Although this post is primarily in regards to Tomlinson College, the message could be repeated for other denomination Church Colleges, such as Lee. I encourage you to support your Church College because of the unique opportunities they provide. Please forgive this long post! For my Church of God of Prophecy friends, I just learned that the former Tomlinson College property was approved for sale by the General Assembly. I understand the reason for the sale, but nonetheless, it is sad to see it sold. As a former CFO at TC, I was intimately aware of the precarious financial condition at the College. I had to make the difficult decision to propose no salary increases and a 25% reduction in the operating budget due to declining enrollment. The precarious financial condition was a significant reason for my decision to leave my position at TC. It was disappointing to see the lack of financial support at that time. The college was closed a few years after I left. If I recall correctly, the general Church suffered some significant financial losses due to ill advised investments and had to discontinue their annual support, thus resulting in the closing. A business model of less than 250 students was not sustainable. Without significant changes in the future, i doubt a college will be reestablished in the future. Hopefully, the Ministry Training Center will provide training on a more global perspective than TC could offer. Nevertheless, it is sad there is not a Church college within the Denomination for students desiring to major in areas other than Ministry. I realize there are other tremendous Church Colleges of other denominations, but there was something about students being able to study together with a shared doctrinal background. It appears the proceeds from the sale will at least be used for educational purpose and I applaud that decision. Nevertheless, it is a sad day, even though I was never able to afford TC as a student, but was privileged to serve in an administrative and teaching capacity. Ironically, today, I read an article inBusiness Officer (a publication of the National Association of College and University Business Officers) that the number of Bachelor's Degree-Liberal Arts colleges has dropped from 721in 1970 to 228 in the year 2000. Since that date many more private private colleges have closed their doors. Many of those 500 or so colleges that closed between 1970 to 2000 were private and often church related. So, Tomlinson College was not unique in the challenges of being a small college.
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