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Regent University

Coordinates: 36°48′10″N 76°11′46″W / 36.80270°N 76.19619°W / 36.80270; -76.19619
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Not to be confused with Regent College or Regent's University London.

Regent University
MottoChristian Leadership to Change the World
TypePrivate university
Established1977[1]
Religious affiliation
Interdenominational
Evangelical
Endowment$69,500,000 in 2020 [2]
Academic staff
138 (Full-time) and 48 (Part-time)[3]
Administrative staff
402[1]
Students10,365[1]
Undergraduates4,408[1]
Postgraduates5,957[1]
Other students
983 (non-degree seeking, first professional)[1]
Location
Virginia Beach
,
Virginia
,
U.S.
CampusSuburban
Colors    Blue, green
NicknameRoyals [1]
Sporting affiliations
NCCAA[4]
Websiteregent.edu Edit this at Wikidata

Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offers on-campus programs as well as distance education. Regent offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in over 70 courses of study. The university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

History

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Robertson Hall, home to the School of Law and Robertson School of Government

Plans for the university, originally named Christian Broadcasting Network University, began in 1977 by CBN founder and longtime Chancellor Pat Robertson; Robertson remained Chancellor until his death in 2023. In 1990, the name was changed to Regent University.[5] The university's name is designed to reference a regent, a person who exercises power in a monarchical country during the absence or incapacity 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."[6] The university's current motto is "Christian Leadership to Change the World."[7]

The first class, consisting of seventy-seven students, began in fall of 1978 when the school leased classroom space in Chesapeake, Virginia.[6] In 1980, the first graduating class held its commencement; the school of education opened that Fall. That year, 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. In 1997, online classes began.[8]

In 1995, the university opened a secondary campus in Alexandria, Virginia but sold it soon after. In 2000, Regent began an undergraduate degree-completion curriculum under the auspices of a new program, the Center for Professional Studies. This would later become the school of undergraduate studies, before finally being renamed as the college of arts and sciences in 2012.[8]

Campus

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Architecture and setting

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The campus of Regent University comprises 70 acres (280,000 m2) of historicist neo-Georgian architecture, and is situated in the coastal city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was named in 2015 among the thirty most beautiful college campuses in the South.[9]

Academic and communal facilities

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The University Library Building houses the university's libraries while Robertson Hall is home to the Schools of Government, Law, and Undergraduate Studies. The Communication & Performing Arts Center, home for the School of Communication & the Arts, is a 135,000-square-foot (12,500 m2) building with two theatres, a production studio, sound stage, screening theatres, and a backlot. The Student Center is a 31,000-square-foot (2,900 m2) 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 Business & Leadership and Psychology & Counseling.[10] The adjoined Chapel and Divinity Building are the most recent additions to the campus, completed in 2013.[8]

The Founders Inn and Spa

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Completed in 1990, The Founders Inn and Spa hotel was originally part of the Christian Broadcasting Network before Regent University assumed ownership. It was sold to the Hilton Hotel company in 2018. The hotel features neo-Georgian architecture in keeping with the rest of the university campus.[11] The name of the hotel refers to the Founding Fathers.[12]

Reputation

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Online programs rankings

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Regent University was ranked in 2015 by U.S. News & World Report as the 11th best online undergraduate program in the nation,[13] and as the second best by OEDb in 2009.[8] Regent is ranked 21st, 46th, and 78th, respectively, for its online graduate education programs, online graduate business programs, and online MBA.[13] Regent's online MBA faculty was ranked first nationally in 2013 by U.S. News & World Report.[14]

ABA national competition wins and moot court program

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Moot court teams from the Regent University School of Law have placed as quarter-finalists or better in over 100 moot court competitions, winning more than 40 national and regional events.[15] In 2006 and 2007, Regent Law won several national ABA moot court and negotiation competitions succeeding against teams from Harvard and Yale.[16][17][18][19] Regent's moot court program was ranked sixth in the nation in 2015.[20]

Ideology

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In 1995, theologian Harvey Cox wrote that Regent has been called "the Harvard of the Christian Right" but 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".[6]

With the goal of expanding its mission beyond 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.[21]

Freedom of expression controversy

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In September 2007, Adam Key, a second-year law student at Regent, posted a lifted still from a video to the social networking website Facebook showing the school's chancellor, Pat Robertson, scratching his forehead with his middle finger.[22] The still gave the appearance that Robertson was making an obscene gesture. Key also criticized Robertson for urging the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. School officials asked Key to remove the still, publicly apologize and withhold public comment, or alternatively, defend the posting. Key removed the photograph, but refused to apologize. He was subsequently suspended and removed.[23][24][25] In November 2007, Key filed a lawsuit against Regent. Robertson said that freedom of speech does not encompass the use of these kinds of images. The university stated that Key violated the school's standards of conduct.[26][27] However, Key's attorney countered with examples of racist images posted on Facebook by other Regent students about which the school took no action.[28]

The school later claimed its actions were unrelated to the photograph and that Key was a "security risk"; his attorney countered with an internal memo sent the day before the suspension indicating that Robertson was concerned with Key's "complaints".[29] In June 2009, the lawsuit was dismissed.

Bush administration hires

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According to Regent University, more than 150 of its graduates were hired by the federal government during the George W. Bush presidency[16] including dozens in Bush's administration.[30] 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.[16] 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.[16] In addition to Savage, several other commentators made similar assertions.[17][31][32][33]

However, Savage noted that the school had improved since its days of "dismal numbers" and that the school has had wins in national moot-court and negotiation competitions.[16][34] Though a prominent critic of the school, 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."[16]

Relationship with President Donald Trump

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In October 2016, Regent University was the site of an October 2016 rally for presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.[35] A handful of Regent alumni said that Trump's values, however, were "wrong for the university."[36] Regent University alumnus Jay Sekulow was a defense lawyer for President Trump.[37]

Faculty

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Regent has 138 full-time and 48 part-time faculty members, five of whom are Fulbright Scholars.[7] Several were previously in politics. Former U.S. Attorney General 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.[38] Also named distinguished professor was former chief of naval operations Admiral Vern Clark who teaches courses in leadership and government.[39] In 2006, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak was a visiting faculty member for the school of undergraduate studies.[40] 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".[41] He was fired in 1993 for holding a view of Dominion Theology deemed to be "too extreme."[42] Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell began teaching at Robertson School of Government in 2017.[43] The School of Divinity includes the theologian Graham Twelftree,[44] Dean Emeritus H. Vinson Synan, Pentecostal theologian Amos Yong, and church historian Stanley M. Burgess.[45] The late J. Rodman Williams was professor emeritus.[46] Former US representative Michele Bachmann became dean of the Robertson School of Government in 2021.[47]

Athletics

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The Regent athletic teams are called the Royals; their logo is based on a lion. The university is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), primarily competing in the Eastern Metro Athletic Conference (EMAC) since the 2021–22 academic year. The Royals also compete as a member of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) in the South Region of the Division I level.

Regent competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball.[48]

Notable alumni

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Regent University alumni include:

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Regent University - Regent Facts". Regent.edu. October 19, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  2. ^ "Data USA Regent University Operations". www.datausa.io. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "College Navigator - Regent University".
  4. ^ "REGENT UNIVERSITY - The National Christian College Athletic Association". www.thenccaa.org. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "Regent University - History". Regent University. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Cox, Harvey (November 1995). "The Warring Visions of the Religious Right". The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  7. ^ a b "Regent University Facts". Regent University. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d "Regent University - History". Regent.edu. August 1, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  9. ^ "30 Most Beautiful College Campuses in the South". Bestcollegesonline.org. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  10. ^ "Virginia Beach Campus". Regent University. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  11. ^ Phil Walzer. "Regent will take over operation of Founders Inn | Jobs & Employment | pilotonline.com". Hamptonroads.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  12. ^ "Hotels in Virginia Beach VA | The Founders Inn and Spa – The Hotel | Hotels near Virginia Beach Sportsplex". Foundersinn.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Regent University | Overall Rankings | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  14. ^ "School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015.
  15. ^ "Regent Law - Awards and Specialty Competitions". Regent.edu. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  16. ^ a b c d e f Savage, Charlie (April 8, 2007). "Scandal puts spotlight on Christian law school". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 15, 2007.
  17. ^ a b Moyers, Bill (May 11, 2007). "Bill Moyers Journal Transcript". PBS. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  18. ^ "ABA Law Student Division 2006-07 Negotiation Competition National Competition Results" (PDF). American Bar Association. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  19. ^ "Regent Law - Competition Championships & Awards". Regent University. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  20. ^ "Regent University News - Regent University School of Law Ranked No. 6 for Best Moot Court Program". Regent.edu. March 12, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  21. ^ Vegh, Stephen G. (May 22, 2008). "Conference at Regent marks unusual collaboration". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  22. ^ —By Stephanie Mencimer. "The New Face of Christian Legal Education". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 25, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Law Student in Trouble After Posting Pat Robertson Photo on Facebook". Associated Press. October 12, 2007. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  24. ^ Burke, Bill (October 11, 2007). "Regent student gets flak for Robertson photo on Web site". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  25. ^ Council, John (January 4, 2008). "ABA Asked to Examine Accreditation of Pat Robertson's Law School". Texas Lawyer. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  26. ^ Burke, Bill (November 30, 2007). "Suspended Regent student files suit against Pat Robertson". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  27. ^ Weiss, Debra Cassens (November 30, 2007). "Regent 2L Sues Over Suspension for Robertson Web Post". ABA Journal. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  28. ^ Vogel, Chris (April 22, 2009). "Racism Goes Unchecked at Regent University". Houston Press. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009. Some of the pictures Kallinen found include a doctored photo from the civil rights era of an African American holding a sign saying, "Can a Nigga Get Some Koolaid", and another manipulated photo of an African-American basketball player trying to steal a watermelon from a white player.
  29. ^ Rohall, Kristina (January 26, 2009). "Attorney says Robertson e-mail is critical of expelled student". WVEC-TV. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  30. ^ MacGillis, Alec (December 7, 2008). "Academic Elites Fill Obama's Roster". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
  31. ^ Lithwick, Dahlia (April 8, 2007). "Justice's Holy Hires". Washington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  32. ^ Krugman, Paul (April 13, 2007). "For God's Sake". New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  33. ^ Cohen, Andrew (April 9, 2007). "The Gutting Of The Justice Department". CBS News. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  34. ^ "ABA Law Student Division, 2006-07 Negotiation Competition Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 2, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  35. ^ "Donald Trump Selects Regent University for Campaign Rally". www.regent.edu. Regent University. October 22, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  36. ^ Jaschik, Scott (October 27, 2016). "Regent Criticized by Some Alumni Over Trump Rally". www.insidehighered.com. Inside Higher Education. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  37. ^ Davis, Aaron; Boburg, Shawn. "Trump attorney Jay Sekulow's family has been paid millions from charities they control". Washington Post. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  38. ^ Willing, Richard (March 16, 2007). "John Ashcroft to teach class at Va. college". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 4, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  39. ^ "Former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark to join Regent University Faculty". Regent University. February 13, 2006. Archived from the original on April 15, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  40. ^ "Leadership in Crisis" (PDF). Regent University. Fall 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  41. ^ Clarkson, Frederick (Winter 2005). "The Rise of Dominionism - Remaking America as a Christian Nation". The Public Eye Magazine. Vol. 19, no. 3. Political Research Associates. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
  42. ^ David, Marc (August 2, 1996). "ABA Grants Accreditation To Regent Law School". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
  43. ^ "Regent University News - Former Virginia Governor Joins Regent University as Distinguished Professor". www.regent.edu. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  44. ^ "Graham H. Twelftree". Regent University. Archived from the original on January 8, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  45. ^ "Faculty Page". Regent University School of Divinity. Archived from the original on July 15, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  46. ^ "Regent Professor of Theology Passes Away". CBN News. October 20, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
  47. ^ "Regent University Names Michele Bachmann as Dean of the Robertson School of Government". www.regent.edu. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  48. ^ Athletics | Regent University
  49. ^ Provence, Lisa (March 19, 2009). "FACETIME- First page grabber: Award winner writes press releases, too". The Hook. No. 811. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  50. ^ "Tony Hale: Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
  51. ^ "About Todd Hunter". Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others. March 14, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  52. ^ Wilson, Christopher (2015). "How to See The Holy Spirit, Angels and Demons: Ignatius of Loyola on the Gift of Discerning of Spirits in Church Ethics". Pneuma. 37 (2). Brill Publishers: 292–293. doi:10.1163/15700747-03702008. ISSN 0272-0965.
  53. ^ Patton, Charlie (July 17, 2008). "Duval author extends reach in breakthrough". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  54. ^ "About Author Charles Margin". Charles Martin Books. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  55. ^ Kumar, Anita (February 27, 2009). "McDonnell Asks Rivals to Support Drilling". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  56. ^ "About Jay Sekulow". American Center for Law and Justice. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
  57. ^ Sekulow, Jay (June 16, 2015). Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1501125478.
  58. ^ Brennan Swain. "Brennan Swain Celebrity". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  59. ^ Baker, Judy (November 5, 2007). "National Christian Recording Artist Visits Alma Mater". Regent University. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
  60. ^ [1] Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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