Cincinnati Christian University

Cincinnati Christian University
Former name	Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary
Type	Private
Active	1924–2019
Religious affiliation	Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
Students	~350
Location	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States; 39°06′45″N 84°33′17″W / 39.112566°N 84.554684°WCoordinates: 39°06′45″N 84°33′17″W / 39.112566°N 84.554684°W
Campus	Urban
Colors
Athletics	NAIA and RSC
Mascot	Eagles
Website	www.ccuniversity.edu

Main Entrance to CCU's campus from Glenway Avenue

Cincinnati Christian University (CCU) was a private Christian university in Cincinnati, Ohio. CCU was supported by the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, which are part of the Restoration Movement. The university was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), it was placed on "show-cause" status in the summer of 2019 and given one year to convince the accreditor that it should remain accredited.^[1] On October 28, 2019, the university's board of trustees announced the decision to shut down the degree programs at the conclusion of the fall 2019 semester and withdrew from the Higher Learning Commission.^[2]

Campus[edit]

The university's main campus was located in one of Cincinnati's western neighborhoods just a few miles west of downtown, but classes were also offered at extension sites in Sharonville, Ohio, and in Indianapolis. In 2009, CCU began offering classes in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and in the Greater Louisville area. However, these class offerings in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky ceased at an unknown time. Also, beginning in 2018, CCU partnered with Point University, which added approximately 30 degree programs to be offered to students online.

Organization[edit]

The university was structured into five schools:

Biblical Studies, Arts, and Sciences^[3]
Ministry^[4]
Education^[5] and Behavioral Sciences^[6]
Business^[7]
Adult Learning^[8]

Academics[edit]

Cincinnati Christian University offered Bachelor's degrees and Master's degrees. The university was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)^[9] but was placed on "show-cause" status in July 2019 and given one year to convince HLC that it should remain accredited. On October 28, 2019, Cincinnati Christian University announced that they would be withdrawing from the Higher Learning Commission.^[10] The university's accreditation was threatened by alleged conflicts of interest on the part of the university's president who also serves on the university's board of trustees and is an officer in the institution's primary lending bank, Central Bank.^[1]

CCU was a member of the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities, an organization including all of the accredited colleges and universities in the area. This consortium relationship gave students access to course offerings of the other institutions through a cross-registration arrangement as well as access to library resources of the other schools in the consortium.

CCU was a member of the Association of Schools of Jerusalem University College (formerly known as the Institute of Holy Land Studies) and was approved to offer the Master of Arts in Counseling program by the Ohio Counseling and Social Worker Board. The Master of Arts in Counseling degree was pre-approved as a qualifying degree for licensure as a professional counselor by the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage & Family Therapist Board. The Department of Behavioral Sciences was approved under The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).^[11]

Athletics[edit]

Cincinnati Christian's athletic teams, nicknamed the Eagles, were a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and primarily competed in the River States Conference (RSC). The Eagles also competed as a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I level. Men's sports included baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, soccer track & field, volleyball, and esports; while women's sports included basketball, cross country, cheerleading, soccer, softball, track & field, volleyball, and esports. On October 29, 2019, CCU announced that fall semester sports were discontinued since Cincinnati Christian closed at the end of the semester.

Notable alumni[edit]

George W. BonDurant BA 1936, founder and former president of Atlanta Christian College and Mid-Atlantic Christian University.^{[citation needed]}
Terry Bradds BA 1980, jazz guitarist.^{[citation needed]}
Dan Burton member of United States House of Representatives from Indiana.
William A. Griffin MA 1979, former president of Mid-Atlantic Christian University.^{[citation needed]}
Rich Mullins, Christian musician.^{[citation needed]}
Michael A. O'Donnell MA 1983, former professor of Family Studies and founding Executive Director of the Southwest Center for Fathering at Abilene Christian University.^{[citation needed]}
James E. Smith, Biblical scholar and professor at Johnson University Florida.^{[citation needed]}
Mindy Smith, singer/songwriter.^[12]
James D. Strauss, theologian.^{[citation needed]}
Seth Wilson BA 1936, Dean of Ozark Christian College.^{[citation needed]}
Jack Cottrell BA 1959, theologian and author.
David Faust MA, MDiv (date unknown), author, writer for The Lookout and seventh president of CCU

Presidents[edit]

President	Term
Ralph Records	1928–1948
Woodrow Perry	1948–1970
Harvey C. Bream, Jr.	1970–1986
Ron Geary	1986–1988
Dr. Barry McCarty	1988–1993
Dr. David Grubbs	1993–2002
Dr. David Faust	2002–2014
Ken Marvolo Tracy	2014–2015
Dr. David Ray (Interim)	2015–2017
Ronald E. Heineman	2019

On November 11, 2015, the Board of Trustees of Cincinnati Christian University announced the appointment of Dr. David Ray as the university's interim president. The Board selected Dr. Ray to ensure a smooth leadership transition to the next full-time president of CCU.^[13]

Ronald E. Heineman became the final president of the University sometime around January 2019.

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Londberg, Max (August 14, 2019). "'Substantial doubt' that Cincinnati Christian University keeps accreditation". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
^ "A Letter to Our Students". Cincinnati Christian University. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
^ "Arts & Sciences - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Ministry - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Education - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Psychology - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Business - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Adult Learning". Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Accreditation Page". HLCommission.org. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
^ Hahn, Chris (October 28, 2019). "A Letter to Our Students". Cincinnati Christian University. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
^ "Counseling Program Earns CACREP Accreditation - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Mindy Smith - On the inside". No Depression. January 31, 2006. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
^ "CCU Announces Interim President - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

External links[edit]

Official website

[HLC_2019_show_cause-1] Londberg, Max (August 14, 2019). "'Substantial doubt' that Cincinnati Christian University keeps accreditation". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 18, 2019.

[2] "A Letter to Our Students". Cincinnati Christian University. Retrieved October 28, 2019.

[3] "Arts & Sciences - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[4] "Ministry - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[5] "Education - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[6] "Psychology - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[7] "Business - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[8] "Adult Learning". Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[9] "Accreditation Page". HLCommission.org. Retrieved July 13, 2019.

[CCU_Announces_Closure-10] Hahn, Chris (October 28, 2019). "A Letter to Our Students". Cincinnati Christian University. Retrieved October 29, 2019.

[11] "Counseling Program Earns CACREP Accreditation - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[12] "Mindy Smith - On the inside". No Depression. January 31, 2006. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.

[13] "CCU Announces Interim President - Cincinnati Christian University". Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

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v t e Colleges & universities in the state of Ohio
Private	Antioch College The Art Academy of Cincinnati Ashland University Baldwin Wallace University Bluffton University Capital University Case Western Reserve University Cedarville University Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland Institute of Electronics Cleveland Institute of Music University of Dayton Defiance College Denison University The University of Findlay Franciscan University of Steubenville Hebrew Union College Heidelberg University Hiram College John Carroll University Kenyon College Kettering College of Medical Arts Lake Erie College Lourdes University Malone University Marietta College Mount St. Joseph University University of Mount Union Muskingum University University of Northwestern Ohio Notre Dame College Oberlin College Ohio Christian University Ohio Dominican University Ohio Northern University Ohio Wesleyan University Otterbein College Mount Vernon Nazarene University Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine University of Rio Grande Tiffin University Ursuline College Walsh University Wilberforce University Wilmington College Wittenberg University College of Wooster Xavier University
Public	University of Akron Belmont Technical College Bowling Green State University Central Ohio Technical College Central State University Cincinnati State Technical and Community College University of Cincinnati Clark State Community College Cleveland State University Columbus State Community College Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Gateway Community College Edison State Community College Hocking College James A. Rhodes State College Kent State University Lakeland Community College Lorain County Community College Marion Technical College Miami University North Central State College Northeast Ohio Medical University Northwest State Community College Ohio State University Ohio University Owens Community College Shawnee State University Sinclair Community College Southern State Community College Stark State College Terra Community College University of Toledo Washington State Community College Wright State University Youngstown State University Zane State College
Defunct	Chancellor University Cincinnati Christian University Urbana University
University System of Ohio