Briercrest College and Seminary is a private

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

post-secondary educational institution located in Caronport, Saskatchewan, Canada. It comprises a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

and a

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

, and operates the Briercrest Christian Academy.

History

Briercrest Bible Institute was founded on October 19, 1935, by Henry Hildebrand and Sinclair Whittaker.Guenther, Bruce L. "Briercrest Schools" in ''The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan''. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 2005. 11 students were enrolled. A rented house served as dormitory, classroom, and office for the school. Hildebrand was principal and Annie Hillson, Isabel Whittaker, Jean Whittaker, and Margaret Rusk helped with teaching and administration. Donald McMillan joined them in the second term as assistant principal. By 1946, the school had outgrown its facility, and Whittaker arranged the purchase of RCAF Station Caron (a former

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

facility which trained aircrew in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) for $50,000. The new facility was dedicated on July 1, 1946, and the task of converting the airbase into dormitories, classrooms, offices, and staff housing began. College enrolment grew from 285 in 1970 to 775 in 1985 and peaked in 2002 with 869 students in the College and 247 in the Seminary, before changing names to Briercrest College in 2003. More recently, enrolment has been in decline. As of 2019, enrolment at Briercrest Christian Academy (formerly Caronport High School) is at 141 students, Briercrest College has 489 students, and Briercrest Seminary with 286 students. The decline in student enrolment has also caused financial instability with a budget deficit of $2.17 million in 2019, $2.26 million in 2018 and $1.18 million in 2017.

Academics

Briercrest College and Seminary offers one-year certificates,

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degrees,

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

, and

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degrees. Each program includes courses in

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

ministry,

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

, and the

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

along with many electives. The college has been

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by The Association for Biblical Higher Education since 1976. The

Government of Saskatchewan The Government of Saskatchewan () is the provincial government of the province of Saskatchewan. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" refers broadly to the cabinet of th ...

authorizes Briercrest to grant degrees in "Bachelor of Arts in English/English (Honours)", "Bachelor of Arts in History/History (Honours)", Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and "Bachelor of Arts in Humanities". A number of other programs are currently grandfathered in and will have until 2020 to meet quality assurance criteria under the province's 2012 ''Degree Authorization Act''. The seminary is accredited by the

Association of Theological Schools 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, United States. History The ATS was found ...

. The seminary employs a modular format (typically one course in one week) for most of its courses. Briercrest also offers

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

courses at both the college and

levels. The college is associated with the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology ( SIAST) and has transfer agreements with the universities of Regina and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. In early 2011 Briercrest and

Minot State University Minot State University (MSU or MiSU) is a public university in Minot, North Dakota, United States. Founded in 1913 as a normal school, MSU evolved into a university in 1987 and is currently the state's third-largest, offering undergraduate and ...

announced a partnership allowing students to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from both schools in five years. The program requires students to complete their Bachelor of Arts degree during the first three years at Briercrest college and the final two at Minot State earning the Education degree. Minot State offers five different concentrations for its B.S.E. As such a student completing this program may select earning a Bachelor of Science in: *Elementary Education *English *History *Music *Physical Education Briercrest also offers other concurrent degrees with

such as: *Addiction Studies *Communication Disorders *Social Work

Student life

The majority of Briercrest College students live in residence and participate in a school meal plan in a dining hall operated by

Sodexo Sodexo (formerly Sodexho Alliance) is a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It has 522,000 employees as of 2023, operates in 55 countries and serves 100 million custome ...

. Unmarried students aged 22 years and under (as of the first semester of the school year) in their first three years of study are required to live in residence while enrolled. The college

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

have a history of being named after people who have had significant impact throughout the history of the schools. Current dormitories at Briercrest include: :Isabel Whittaker (women), known as "Whit" :Sinclair Whittaker (men), known as "Whit" :Hillson Hall (men, high school) :Glen Manor (women, high school) :Bergren Place (women) :Eliason Manor (men) built in 2005 :Sundbo Place (married students, women, and men over 21 years of age) The last of the war-building dormitories, known most recently as Gable Heights, was demolished in summer 2005. The college explicitly bans the consumption of

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

by its students (both on and off campus) as well as using

profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...

, watching

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

, or

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

. Social

dancing Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...

is also not permitted except at college-sponsored events. The college also prohibits students from engaging in

premarital sex Premarital sex is sex before marriage. It is an act of sex between two people who are not married to each other. Premarital sex is considered a sin by a number of religions and also considered a moral issue which is taboo in many cultures. S ...

or engaging in

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

.Student Responsibilities and Expectations
/ref> The school mandates attendance at daily

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

services and other events. These and other expectations are outlined in th
Student Responsibilities and Expectations
manual. Campus/community radio station CJOS-FM was based at and funded by the college. It was launched in 1995 and ceased broadcasting and relinquished its license in 2006.

Facilities

The campus landmark is the 2,000-seat Hildebrand Chapel. Facilities also include a library, nine student dormitories, a 42-room inn, a modern dining hall, a double-court gymnasium, a hockey arena, tennis courts, numerous sports fields, and a recording studio. During the year of 2020-21, the gas station/coffee shop formerly known as "The Point", was acquired by new ownership and underwent renovations to open as "The Beacon". This newly renovated facility consists of a Husky gas station, Subway, and Coffee Shop while also having space for students and townsfolk to come to view acactv streams of the school's various sports teams or purchase athletics apparel to show support. As of September 2021, the campus features a brand new Athletics facility. This is the Can West Performance Center that consists of; artificial turf, various workout equipment, a film room, and an athletic therapy room.

Athletics

Briercrest College and Seminary's athletic teams are known as the Clippers. Varsity sports include men's and women's basketball and volleyball, and men's hockey. They compete in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, part of the

Canadian Colleges Athletic Association The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA, ) is the national governing body for organized sports at the college level in Canada. National championships CCAA members currently compete for national championships in the following sports: ...

. Court sports play in the Margaret P. Reimer Memorial Gymnasium and the hockey team plays in Barkman Arena, named in honour of past president and current chancellor John Barkman. The 500-seat NHL-sized rink officially opened on February 7, 2009. Briercrest teams have medaled in CCAA national championships four times, winning its only gold at the 1977 Men's Basketball Championship, silver at the 1991 Men's Basketball Championship, bronze at the 2012 Men's Volleyball Championship and silver at the 2014 Men's Volleyball Championship. The school has produced one CCAA National Player of the Year (Gradyn Childerhose, men's Basketball, 2012), three CCAA Coach of the Year recipients, (Carl Hinderager, men's Basketball, 1983; Stan Peters, men's Basketball, 1993; and Nigel Mullan, men's volleyball, 2012) and numerous CCAA All-Canadians. In 2019-20, three Clippers Women's Volleyball players earned ACAC All-Conference awards: Rebecca Garner (Outside Hiitter), Mikayla Benterud (Middle Blocker), and Ashley Erickson (Setter). Erickson was also named Player of the Year for the ACAC South. Women's Volleyball Coach, Nolan Weinmaster won ACAC Coach of the Year for the South Conference. The Women's Basketball team also received an award with Angenay Williams getting a 1st Team All-Conference nod. In 2021-22, Briercrest sent their Men's Basketball, Men's Hockey, Men's Volleyball, and Women's Volleyball teams to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) playoffs. The Men's Volleyball team medaled with a third place finish, defeating The King's University Eagles in the Bronze medal game in a tight five-set match. In addition to sending four out of five teams to the ACAC playoffs during the 2021-22 winter season, there were also numerous ACAC awards handed out to Clipper athletes. Reece Sorensen made the ACAC Women's Volleyball All-Conference team for the South as an Outside Hitter, and Faith Buhler made it as a Middle Blocker. Briercrest Women's Volleyball Head Coach, Nolan Weinmaster, also brought home some hardware as he was awarded the Coach of the Year for the ACAC South Conference. Briercrest hosted the 1993 CCAA Women's Basketball Championships on campus and the 2014 CCAA Men's Volleyball Championships at the Yara Centre in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. ;CCAA National Championships: *Men's Basketball (1) (1977) ;ACAC Championships: *Men's Volleyball (1) (2011) *Women's Volleyball (2) (2016, 2020) ;PAC Provincial Championships: *Men's Basketball (19) (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995) *Women's Basketball (7) (1981, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) *Men's Volleyball (12) (1970, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2018) *Women's Volleyball (8) (1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2017) *Men's Ice Hockey (2) (1971, 1980) *Men's Indoor Soccer/Futsal (1) (2010) *Women's Indoor Soccer/Futsal (3) (2000, 2005, 2006) *Men's Outdoor Soccer (4) (2006, 2009, 2017, 2018) *Women's Outdoor Soccer (5) (2006, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Presidents

Throughout its history, Briercrest has had six presidents: Henry Hildebrand (1935–1977); Henry Budd (1977–1990); John Barkman (1990–1996); Paul Magnus (1996–2004); Dwayne Uglem (2004–2013); and Michael Pawelke (2013–present) — Sinclair Whittaker served as president of the board until 1950.

Notable alumni

* Nuela Charles, musician * Larry R. Heather, politician * Ben Heppner, politician * Raymond Loewen, businessman * Marc Martel, musician * Stephen Nash, volleyball player * Carl E. Olson, theologian *

Rachael Thomas Rachael Thomas (née Harder) (born 1986) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Lethbridge in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. A member of the Conservative Party, she was reelected ...

, politician *

Maurice Vellacott Maurice Vellacott (born September 29, 1955) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician from Saskatchewan. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015 as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for the Elec ...

, politician

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Briercrest College And Seminary Association for Biblical Higher Education Universities and colleges established in 1935 Colleges in Saskatchewan Bible colleges Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges in Canada 1935 establishments in Saskatchewan Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Private universities and colleges in Saskatchewan