Having a Christian philosophy of education has consistently been of critical importance to BJU/BJA’s administration and faculty. During BJA’s years in Cleveland, Tennessee, the Academy’s enrollment grew six-fold. While the philosophy remained consistent, adjustments had to be made to provide appropriate room for that growth. Thanks again to Bill Pinkston, who has written and compiled a look into BJA’s history.
BJA’s Cleveland existence can be described in two words—growing and moving.
Growing—While in Cleveland, BJA enrollment went from close to 50 to over 300. Graduates went from a dozen a year to 100 per year. Faculty went from about 10 (most of whom taught only a single high school class) to about 15—most of whom taught only high school classes.
Moving—Because the campus was constantly expanding, the Academy kept moving from building to building.
In Cleveland, dormitory students made up between 80 to 95 percent of the Academy student body. Although college males and females were generally housed in separate buildings, Academy students were housed in the same building so they could be supervised as a unit. But because the number of students kept growing, the location of the Academy housing kept changing.
Class locations moved too. The Academy classes that required special facilities (science, home economics, music, etc.) were held in college classrooms, which were moved as various facilities were built to accommodate them. Academy classes which required a standard classroom were grouped together, but the place kept moving. When BJA’s enrollment reached about 300, one building held most of the Academy’s classes (and a few college education classes) and was called the Academy building.
(Pinkston, W.S. (2016). A History of Bob Jones Academy.)
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