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Regent University
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Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as CBN University. In addition to its main campus, Regent has a satellite campus located in Alexandria, Virginia and offers an extensive distance education program. Through its eight academic schools, Regent offers associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in over 30 courses of study.
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Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as CBN University. In addition to its main campus, Regent has a satellite campus located in Alexandria, Virginia and offers an extensive distance education program. Through its eight academic schools, Regent offers associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in over 30 courses of study. Regent University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. and Association of Theological Schools.
History
Plans for the university (originally named CBN University) began in 1978 by Christian Broadcasting Network founder and current Chancellor Pat Robertson. In 1990, the name was changed to Regent University. The university's name is designed to reference a regent, who is someone that exercises power in a kingdom during the absence of the sovereign; according to the school's catalog, "a regent is one who represents Christ, our Sovereign, in whatever sphere of life he or she may be called to serve Him." The university's current motto is "Christian Leadership to Change the World".
The first classes consisting of seventy-seven students were not conducted until the fall of 1978, when the school began to lease classroom space in Chesapeake, Virginia. The first students were all enrolled in what is now the School of Communication & the Arts. In May 1980, the first graduating class held its commencement, while the School of Education opened the following October. Simultaneously, the university took residence for the first time on its current campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The school proceeded to open its Schools of Business, Divinity, Government, and Law by the mid-1980s. In 1984, Regent University received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; later in the decade; it started a distance education program.
Five years later, Regent began outreach programs geared to teachers in the Washington, D.C. area, which eventually led to the opening of its Alexandria campus. In 2000, Regent began an undergraduate degree-completion curriculum under the auspices of a new program, the Center for Professional Studies, which became Regent School of Undergraduate Studies in the fall of 2004.
Academics
Undergraduate studies
The newest addition to Regent is the School of Undergraduate Studies, designed primarily for non-traditional students who wish to complete undergraduate degrees. Regent's School of Undergraduate Studies offers associates and bachelor's degrees in Communication, Business, Global Business, Interdisciplinary Studies (Elementary Education), Government, Psychology, Organizational Leadership & Management, Religious Studies and English. Furthermore, four new bachelor's programs began in the fall of 2007 focusing on theater, animation, journalism and cinema-television. These programs are taught through the School of Communications & the Arts.
Graduate studies
Robertson's original vision for Regent University was that of a graduate institution. Although Regent now offers undergraduate programs, the school has mostly remained true to its original focus. The vast majority of Regent's students are enrolled in one of seven graduate schools.
School of Communication & the Arts
The School of Communication & the Arts offers degrees for Master of Arts in Communication, Theater and Journalism, Master of Fine Arts and a Ph.D..
School of Divinity
The School of Divinity offers Masters degrees in Biblical Studies, Missiology, Church Doctrine and History and the traditional seminary degree, the Master of Divinity. The School also offers the Doctor of Ministry degree along with a Ph.D in Renewal Studies with concentrations in Systematic/Biblical Theology and Church History. The School of Divinity is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).
School of Education
The School of Education offers an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in addition to its Master and Ed.D. degrees in Education along with teaching certificate programs.
School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship
The School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship provides Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Organizational Leadership and Strategic Foresight along with the MBA.
Robertson School of Government
The Robertson School of Government offers a Masters of Arts in Government with specializations in Terrorism and Homeland Defense, World Economic and Political Development, Political Leadership, and Law and Public Policy among others.
School of Law
Regent University School of Law is housed in Robertson Hall located on the south side of the campus plaza. The law library is situated on the top floor of the university library building. The school offers a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. The current Dean is Jeffrey A. Brauch.
The law school was founded in 1986. The law school was approved by the American Bar Association ("ABA") in 1989 and received full accreditation in 1996. The Law Library received the bulk of its collection after Oral Roberts University School of Law closed and donated its library to Regent University.
The size of the student body numbers approximately 500 students. Currently, the school offers both a full-time and a part-time track for completion of the J.D. degree. For the 2007 entering class, 153 matriculated out 619 applications, the average LSAT score was 153 (out of 180) and a GPA of 3.29 (out of 4.0).
Admission policies
While academic credentials are important, the admissions process also places emphasis on personal statements and recommendation letters. According to Regent, the school seeks students who are "dedicated to becoming Christian leaders who will change the world for Christ" and want "to receive a legal education integrated with Christian principles."
Publications
Law students publish the Regent Law Review, established in 1991. The journal describes itself as "committed to a jurisprudence based upon a Higher Law; that is, law based upon the Law of God, yet remains open to publishing opposing viewpoints in certain contexts." Previous contributors include United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, Judge Edith H. Jones, Attorney General Edwin Meese III, Robert P. George, George Allen, Nancy R. Pearcey, Charles E. Rice, Phillip E. Johnson, Charles W. Colson, and David Barton.
Additionally, the students publish the Regent Journal of International Law, founded in 2000.
School of Psychology & Counseling
Offers four graduate degrees, a Certificate of Advanced Counseling Studies, and an undergraduate degree. The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D) is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The Community Counseling (M.A.) and School Counseling (M.A.) program areas offered by the School of Psychology & Counseling of Regent University have been accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Recently, the Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision became the first on-line doctoral program to be accredited by CACREP.
Campus
Main campus (Virginia Beach, VA)
Regent University's Virginia Beach campus is with historic Georgian architecture. The University Library Building houses the school's libraries while Robertson Hall is home to the Schools of Divinity, Government, Law and Undergraduate Studies. The Communication & Performing Arts Center, home for the School of Communication & the Arts, is a building with two theaters, a production studio, sound stage, screening theaters, and a backlot. The Student Center is a facility includes a bookstore, student organization offices, dining hall, computer lab, and student lounge. The Administration Building, along with administrative offices, includes the School of Education. The Classroom Building accommodates the schools of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship and Psychology & Counseling.
Washington, D.C. campus
The Regent University Washington, D.C. Campus is located in Alexandria, VA and accepts students for their School of Education.
Student life
Student government and councils
The Student Bar Association (SBA) is the student society for the School of Law which is governed and represented by the Student Senate. The SBA Student Senate represents the law school’s student body to the school’s administration and the University. The Council of Graduate Students (COGS) and Regent Undergraduate Council (RUC) serve a similar function for the balance of the student population. The groups, in addition to their organizational responsibilities, hold social and religious events. The Student Advisory Leadership Team supports the Washington D.C. satellite campus.
Student organizations
Student organizations at the school include the student divisions of the American Bar Association and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Association of Black Psychologists, Black Law Student Association, Business Transactions Law Society, Christian Legal Society, College Republicans, Regent Democrats, Entertainment and Sports Legal Society, Federalist Society, International Law Society, International Student Organization, Law Wives Association, Moot Court Board, National Law Student Association, Newman Club, Public Interest Law Association, Regent Students for Life, Students in Free Enterprise, Student Alumni Ambassadors, and The King's Knights.
Student housing
Regent Village houses graduate students with children consisting of roughly 200 apartments located within a mile of campus. Regent Commons, on the other hand, is for all other students without children.
University reputation
Rankings
U.S. News & World Report ranks Regent University School of Law as a Tier 4 school,
the lowest ranking within the law school category. The Princeton Review ranked Regent University seventh in the country for quality of life and the most conservative school. The Sustainable Endowments Institute in Cambridge, Mass., gave Regent a grade of D in its 2009 College Sustainability Report Card an improvement from the previous year's F grade.
ABA national competition wins
In 2006 and 2007, Regent Law won several national ABA moot court and negotiation competitions succeeding teams from Harvard and Yale. Previous wins took place in 1995 and 2002. In 2008, two students won honors at a national moot court competition hosted by The College of William & Mary.
Bar passage rates
The 2007 bar passage rate for students taking the Virginia State Bar Exam was 73.7 percent, compared to a statewide average of 74 percent. The passage rate has improved every year from at least 2001, when the Regent University pass rate was 43.9 percent, compared to the state average of 73 percent.
Identification with the Christian right
In 1995, Harvey Cox, the liberal Harvard theologian, wrote that Regent has been called "the Harvard of the Religious Right" and noted that "Regent, it appears, is not so much a boot camp for rightist cadres as a microcosm of the theological and intellectual turbulence within what is often mistakenly seen as a monolithic 'religious right' in America".
While expressing concerns about Robertson's alleged past expressions of antisemitism (faculty blamed this on poorly chosen ghost writers) and associations with dominion theology promoting Christian control of secular institutions that some critics believe inspired the school's name, Cox said the faculty insisted that Regent didn't support Dominionism, pointing to the firing of Herbert Titus, the founding dean of the Law School, who was inclined to such a philosophy. Cox pointed to historian Bruce Barron's suggestion that the Regent faculty serve as a "moderating influence": "They are pragmatists who accept religious pluralism and do not insist on the universal applicability of Old Testament law" while preferring to focus on constitutional issues. Cox characterized Regent's mission as continuing in the tradition of religiously trained professionals by various Catholic and Protestant faiths such as Jesuit universities and (originally) Harvard. He found that academic freedom was promoted and that although half of the student body were either Pentecostals or charismatics, there existed a wider range of political attitudes than he first imagined.
With the goal of expanding its mission from a solely conservative base and to “posture itself as a broadly evangelical institution”, the Regent School of Divinity convened a scholarly colloquium with the more liberal National Council of Churches and the Virginia Council of Churches, associations of mainline Protestant churches in 2008. The conference discussed their common approaches to evangelizing.
Counseling program controversy
In June 2007, five of the eleven full-time faculty members of the School of Psychology & Counseling's master's counseling program resigned. According to The Virginia-Pilot, some students and former professors expressed frustration with what they described as humiliation and punishment for dissenting on policy questions resulting in decreased morale.
One professor said that there is a "climate of fear and intimidation” within the school. Another said, “The climate is contrary to Christian values rather than embracing them.” While a third said, “I cannot in good conscience continue to participate in this unhealthy and toxic environment.” A petition was circulated which criticized the behavior of the school's dean and the counseling department's program director said to have used the terms "brothas”, “hoes” and “homos” however some students said the words were used in an "academic context".
In December 2007, the school's dean offered an apology and promised improved efforts at communication at a school meeting attended by students. However, some attendees expressed disappointment that more wasn't offered. While acknowledging that some students were dispirited, a school administrator said, “You won’t ever have 100 percent satisfaction. It’s not that unusual to have criticisms; a university is like that.” He denied that anyone had been penalized for expressing an opinion freely nor was he willing to accept the characterization of the culture as one of "fear and intimidation".
Shortly after this article was printed, Robertson announced that he was considering purchasing the daily newspaper but later decided against it.
Freedom of expression controversy
In September 2007, Adam Key, a second-year law student at Regent University, posted a photograph on the social networking website Facebook of the school's chancellor, Pat Robertson, unintentionally making an obscene gesture. Additionally, Key criticized Robertson for urging the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. School officials asked Key to remove the still, publicly apologize and withhold public comment or, alternatively, defend the posting. While Key did remove the photograph, he refused to apologize and submitted his defense on the grounds it was protected speech. Regent rejected his argument and Key was subsequently suspended and later removed. In November 2007, Key filed a lawsuit against Regent claiming fraud, violation of his right to free expression as governed by rules tied to Federal funding, and defamation. Robertson said that, in general, freedom of speech doesn't encompass the use of these kinds of images. The university stated that Key violated the school's standards of conduct. Later the school contended its actions were unrelated to the photograph and that he was a "security risk"; Key's attorney countered with an internal memo sent the day before the suspension indicating that Robertson was concerned with Key's "complaints". The case is scheduled to be heard in March, 2009.
A civil rights lawyer representing Key later sent a complaint to the American Bar Association calling for them to revoke the school's accreditation. Key claims the university suspended him for his political and religious views in violation of ABA accreditation standards.
Bush administration hires
According to Regent University, more than 150 of its graduates had been hired by the federal government during the George W. Bush presidency including dozens in Bush's administration. As it was previously rare for alumni to go into government, Boston Globe journalist Charlie Savage suggested that the appointment of Office of Personnel Management director Kay Coles James, the former dean of Regent's government school, caused this sharp increase in Regent alumni employed in the government. An article about a Regent graduate who interviewed for a government position and Regent's low school rankings were cited as an example of the Bush administration hiring applicants with strong conservative credentials but weaker academic qualifications and less civil rights law experience than past candidates in the Civil Rights Division. In addition to Savage, several other commentators made similar assertions. The Washington Post contrasted the employment of Regent employees by Bush to the hiring practices of his successor Barack Obama who tended to select from higher tiered colleges.
However, Savage noted that the school had improved since its days of "dismal numbers" and that the school has had recent wins in national moot-court and negotiation competitions. Though a prominent critic of the school, Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State advised against "underestimat[ing] the quality of a lot of the people that are there."
Faculty
Regent has 164 full-time and 465 part-time faculty members with graduates from Yale, Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins and others, two of which are Fulbright Scholars. Faculty are responsible for lecturing classes, advising both graduate and undergraduate students, and sitting on academic committees.
Several members are drawn from high levels of government. Former U.S. Attorney under the Bush administration, John Ashcroft, was named Distinguished Professor in 2005 teaching a two-week course each semester in the Robertson School of Government and lecturing on national security law. Also named Distinguished Professor was former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark who teaches courses in leadership and government. In 2006, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was a visiting faculty member for the School of Undergraduate Studies. Herb Titus, founding dean of the Law School, was the 1996 vice-presidential candidate of the Constitution Party and a drafter of the Constitutional Restoration Act to permit government officials to acknowledge "God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government". Titus was fired in 1993 for being "too extreme".
The School of Divinity includes both biblical scholars and religious practitioners, notably the theologian Graham Twelftree, Dean Emeritus H. Vinson Synan, Pentecostal theologian Amos Yong and church historian Stanley M. Burgess. The late J. Rodman Williams was Professor Emeritus.
Noted alumni
Many of Regent University's graduates have had success in public service, entertainment and the legal community. Alumni currently in American politics include the Attorney General of Virginia and likely 2009 Virginia gubernatorial Republican nominee Bob McDonnell, Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor Lisa Kruska, and Louisiana State Senator Sharon Weston Broome. Monica Goodling, 1999 graduate of Regent Law and former Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice from 2001 to 2007, is best known for her involvement in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy as was her press aide, 1998 law graduate, John Nowacki, and Goodling's predecessor, 1998 School of Business and 1999 Robertson School of Government graduate Susan Richmond. Jay Sekulow, a Ph.D. graduate, is Chief Counsel for Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice, a non-profit public interest law firm specializing in constitutional issues of religious freedom. Troy A. Titus, Regent Law graduate, son of the founding dean of the school, Herb Titus, and previously a nationally known asset protection expert, is best known for losing his law license for defrauding his clients, many of them elderly.
Terrance Bridges, a dissertation away from earning a doctorate from the School of Education, was featured in The Star Presss Black History Month profile for his ministerial work with children and youth.
Notable alumni from the School of Communication & the Arts include the actor Tony Hale, best known as Buster Bluth on the TV show Arrested Development, 1999 Miss America Nicole Johnson and screenwriter Cheryl McKay who wrote the screenplay for The Ultimate Gift. Author Charles Martin graduated from the school with a degree in journalism and communications. Jason Upton, a graduate of the School of Divinity, is a Contemporary Christian musician.
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