Asbury Theological Seminary - Seminarian Yearbook (Wilmore, KY)

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EXPANSION housed in one small building; now the large admin- istration building of the Morrison Memorial Quad- rangle is completed, the apartment house is nearing completion, and the rest of the quadrangle is ready for construction. Five years ago the chances of full accreditation by the American Association of | Theological Schools seemed remote; by the fall of } 1946 that dream was realized, and, in addition, ap- proval came from the University Senate of the Methodist Church early in 1947. } At the beginning of the 1947-48 school year the | proposed affiliation of the John Wesley Seminary Foundation of the Free Methodist Church with As- | bury Seminary became a reaiity. There are about thirty students preparing for the ministry of the Free Methodist Church in school now. This is an illustration of the new doors of service which are continually opening for a greater and better Asbury Top: A scene taken during the ground-breaking ceremony. | | ' F Below: Construction begun on the new administration Theological Seminary of the future. building. | The completed administration building of the MorrisonMemorial Quadrangle.

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DR. JULIAN C. McPHEETERS The past few years of stress, when the Seminary was experi- encing some ‘‘growing pains,’ have demanded a leader of great faith and vision. President McPheeters has not only been a capable guide for the institution, but his vision of the future is a prophetic signpost of greaier days ahead for Asbury Theological Seminary. the ownership of the hotel building, which had been converted into an administration building, was transferred from the College to the Seminary in ex- change for Morrison Hall which is today a women's dormitory on the campus of Asbury College. Hardly a year passed after the Seminary assumed full responsibility for her own operation before seeming tragedy struck in the death of Dr. Mor- rison, the guiding spirit of the entire movement. The manner in which the constituents of the Semi- nary rallied to the cause now carried on by the suc- ceeding President, Julian C. McPheeters, and Mrs. H. C. Morrison was nothing short of miraculous. As treasurer of the institution, Mrs. Morrison, bet- ter known on the campus as ‘Aunt Bettie, ' did a monumental piece of work in establishing a ‘'family ’ of donors who provide annual scholarships for each full-time student. This living endowment has become a tremendous factor in the remarkable growth of the GROWTH AND institution since 1941. ‘Aunt Bettie’ also secured a substantial fund for the erection of the Morrison Memorial Quadrangle. On October 23, 1945, she turned the first shovelful of dirt at the ground- breaking ceremony for these new buildings. Sixteen days later she passed away, her work completed. Again the friends of Asbury Theological Seminary rallied to the cause, and today the nearly com- pleted ''Aunt Bettie’ Morrison Memorial apartment house stands as a tribute of appreciation to this dauntless soul. In spite of the loss of these two sorely needed leaders at this critical period of progress, the Semi- nary continued to take forward steps under the competent administration of Dr. McPheeters. A practically non-existent library grew to more than 20,000 volumes in an incredibly short time. Not too many years ago a B.D. degree was granted for work which did not far exceed the undergraduate level; today the academic standards compare favor- ably with the other seminaries of the nation, and the Master's degree in Religious Education is of- fered in addition to the Bachelor of Divinity. Not a single Ph.D. was on the faculty in 1942; today there are eight faculty members holding doctorates from some of the leading universities in the nation. In that same period of time the arand total of stu- dents in a given year has grown from sixty to what will probably amount to nearly two hundred and seventy-five by the time the complete records are in for 1948. This more than 300% increase in en- rollment places Asbury within the ‘'big ten’’ in size of its student body among the theological semina- ries of the country. A year ago the Seminary was

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PROSPECTS OF THE The phenomenal growth of Asbury Theological Seminary in the last twenty-five years is but a good foundation upon which rest great plans for the fu- ture. The partially constructed ''Aunt Bettie’ Mor- rison Hall will soon provide seventeen sorely needed apartment units for married students. Construction is scheduled to start on the Estes Memorial Chapel within the next few months, and the Morrison Me- morial Quadrangle will be completed with the building of a modern library which can adequately house 50,000 or more volumes. These plans for the immediate future are not the total extent of the vision for a greater Asbury Theo- logical Seminary. In the near future two new chairs will be added to the faculty; one in missions and the other in the field of evangelism. These new professorships will be but the beginnings of schools of missions and evangelism. The former will offer The ''Aunt Bettie'’ Morrison Hall under construction. excellent courses for the training of outgoing mis- sionaries, and, in addition, will offer special courses for missionaries on furlough who will find a haven on the campus of the school of missions. The school of evangelism will not only feature an enlarged training course in evangelism for the minister, but also short term courses for the laity. It is hoped that out of this practical clinic a new appreciation for the supreme task of the Christian, the holy art of soul winning, will be instilled into the ministry and laity alike. The Estes Memorial Chapel, a part of the Morrison Memo- rial Quadrangle, as sketched by the artist.