Religious Roots and Institutional Identity: Continuity and Change in Church-Related Colleges.

Many private liberal arts colleges today are reconsidering their sense of institutional identity and mission, including their religious heritage. In this context, the following questions are asked: What are the relationships between the religious roots and institutional identity of certain liberal arts colleges? How have these relationships changed? How have they stayed the same? How have religious values shaped institutional decisions and direction? These questions are explored in the context of the experience of mid-western liberal arts colleges, particularly the twelve colleges in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio that make up the Great Lakes Colleges Association. The general historical and theological context is examined: the religious roots established in the founding years before the Civil War, the religious and secularizing influences that produced continuity and change during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the commitment and diversity seen among church-related colleges today. Four basic indicators of college identity are explored in detail, first from a general, historical point of view, then from the perspective of three case studies. The four elements are college mission and goals, structure and organization, curriculum, and religious program. These are examined in case studies that explore historically the specific experiences of three colleges. These case studies are: "Oberlin: From Cause to College"; "Kalamazoo: In the Middle"; and "Hope College: Maintaining a Christian Context." Originally, Oberlin was most religious, Kalamazoo was least, and Hope was in the middle; today, Oberlin is essentially free of church ties, Kalamazoo is in the middle, and Hope remains relatively close to its founding denomination. Several factors have influenced these changes: the nature of ties between church and college, the organization and values of the founding denomination, financial support, leadership, location, historical circumstances. The historical trend in higher education has been toward secularization. It seems, however, that retaining some values from its religious roots strengthens a college's sense of mission and identity.PhDHigher educationUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/159930/1/8412138.pd