Remembering Dr. George J. Apel, Jr: A Posthumous Tribute to an Innovative, Obscure Pioneer in Christian Higher Education

Abstract

This paper is a belated tribute to George J. Apel, Jr., an innovative and obscure Christian higher educator. Peruse the name and subject indices of any and all books about Christian higher education, and nowhere will there appear even a reference to George J. Apel, Jr. Although Apel never finished high school or college, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Sacred Theology for his accomplishments in Christian higher education. This paper deals primarily with his single most outstanding educational accomplishment (and failure): the University Foundation in St. Augustine, Florida. The foundation was a Christian higher education endeavor conceptualized and implemented by Apel for delivering liberal arts and theological education through residency and nonresidency, credit-accruing, accredited course work. The foundation included the St. Augustine Junior College, a graduate school, the American Theological Seminary, and an extension program via correspondence, all housed in the former Kirkside residence of the nineteenth−century oil magnate Henry Morrison Flagler. The foundation completed its short run in 1949 and has now been superseded by the Saint Augustine Bible Institute & College.