Cairn University

On July 8, 1913, W. W. Rugh founded the Bible Institute of Philadelphia as an extension of the National Bible Institute of New York.[5] After teaching public school in his earlier days, Rugh spent several years walking a circuit to teach Bible classes throughout eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This led him to establish an institution where the Scriptures could be taught on a daily basis.

Around the same time, C. I. Scofield and William L. Pettingill, leading Bible teachers of their day, were holding a large conference in the Philadelphia area. Encouraged by numerous requests to establish a permanent school to continue teaching, the two men co-founded[6] Philadelphia School of the Bible on October 1, 1914. Scofield, known internationally for his Bible teaching and his work on the Scofield Reference Bible, became the first president of PSOB and Pettingill was the first dean.

On October 8, 1921, Rugh's school became independent of the New York school and changed its name to Bible Institute of Pennsylvania (BIOPA).

Both BIOPA and PSOB focused on training lay people in the Scriptures for service in the church and their communities. No degrees were conferred.

In 1951, the two schools merged to become Philadelphia Bible Institute (PBI), located at the YWCA Building at 1800 Arch St. At the time of the merger, William A. Mierop from BIOPA was appointed president and Clarence E. Mason, Jr. from PSOB, academic dean. PBI offered a three-year Bible diploma. By 1958, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted the institute approval to offer a four-year program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Bible degree, and then changed its name to Philadelphia College of Bible. In 1967, the school received regional accreditation from the Middle States Association, becoming one of the first Bible colleges accredited by MSA.

During the 1970s, PCB continued to develop its academic offerings and was authorized to grant two additional degrees, the Bachelor of Music and the Bachelor of Social Work.

Students were required to take 55 credit hours of Bible, doctrine, and "Bible college distinctive" courses.[7][8]

Since the merger, the school has had five presidents: William A. Mierop, from 1951 to 1956; Charles C. Ryrie, from 1958 to 1962; Douglas B. MacCorkle, from 1963 to 1977; and W. Sherrill Babb, from 1979 to 2007; Todd J. Williams became the university's fifth president January 1, 2008.

W. Sherrill Babb's appointment as president coincided with a relocation from Center City, Philadelphia to a new campus in Langhorne Manor. Under his leadership, in 2000, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted the college approval to become a university and the institution changed its name to Philadelphia Biblical University. During Babb's presidency, the number of degrees offered increased from three to eleven; six Graduate programs were implemented; four extension campuses established; and student enrollment, faculty, and facility space more than doubled.

Cairn University's Music Building (left) and Biblical Learning Center (right).

In 2007, a new core curriculum was introduced. It included changes to the educational approach of the institution.[9] In the new core curriculum, students earned 36 credits of specified Bible and theology requirements in combination with a comprehensive arts and sciences and professional curriculum.[10]

On January 1, 2008, former President W. Sherrill Babb became the university's first chancellor and former provost Todd J. Williams was elevated as the university's fifth president. Under the leadership of Williams, the university has continued to expand its academic offerings. A Master of Business Administration degree was approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2010 and professional minors in Education, Music, Social Work, and Business were added in 2011. There has also been significant growth in co-curricular programs like the Arts Initiative, which is focused on strengthening the University's involvement with the fine arts, and the Center for University Studies.

In October 2011, as part of an effort to reduce the time and costs required for undergraduates to finish their studies, the board of trustees voted to allow students the option to pursue a B.S. in Bible degree, a professional degree (B.S. in Business Administration, B.S. in Education, Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Music), or both Bible and professional degrees concurrently. Prior to this decision, all undergraduate students were required to earn a B.S. in Bible. Students who wanted to earn a second professional degree in an area other than Bible or ministry had to earn over 150 credit hours, which often took four and a half or five years to complete. The October 2011 board decision also reduced the minimum of 36 credits in Bible and Theology in the core curriculum to 30 credits.[11]

On Wednesday April 18, 2012, Williams announced to the student body during chapel that he and the Board of Trustees were considering changing the name of the school to Cairn University. The name, it was explained, adopts the concept of memorials and trail markers, "Bearing witness [to God's faithfulness] and pointing the way." The announcement and the proposed new name garnered mixed responses from alumni, students, faculty, and the public.[12] By June 8, 2012, the university had filed official document(s) with the Department of Education of the State of Pennsylvania to change its name to Cairn University[13] (see Cairn). The request was approved one month later, and on July 16, 2012, the school went public as Cairn University.[14]

The university closed its social work program to new students in 2021, with existing students within the program allowed to complete their existing program.[15]