Bob Jones University

Bob Jones University (BJU) is the largest private liberal arts university in South Carolina. It is a Christian university in Greenville, South Carolina, and traces its history to 1927 when it was founded by Bob Jones, Sr.[?], an evangelist and revival-preacher.

The current president of the university is Bob Jones III[?], grandson of the founder. It sits on a 225-acre campus, has a staff of 1,800 and a student body of 5,000, and offers degrees in 150 majors, plus additional schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. The college, like many other fundamentalist Christian schools, has not sought accreditation[?] due to concerns about governmental control over policy or curriculum.

Its mission statement is "Within the cultural and academic soil of liberal arts education, Bob Jones University exists to grow Christlike character that is Scripturally disciplined; others-serving; God-loving; Christ-proclaiming; and focused above."

Table of contents 1 History 2 Art Collection 3 Creed 4 Controversy 5 Presidential Campaigns

History BJU was founded in 1927 by evangelist Bob Jones, Sr., in College Point, Florida[?]. Jones was the son of an Alabama sharecropper[?]. His stated purpose was to create a school where Christian students could receive a high-quality education in a strongly traditional Christian environment.

The school moved to Cleveland, Tennessee in 1933, and to its present campus in Greenville, South Carolina in 1947.

Art Collection Bob Jones, Jr., son of the founder, had an interest in art depicting scenes from the Bible, especially those which had a highly illustrative nature rather than those relying on symbols. He began collecting after World War II, and concentrated on Italian Baroque painters. This style was much out of favor in the mid-20th century and the works were relatively inexpensive, and Jones built up an important collection. He donated his paintings to a museum at the University.

Creed Students at BJU recite the University Creed at chapel services each day. They are also required to sign it annually as a statement of faith, as a condition of enrollment.

I believe in the inspiration of the Bible (both the Old and the New Testaments); the creation of man by the direct act of God; the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; His identification as the Son of God; His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross; the resurrection of His body from the tomb; His power to save men from sin; the new birth through the regeneration by the Holy Spirit; and the gift of eternal life by the grace of God.

Controversy Bob Jones University lost its Internal Revenue Service tax exemption in 1980 because of a policy banning interracial dating. The policy has since been dropped. The school appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the school met the criteria for tax-exempt status on several counts. U.S. President Ronald Reagan supported the school's tax exempt status, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1983 in favour of the IRS (see Bob Jones University v. United States[?], 461 U.S. 574).

Presidential Campaigns In 2000, George W. Bush, while campaigning to become U.S. President, addressed a function at the school. Many people disagreed with Bush's decision to address a function at the controversial institution, including many American Conservatives. On the day of Bush's visit, he denounced the school's policy of banning interracial dating, noting that his brother Jeb Bush could not have dated his wife (who is Latina) if he had attended the school. Bush also later wrote a formal letter of apology for the visit to Cardinal John O'Connor of New York given what is seen as the Bob Jones University's strongly anti-Catholic prejudice.

Bush's visit to the school follows a long line of visits from prominent politicians, including Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, John Ashcroft, and the Democratic Governor of South Carolina, Jim Hodges[?].