Grace University is a private Bible college located in Omaha

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

. The university includes three separate colleges: Grace College of the Bible, Grace College of Graduate Studies, and Grace College of Continuing Education.

History

Founded in 1943, Grace was originally intended as an inter-Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

 Bible institute where Christian men and women might further their theological training. The ten Mennonite ministers counted as Grace's founders (August Ewert, Albert Ewert, Albert Schultz, Peter Kliewer, Paul Kuhlmann, Harold Burkholder, John Barkman, C.H. Suckau, Solomon Mouttet, and John Tieszen) originally met to discuss relocating the Bible department of the Oklahoma Bible Academy

Oklahoma Bible Academy

The Oklahoma Bible Academy is an interdenominational Christian private school located in Enid, Oklahoma. OBA is the oldest coeducational private school in the state of Oklahoma.-History:...

. After several days of prayer they decided that what was really needed was a place of higher education.

Originally called Grace Bible Institute, the school opened in the fall of 1943 with a grand total of 23 students and six professors. No tuition was charged; instead, students performed "30-minute jobs" every day. That changed in 1948 when the Accrediting Association required member schools to charge money. The original tuition was a flat $50 fee. In 1976, the school's name was changed to Grace College of the Bible. On July 1, 1995, the school officially became Grace University, emphasizing the school's new academic identity.

Grace's original home was in a former Presbyterian theological seminary. In less than a year the college was able to purchase Stuntz Hall, 1515 S. 10th St. in Omaha. The current campus includes that lot (the hall, by then known as Old Main, was torn down in the 1990s due to decay and safety concerns) as well as the surrounding city blocks. In 1977, the University purchased the St. Catherine’s Hospital Center for Continuing Care. This purchase added almost 2.7 acres (1.1 ha) to the campus and doubled facility space.

Academics

Grace University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission

The Higher Learning Commission

The Higher Learning Commission is part of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Higher Learning Commission oversees the accreditation of degree-granting colleges and universities in nineteen Midwestern and South-Central states, including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa,...

. From the original three majors offered, Grace has grown to offer 17 undergraduate degrees and two graduate degrees. Popular programs include pastoral ministries, psychology, music, and teacher education. Approximately 500 students currently attend. Facilities include a state of the art extensive theological library, a new gym (which hosted the NCCAA division II Volleyball National Championships in 2007 and 2008), a newly remodeled teacher education wing, and a LAN connection in every dorm room.

The teacher education program is one of the biggest programs offered at Grace University. This program started in 1998. This program strives to provide a Biblically-integrated curriculum as well as challenging, up-to-date education. Students can choose from a variety of different areas of teaching interest. Elementary and Middle School Education majors automatically receive an additional English Language Learner

English language learner

An English language learner is a person who is learning the English language in addition to their native language...

 endorsement with their diploma. Among the possibilities of teacher education programs, students can receive an associate’s degree of education, elementary education, middle school, and high school. Students are also given the opportunity to pursue a degree in music education.

Athletics

As a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association

National Christian College Athletic Association

The National Christian College Athletic Association is an association of approximately 100 Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada which see collegiate sports primarily as an opportunity for Christian fellowship and ministry. The national headquarters...

 (NCCAA), Grace offers sports including basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, and soccer. The Lady Royals Volleyball team was named Division II National Champions of the NCCAA in 2005. In 2007 and 2008, Grace University is hosting the NCCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship. The Royals are coached by Angela Taulborg. Angela played for Grace from 1995 to 1997. During that time she was named to the Midwest Christian College

Midwest Christian College Conference

The Midwest Christian College Conference is a college athletic conference that is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association and the Association of Christian College Athletics .Current member schools:...

 All-Conference first team each year. She was selected as Most Valuable Player of the National Bible College National Tournament in 1996. She also was a member of the National Championship team. Coach Taulborg has had a successful coaching career in her time at Grace. She has led the Royals to a national championship in 2005, and in 2007 runner-up, and in 2008 the girls were finalists

In 2008, the Men's Basketball Team won the NCCAA Div. II National Championship. Starter Paul Putz was named Tournament MVP.

Arts and Music

In the area of fine arts, there are the Concert Band, the Women's Chorale, Resonate, the Handbell Choir, and most notably the Grace Chorale

Chorale

A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....

, which tours regularly across the United States and overseas. Intramural sports are also offered, as well as opportunities for drama. The various dorm halls compete regularly in creative contests, such as who can come up with the most bizarre holiday decorations.

While Grace maintains its Mennonite heritage and has yet to change its doctrinal stance, the college is now officially nondenominational, accepting students from a variety of churches and backgrounds. A majority of the student body hails from the Great Plains.

Mission statement

"Grace University exists to develop servant leaders for the home, the church and the world through excellence in biblically-integrated education and through life change in a personal, discipling environment, all for the glory of God."

Value

President Jim Eckman describes the value of Grace in this way: “You’ll not only get a marketable degree when you graduate, but you’ll gain a powerful worldview." While attending Grace University, students are challenged to align their personal philosophical thoughts with the truths of scripture. They are also pressed to couple their knowledge and faith with an active love for all humanity so that they might become servant leaders in their homes, communities and throughout the world. However, many ex-students disagree with this statement, as they believe Grace University ends up graduating students that are sheltered from the real world, and have only experienced the christian bubble.

Demographics

Grace University’s student body is made up of a diverse compilation of local, national and international students. In 2008, Grace’s enrollment was 56% female, 44% male. In 2008, 77 students graduated with bachelor’s degrees, 21 with masters and 4 with associates. Grace also offers EXCEL classes for those who are not able to attend traditional undergraduate courses.

School presidents

President	Term
Paul Kuhlmann	1943, acting
Dr. C.H. Suckau	1944–1950
Dr. H.D. Burkholder	1950–1955
Dr. Joseph W. Schmidt	1955–1960
Rev. D.J. Unruh	1960–1961, interim
Dr. Waldo E. Harder Waldo E. Harder Waldo Elmer Harder was the sixth president of Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He held an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College and M.A. and Th.M. degrees from Columbia Bible College and Seminary...	1961–1971
Dr. Robert W. Benton	1971–1984
Dr. Warren E. Bathke	1984–1993
Dr. Neal F. McBride	1993–1997
Dr. James P. Eckman	1997-

See also

• Dahlman neighborhood
  Dahlman neighborhood
  The Dahlman neighborhood is located south of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. One of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, it was originally platted in 1856. It was later named after "Cowboy" James Dahlman, an eight-term mayor of Omaha.-History:...
  
  
• Little Italy neighborhood
• Little Bohemia
  Little Bohemia (Omaha, Nebraska)
  Little Bohemia, or Bohemian Town, is a historic neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. Starting in the 1880s, Czech immigrants settled in this highly concentrated area, also called "Praha" or "Bohemian Town", bounded by South 10th Street on the east, South 16th Street on the west, Pierce Street on the...
  
   neighborhood

External links

• Grace University
• Grace University Athletics
• Enter the Jungle
• Grace University (Omaha, Nebraska, USA) at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
  Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
  The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on anabaptist-related topics....