-residential students complete their coursework. Western was one of the earliest institutions to offer the Doctor of Ministry degree, with modular scheduling for easy out of state access. In 1981, Western began a distance learning program that served hundreds of students per year in study centers across America and overseas through interactive video curriculum. In adapting courses to DVD and online streaming formats, the Western Seminary Center for Lifelong Learning offers distance learning courses on demand. Today, alternative course scheduling options on the different campuses also allow students to complete their studies as either part- or full-time students, without need for relocation.

In 2005, Western expanded its training sites along the west coast by establishing hybrid learning cohorts in such cities as Seattle and Richland, WA; Reno, NV; Bakersfield, CA.

In 2010, the San Jose campus relocated to a new, more centralized Bay Area facility in Santa Clara, CA.

In 2013, Western Seminary changed the name of its distance learning department to Western Seminary Online Campus (formerly "Center for Lifelong Learning") as it began to offer its first fully online degree program.