Ambrose University is a private Christian

liberal arts university A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

located in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Canada. It provides undergraduate and graduate level education for pastoral ministry, as well as undergraduate level education in select liberal arts and science degrees. It was formed in 2007, when Alliance University College and Nazarene University College merged, and named in honor of Ambrose. It is an affiliate of the

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) is a global organization of evangelical Christian colleges and universities. The headquarters is in Washington, D.C. History In 1976, presidents of colleges in the Christian College Co ...

History

Ambrose University is the product of similar educational journeys begun in the second half of the twentieth century. The Christian and Missionary Alliance established the Canadian Bible Institute in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1941. It was established under the founding leadership of Gordon Skitch, superintendent of the Western Canadian District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), Willis Brooks, pastor of the Regina Alliance Tabernacle and well-known radio pastor, and George Blackett, who had served as the principal of Winnipeg Bible Institute and became the first principal, then president, of the institute. In 1949, it was recognized by

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

and renamed Western Canadian Bible Institute (WCBI). It was renamed again in 1957 as the Canadian Bible College (CBC) of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) and, in the 1960s, became associated with the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university, public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the Unive ...

. Canadian Theological College (CTC) was established in 1970 as a graduate

sister school A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex school, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Rad ...

to CBC, and was renamed Canadian Theological Seminary (CTS) in 1982. Similarly but independently, the Calgary Bible Institute was first established in 1921 in the basement of the Calgary First Church of the Nazarene. In 1927, the school relocated to

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

, where it became known as Alberta School of Evangelism, and then Northern Bible College (NBC) with the construction of a new campus. In 1940, it was renamed again as Canadian Nazarene College (CNC) as it began offering theology degrees. In 1960, CNC moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

and was established as the official Canadian university college for the

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Lenexa within Johnson Cou ...

. Dr. Riley Coulter, President of CNC, determined that

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

would not accredit private institutions of higher education in the liberal arts and sciences. CNC thus moved back to its first home, Calgary, in 1995, became an accredited university college in 1999, and changed its name to Nazarene University College (NUC). Dr. George Durance, President of CBC/CTS, came to similar realizations regarding the accreditation status of his school in Saskatchewan and, in 2000, CBC/CTS made a similar decision. In 2003, CBC/CTS officially relocated to join NUC on the same campus, received accreditation in 2004, and changed its name to Alliance University College (AUC). AUC and NUC maintained a close relationship and were often referred to as Alliance University College-Nazarene University College (AUC-NUC), though the two granted degrees independently until 2007. In 2007, Alliance University College and Nazarene University College became a single entity, known as Ambrose University College, in honour of Ambrose. A new campus opened in west Calgary in November 2008. In 2012 Gordon T. Smith was named president. In 2014, Premier and Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education Dave Hancock approved the change of name to Ambrose University, dropping the word "College" to better reflect the nature of the institution. Ambrose University is an affiliate of the

Affiliation

Ambrose is the official Canadian school of both the

and The Christian and Missionary Alliance. It is one of 10 colleges and universities affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene in North America and one of 8 colleges and universities affiliated with The Christian and Missionary Alliance. In terms of its affiliation with the Nazarene church, AUC (formerly Canadian Nazarene University College) is the college for the Canada Region.

Academics

Ambrose University provides undergraduate education and graduate level education for pastoral ministry, as well as undergraduate level education in select liberal arts and science degrees. Their mission is to "produce graduates who are consciously and actively Christian in all aspects of life," and to "serve the church by providing excellent preparation for pastoral ministry." Ambrose is accredited by the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The assoc ...

to offer its

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

degrees. Ambrose is also accredited by the

Association for Biblical Higher Education The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States and Canada. It is a member of the International C ...

to offer

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

ministry and theology degrees, and by the Province of Alberta as pertains to its authority in the conferring of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degrees in selected disciplines.

Notable persons

* Gordon Skitch, superintendent of the Western Canadian District of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (C&MA). * Cecil R. Paul, president of the

Eastern Nazarene College The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) is a private, Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts. Established as a holiness college in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1900, the college moved to Rhode Island for several years. With its expansion to a four-ye ...

(1989-1992) was a notable Canadian Nazarene College alumnus. * Willis Brooks, pastor of the Regina Alliance Tabernacle and well-known radio pastor. * George Blackett, the first principal, then president, of the institute. * Paul Ens, atheist founder of YouTube channels Paul Ens and Paulogia, attended when he was a Christian.

Notes and references

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrose University Ambrose University Universities and colleges in Calgary Educational institutions established in 1921 Association for Biblical Higher Education Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance 1921 establishments in Alberta Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges in Canada