A traditionally Presbyterian college is retaining its accreditation but losing its denominational label following a merger with a private business university.

In late September, St. Andrews Presbyterian College of Laurinburg, N.C. became St. Andrew’s University after merging with Webber International University of Babson Park, Fla. – a move that will allow the beleaguered private college to maintain its academic accreditation status. The announcement came on the college’s 50th anniversary Founders Day.

Established in 1961, St. Andrews has historical ties with Presbyterianism and is still listed as a “related institution” with the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU) which, in turn, has a “renewable covenant” with the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

As such, St. Andrews agreed, by joining APCU to “affirm, support and reflect the fundamental beliefs and values of the [PCUSA].” How that agreement may be affected by the merger is not clear.

However, St. Andrews President Paul Baldasare said the name change won’t change the school’s mission.

“Our focus and priorities remain the same: to deliver a strong liberal arts and sciences education to our students, informed by the values and commitments of the Presbyterian Church,” he said during the Founder’s Day announcement.

St. Andrews grew from a merger of Flora Macdonald College and Presbyterian Junior College in 1958. The college launched as a project of the Synod of North Carolina of the Presbyterian Church in the US, as “a way to strengthen Presbyterian higher education in the eastern region of the state where the need was the greatest,” according to the St. Andrews website.

“Presbyterians across North Carolina, laity and clergy, had committed themselves to this new adventure in higher education,” the online history states. Now, the group that launched the “adventure” will be stricken from the institution’s name.

Read More

[Editor’s note: Some of the original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]