Southwestern Christian College

Southwestern Christian College, a coeducational liberal arts college at Terrell, was originally located in Fort Worth and named Southern Bible Institute. It opened in the fall of 1948. In 1950 it moved into buildings that had previously housed Texas Military College and was renamed Southwestern Christian College. Although initially designed as an institution of higher learning for Blacks during the period of segregation, the college has always been open to anyone interested in pursuing an education beyond the high school level. Enrollment grew steadily from the original forty-five students who attended in 1948 to more than 200 by the early 1970s. During that time the junior college expanded its campus and facilities. A fund-raising drive in 1967 initiated the construction of a new gymnasium, a girls' dormitory, and an additional wing to the educational building. By the mid-1970s the twenty-five-acre campus housed fifteen buildings. The institution was elevated to a four-year college. It has seven divisions in its College of Arts and Sciences. Southwestern Christian College had thirty faculty members and approximately 200 students in the fall of 1998. Jack Evans was the president in 2001.