Cornerstone University - KUMI ORI Yearbook (Grand Rapids, MI)

Page 11 text:

The staff of the 1949 Kumi On, advised by Dr William Pardee. Born as an evening school, the first enrollment was about two hundred students, far exceeding the expectations of the founders. Dr. David O. Fuller was President of the Executive Council during the Institute's formative years, and among the beginning faculty were Dr. William Pardee and Dr. Sheldon Quincer, who have remained in the school to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniver- sary. Eleven men and women participated in the first graduation, held on a cold evening in De- cember, 1943. The blessing of God led the Executive Board to add a day course in the fall of 1944, and the The first school basketball team played in 1948. Dr. Gerard Knol, the second official president after acting President Jackson. school was incorporated as the Baptist Bible Insti- tute and School of Theology under the presidency of Rev. Norman Douty. After two more years of growth, a need for housing arose and Van Osdel Hall became a part of the school, joined the fol- lowing year by Spurgeon Hall. The academic phase of the Institute was not forgotten, for in 1949, the first seminary graduates, including Mr. Victor Matthews, received their Bachelor of Divin- ity Degrees. Now, another name was required to adequately fit the school and the Baptist Theo- logical Seminary and Bible Institute became the title. The Voices of Victory

Page 10 text:

I N T H E 8 E T W E N T Y The old entrance, used for twenty-three years by the students. Rev. Norman Douty, the president who intro- duced Dr. Matthews to B. S. T. FIVE YEARS The man never lived to see his dream fulfilled, but his influence and plans created the scene for a Twentieth-Century miracle. Dr. O. W. Van Osdel was the first to recognize the need for a distinctive Baptist Bible institute in the Grand Rapids area. A group of men from surrounding Baptist churches caught his deam and nurtured it with prayer and much discussion. As a result, the Baptist Bible Institute of Grand Rapids was opened in the Wealthy Street Baptist Temple on the evening of January seventh, 1941. The school motto, was, Founded on the Word of God , and the sole purpose of the organization was the perfecting of the saints and the work of the ministry. The first evening school graduation class. 6

Page 12 text:

Dr. Hakes. Besides a new decade, many other firsts developed the next year. Dr. Quentin Kenoyer, presently a missionary in India, started the first school clinic. Student Council was also in its embryonic slage, and plans for four-year ancf five-year courses were just beginning. Dr. Hakes was called to ihe presidency in the f 953-1954 year, and during his term in office, he saw two major changes in curricula and a new site for the campus purchased. However, nothing more was accomplished in expansion, while the Seminary and Institute continued to improve. 8