Washington Missionary College by W. E. H.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 19, 1914

Washington Missionary College

By W. E. H.

Our readers are already familiar with the report of the autumn council on the adjustment of colleges, published in the Review some time ago. One feature of that report was a recommendation that Washington Foreign Mission Seminary resume its work as a college. Territory was assigned as follows: for college students, Atlantic Union, Columbia Union, Southeastern Union, Southern Union, East Canadian Union (except Ontario); for academic students, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Chesapeake Conferences. The membership of the board was to include four union presidents, the five local presidents, the treasurer of the General Conference, the president of the college, and four other men,—a total of fifteen. The name Washington Missionary College was fixed upon.

At a constituency meeting called in December the members of this board were duly elected, with seven of their number designated as an executive committee to transact current business. Since that time the committee has been at work on the selection of a faculty and on other important matters. On February 3 the board was called together and elected the following members of the faculty: President, J. L. Shaw; department of Bible, C. Sorenson; department of history, C. L. Benson; department of English, M. E. Olsen; department of languages, L. L. Caviness; department of science, Otto John; department of mathematics, G. R. Lehman; department of the foreign mission seminary, J. N. Anderson; department of music, Clemen Hamer; public speaking and Hebrew, C. C. Lewis; assistant in the seminary department, Dr. H. W. Miller; academic grades, Mrs. Angelia Weber; architecture and carpentry, Elihu Wood; printing, F. E. Hull; sewing, dressmaking, and millinery, Rubie M. Owen.

In resuming its status as a college, ample provision has been made that the school do not lose, but rather gain, in strength for the training of appointees to the foreign mission fields. President Shaw brings to the college a mature

experience in both school and field work. He has taught in our colleges eight years, being president of Union College, South Africa, four years of this time. For twelve years he has served as superintendent of the India Mission field. He is therefore able to judge well the essential qualifications of the foreign missionary, and to direct in such preliminary training of appointees as can be given to advantage in this country.

As capable assistants in this work, he has Professor Anderson, who spent seven years as superintendent of the China Mission, and Dr. H. W. Miller, who spent eight years in China. As the name Foreign Mission Seminary has become familiar to our people, and as it is also a convenient term for the General Conference brethren to use in assigning their appointees, it has been decided to call this feature of the college work the Foreign Mission Seminary department, to be known briefly, perhaps, as the Seminary department. It may thus be said of those who come for this special training before going abroad, that they have been appointed to the Seminary, as heretofore.

The others on the faculty are well known and scarcely need any introduction further than to mention their term of service: Professor Sorenson, seven years in the ministry, seven years as teacher of Bible and history in Keene Academy (three years of this time as principal also), and three years as head of the Bible department of the Foreign Mission Seminary; Professor Benson, five years as head of the history department in Union College; Professor Olsen, eight years as editor of our English health magazine, and five years as head of the English department of the Foreign Mission Seminary; Professor Caviness, seven years as head of the department of languages in Union College; Professor John, four years as head of the department of science in Mount Vernon College; Professor Hamer, ten years as teacher of piano, organ, voice, and chorus in England and America; Professor Lehman, two years as head of the mathematical department of the Foreign Mission Seminary; Mrs. Weber, over twenty years as a teacher with unusual success.

Besides the special work of the Seminary, it is the plan of this institution to do full college work along regular lines, drawing from its own territory the same as our other schools. It is offering a general college course, with a liberal proportion of elective studies, and a college course for ministers, both leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, this being the same degree as is given by our other colleges. Besides the growing library of the school itself, students will have access to the Library of Congress, Carnegie Library, and other special libraries of value in the national capital. The academic work will cover grades nine to twelve. In both college and academic work, the school will keep close to the course of study adopted by the departments of education in general convention. It will affiliate closely with Mount Vernon, South Lancaster, and Graysville academies, and endeavor to protect and build up their interests as well as its own.

Educative industrial work will not be neglected. The printing plant is well established, and successfully conducted under the efficient management of Brother F. E. Hull, who has had ten years of all-round experience in denominational publishing work, and who is deeply interested in training printers for the mission field. In the dressmaking and millinery work, Miss Rubie M. Owen has had nine years' experience in connection with Walla Walla and Union Colleges and the Foreign Mission Seminary, and is enthusiastic and progressive in her work. Definite arrangements have been made to put in twelve sets of carpenter's tools, with benches, to begin with. Brother Elihu Wood, who has been employed to take charge of this work, is an expert carpenter and cabinetmaker, and is a practical architect, plumber, painter, and builder, having been responsibly connected with our building work at Berrien Springs, Washington, and elsewhere for over twelve years, and having spent five years as a missionary in Jamaica. The College is planning definitely for gardening, dairying, and poultry raising as fast as these can be developed.

The environment of the College is specially favorable for practical missionary work by way of pastoral training, cottage meetings, and the selling of literature.

The school will endeavor to maintain a high standard of thoroughness in all kinds of study, and to make the spiritual tone of primary importance in every feature of its work.