Hyles–Anderson College facts for kids
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| Type | Unaccredited private college |
|---|---|
| Established | 1972 |
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Religious affiliation
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Independent Baptist |
| Chancellor | John Wilkerson |
| Vice-Chancellor | Ray Young |
| Location |
,
,
United States
41°27′57″N 87°24′17″W / 41.465833°N 87.404644°W |
| Colors | Blue and yellow |
| Mascot | Lion |
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Hyles–Anderson College (HAC) is a private Independent Fundamental Baptist college in unincorporated Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana. As a ministry of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, it focuses on training pastors, missionaries and Christian teachers to work in Independent Baptist schools.
History
In 1972, Hyles–Anderson College was founded by Jack Hyles with financial support from Russell Anderson. The school was originally located on a campus known as Baptist City in Schererville, Indiana. HAC's former campus was turned into Hammond Baptist K-12 school. This school is also operated by the First Baptist Church of Hammond.
The college's first president was Robert J. Billings, who later served as Ronald Reagan's "liaison to the fundamentalist Christian movement in the 1980 presidential campaign", before spending six years in the U.S. Education Department, as well as acting as a founding member of the Moral Majority.
When Hyles died in 2001, his son-in-law Jack Schaap, a 1979 graduate and former vice president of the school since 1996, became chancellor. That same year, Hyles' boyhood home, a 384 square feet (35.7 m2) shack in Italy, Texas was purchased to create a museum to honor Hyles, and was shipped from Texas to Hyles–Anderson College. Schaap was removed as chancellor in 2012.
In 2012, Chicago Magazine reported that the school "[appeared] to be struggling", with only 1,000 students enrolled, down from 2,700 in its peak.
In 2015, Stuart Mason, the former President of Hyles–Anderson College, resigned to pastor the Timberline Baptist Church in Sherwood, Oregon. The next President will be John Wilkerson.
Hyles–Anderson alumni have pastored at over 572 churches within the US and Guam. Over 123 alumni compose missionary families, church planters, and mission teams around the world with Fundamental Baptist Missions International and many hundreds have teamed up with other mission boards as well. One graduate, Jon Nelms, started the Final Frontiers Foundation mission board, which has led to the creation of over 44,000 churches worldwide.
Academics, policies and accreditation
Hyles–Anderson College is not accredited by any recognized accreditation body. An essay on Hyles' website presents several arguments against accreditation. However, the U.S. armed services and public schools do not recognize unaccredited degrees, while several states restrict the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.
All faculty, staff, and students are required to go soul-winning weekly by participating in the evangelistic ministry of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. The 2008 college catalog claimed that 10,000 new baptisms are performed each year at the church.
For school year 2010–2011, HAC's catalog listed policies under the title "Maybe You Wouldn't Like...", detailing the prohibition of long hair on men, dance, Hollywood movies, playing cards and having "fellowship with liberals".
See also
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- WRTW, "The Key", a Christian radio station licensed to Hyles–Anderson College
