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Abstract
An interesting trend is sweeping the nation's Christian higher education movement. During the 20th century, Christian liberal arts colleges and universities were frequently established and founded with names that included their denominational affiliation or the word “Christian” in them. In recent years, the trend has been to omit any religious affiliation from an institution's name. This paper tracks the role of history in the naming of Christian colleges and universities since 1636 when Harvard College was founded as the first institution of higher education in America and the first college with a distinctive Christian mission. Although Harvard College was originally a Christian institution, it was named after its founder. Also relevant to mapping this trend is a case study of the evolution taking place in name changes among baccalaureate-granting, liberal arts colleges affiliated with Churches of Christ. The research findings conclude that although colleges and universities are making conscious choices to omit religious connotations from their official names, most due to the value of marketing themselves to broader audiences for varying reasons, their mission and environment remain firmly Christ-centered.
Notes
*Note: Asterisk (*) indicates college not originally affiliated with the Churches of Christ.