Columbia Theological Seminary Bulletin, 42, number 2, August 1949

Bulletin ot

COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

DECATUR, GEORGIA

Vol. XLII

August, 1949

No. 2

RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED

Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Decatur, Ga., under Act of August 24, 1912

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY AT DECATUR, GEORGIA

$100,000 OFFERED TOWARD NEW LIBRARY

ADDITIONS TO HOMILETICS DEPARTMENT

RECORD ENROLLMENT IN PROSPECT

COLUMBIA SEMINARY RECEIVES CHALLENGE
GIFT OF $100,000 FOR LIBRARY

On repeated occasions in recent years the Directors of Co-
lumbia Theological Seminary have expressed the view that the
erection of a new library is the most urgent material need of
the institution. The seminary's valuable collection of more than
35,000 volumes, in addition to duplicates and periodicals is at
present housed in temporary quarters in Campbell Hall the ad-
m-mstration building. Although reasonably adequate at the time
Columbia Seminary was moved to Decatur, these quarters do not
provide room for modern stacks to accommodate the growing
book collection of the school, and they have never afforded
adequate facilities for the care and display of its tremendously
valuable collection of historic books and documents.

The fact that the student body of the seminary has more
than doubled during the past several years has made the facili-
ties of the reading room inadequate to meet the needs of fce
students who are constantly at work in it. That same gratifying
growth has created an urgent need for more classrooms and
more office space for faculty members. The part of Campbel
Hall now occupied by the library was originally designed to be
used for classrooms and offices, and can easily be altered to
provide them when a new library building is erected. The ne-
cessity for such a building is the more pressing because of the
institution's participation in the University Center of Georgia
and the fact that its books should be available for use by the
students and faculty members of Agnes Scott, Emory an 1 other
participating institutions, as well as by ministers of the Atlanta
area. That need, which is already evident, will become increas-
ingly urgent as the program of cooperative graduate study which
is planned for the University Center becomes a reality.

A careful study has been made of the present and pros-
pective needs of the seminary in the matter of library facilities,
and plans have been prepared for a building which ml be ad
mirably designed to meet those needs. It is estimated thatch
building can be erected at a cost of approximately $250,000. This
is in itself a large sum for the seminary to secure > but *< ^
ministration and Directors are convinced that nothing le than
that amount can provide the type of building which will ade-
quately serve the church in this area during the years which
He ahead. In addition to the actual cost of construction it is also
obvious that the seminary will need at least $100,000 of add,
tional endowment to provide income for the upkeep of the
building and for the maintenance of an adequate library start.

In recognition of this need and in the belief that it must be
met as soon as possible, anonymous friends in Atlanta have ,ust
promised the seminary a gift of $100,000 if it can secure an
additional $250,000 from other sources before October ^1, 1951.
The gift is made with the requirement that at least $100,000 o
the amount raised be used as endowment for the library and that
a minimum of $250,000 be made available for the erection of
the building. The same friends have promised a gift of $3,000.00
per year toward the salary of a thoroughly trained librarian for
the next two years, so that it may be possible for the seminary

to provide for this important addition to its staff even in ad-
vance of securing the full amount which is sought

The seminary is confident that a host of its friends through-
out the supporting Synods will respond to this generous chal-
lenge and will make possible the erection of a library as the
next great forward step in the life of the institution.

DISTINGUISHED MINISTERS TO TEACH
IN DEPARTMENT OF HOMILETICS

At the meeting of the Board of Directors of the seminary
held during May, important changes in the work of the Homi-
letics Department were planned. Following his retirement as
Professor of Systematic Theology in 1946 Dr. J. B. Green , h
continued to serve as Professor of Homiletics and has carried
m responsibility for the Department during the past three
yers. Fortunately his good health permits him to con unue
soL of his classroom duties next year, and he will *****
Z required course in Homiletics for Juniors, but will not
endeavor to carry the teaching load of a full-time professor.

The seminary is highly fortunate in having secured for the
coming year the assistance of two of the outstanding preachers
of our Church, who will serve as Associate Professors. D r Wm.
V Gardner, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Columbia Seminary
wiU teach the required course for Middlers during the Spring
Quarter. Dr. Patrick Dwight Miller, Pastor of the Druid Hdls
Presbyterian Church of Atlanta will teach the required course
for Seniors during the Winter Quarter. This arrangement will
g -ve students an opportunity to sit under the mstructton oi
Sen who will come to the classroom ***^\
problems of the modern pastorate, and who will s P *k _wuh
special authority concerning the message and methods of Twen
tieth-Century Preaching.

Rev Hubert Vance Taylor will continue to serve as Asso-
ciate Professor with especial repsonsibility for the Training
of the Speaking Voice. The cooperation of these four men
Z the work of preparing men to preach assures the fact that
Columbia Seminary will offer training in Homiletics which can
be equaled at very few institutions in America.

RECORD ENROLLMENT IN PROSPECT

The Regular Fall Session of the Seminary will open on
Tuesday, September the 13th, at 8:00 p. m The opening ad-
Lss of the school year will be delivered by Dr. Patrick EL
Miller of Atlanta. All new students are expected to enroll on
Tuesday, September the 6th, and will spend a week in spe a
orientation ftudie, preparatory to the beginning of regular dass
work The orientation period, which will be directed by Dean
Felix B. Gear, is designed to introduce students to the curric-
ulum of theological education and to prepare them for the
broad general reading which will be required of them in con-
nection with their seminary education.

Fifty-five students have enrolled as members of the Junior
Class which will register on September 6, in addition to four
new students in the Bible Training Course and one transfer
each to the Middle and Senior Classes. These new students come
from a total of 13 states and one foreign country, and hold
degrees from twenty-five different universities and colleges.

The total enrollment of students for the Fall Quarter will
apparently be about 140. Other new students have already reg-
istered for admission during subsequent quarters. Thus not only
the entering class of the seminary, but its student body as a
whole, will be the largest in the history of the school. In order
to provide additional space for students a new faculty home is
being erected on the campus for Dr. and Mrs. Gutzke, who with
their family, have occupied an apartment in the dormitory. Dr.
and Mrs. Green have already moved from another apartment
to their newly purchased home in Avondale Estates. This will
make a total of 14 additional rooms which will be available
for students. Even so it now appears that the seminary will be
taxed to capacity to care for all who wish to enroll. More than
half of the students enrolling in the entering class are veterans
of World War II, though the percentage of veterans in this
group will be slightly lower than in the student body as a
whole.