2004 Graduation
Pictures |
On October 22, 1992, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the establishment of the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity, believing that such an action was an appropriate response for the University given the needs of the denomination, the changes in theological education, the heritage of the University, and the support of the University's president and Board. The first classes in the School of Divinity were conducted in the spring of 1993, and the first full divinity class was admitted in the fall of 1993. Dr. Robert L. Lamb, chair of the University's Department of Religious Studies, was named the first dean of the School. The School initially offered the Master of Arts in Christian Ministries (M.A.C.M.) as its basic ministerial degree program, but following consultation with the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) phased out the M.A.C.M. in favor of the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree.
 The School of Divinity, one of four graduate, professional schools offering graduate degrees within the academic program of Gardner-Webb University, has close ties to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. |
On
May 30, 1997, Dr. Robert Lamb retired as dean and Dr. R. Wayne Stacy was
named the School's second dean. On October 23, 1998, the University's Board
of Trustees renamed the School the M. Christopher White School of Divinity
in honor of the University's former president. In January 2000, the M. Christopher
White School of Divinity was granted full accreditation by the ATS. Following
an ATS focused visit in the spring of 2001, the School of Divinity was granted
preliminary approval to begin a Doctor of Ministry degree (D.Min.), the
University's first doctorate. The first D.Min. seminars in the School of
Divinity were conducted in the fall of 2001.