John E. Brown: background

John E. Brown (1879–1957) was not afforded the opportunity to pursue much education, as his family's financial difficulties forced him to begin working at the age of 11.^[4] As a teenaged laborer in Arkansas, Brown encountered the Salvation Army and underwent a conversion experience. After his conversion, he became an itinerant Methodist evangelist, with his travels taking him across Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and the Indian Territory.

Subsequent to becoming an evangelist, Brown accepted a position as president of Scarritt College in Neosho. His two years as president were instrumental in developing his plan to establish his own college. However, Brown felt that the strong emphasis of that school on education without the benefit of life training was harmful to the students. As he said in 1903, "It might be my privilege to have a part in the building of school that would turn the minds of youth back from this exaggerated concept of the value of book knowledge, to the realization that all this is valuable only as it becomes a background for, or the foundation under, the real things of life."^[5]: 25

Early years: presidency of John E. Brown Sr. 1919–1948

Maintaining this goal of establishing a college that would provide an interdenominational, Christian education for needy students, who like himself, might not have had a chance of receiving an education, Brown laid the foundation in 1919 for the institution that would later be called John Brown University, John E. Brown College. To pay for the institution's free tuition, Brown developed his school as a Christian vocational college. Students worked jobs such as carpentry and helped in constructing the buildings on campus. The typical work-day was four hours in addition to class time.^[6]

Apparently seeking to expand the reach of the growing college, John Brown announced in 1934 that the school was to be changed into a four-year university. The new university was divided into three colleges: the academic, vocational, and Bible colleges, fitting John Brown's stated vision of educating "head, heart, and hand".^{[5] : 54} Spreading the new university's fields of study into new technology, Brown soon purchased a local radio station from which to broadcast Christian programming and his own sermons. Brown had used radio extensively before but was eager to get the resources of radio into the hands of the university.^[5]: 55 The expanded facilities, such as the distinctive Cathedral Group, which took root in the 1930s and 1940s, caused expenses for which the university had to pay. JBU began charging tuition in 1939, albeit a very small amount, and John Brown began to realize that financially, the vocational aspect of the school was more costly than anticipated. The university relied heavily on outside donations to break even financially.^[7]: 101

Shift away from fundamentalism

As the university grew, Brown continued to preach throughout the country and on the radio. He was well known for his attacks on liquor, gambling, dancing, and other Christian fundamentalist issues of the time.^[7]: 20 This brought him into close proximity with Bob Jones, Sr. founder of Bob Jones University, who presented Brown with an honorary doctorate in 1937.

In the 1940s, the close ties between JBU and the Christian fundamentalist movement began to wane, as the university took an unexpected turn away from fundamentalism. John Brown himself was always a proponent of interdenominationalism, and by aligning himself with Youth for Christ and other evangelical organizations after World War II, JBU was making a statement. John Brown's description of the school in 1948 as "interdenominational and definitely evangelical"^[7]: 117 is very telling in this regard.

Presidency of John E. Brown Jr. 1948–1979

When John Brown Sr. relinquished control of the university (at least in name, since he remained as chairman of the board) in 1948, he began a period of much-needed consolidation. During World War II the student body had dropped to barely over a hundred, and the high echelons of the school's leadership were being run almost exclusively by the Brown family.^[7]: 99 Under the second Brown, professors and administrators were hired who had more advanced degrees, the Board of Trustees began to develop as a more independent body, and the students elected representatives to an independent council. All of this was beginning to occur by the end of the 1940s.^[7]: 109 Also, the university began construction on its Cathedral Group, composed of the chapel sanctuary, known as the Cathedral of the Ozarks, the Science building, and the Library, supposedly symbolizing in building form the idea of educating "head, heart, and hand". As much as JBU grew during this period, it still lacked accreditation and its student body continued to hover at around 300 during the 1950s. After the founder's death in 1957, John Brown Jr. worked to improve the quality of the education JBU provided. One crucial step was the abolition of the university's vocational college. Citing the shifting makeup of the workforce in the 1960s, the president did away with the vocational requirement, with the understanding that each department would provide practical career training as part of its curriculum.^[7]: 141 As a result of these reforms and others, JBU was finally nationally accredited by North Central Association.

During the turbulent years of the Vietnam War and the peace movement, JBU was relatively undisturbed. The school nurtured at that time a strong Christian Americanist vision of the world, tying American patriotism and political conservatism to conservative Christian faith. Instead of joining the anti-war movement, many JBU students joined organizations like Campus Crusade for Christ and traveled to other campuses. When those turbulent times had come and gone, JBU faced the 1970s with uncertainty. Academic standards were low and classes were not challenging. The university recognized the need to improve its quality, so it brought in Elton Trueblood, professor of philosophy at Earlham College, who had written The Idea of A College which argued that colleges should focus on liberal arts over career preparation. Trueblood's visits in the mid-1970s inspired JBU to look for ideas in Arthur F. Holmes' Idea of a Christian College in which a Christian college seeks to integrate faith and learning.

Presidency of John E. Brown III 1979–1993

When John Brown Jr. stepped down as president, the job fell to his son, John Brown III, who immediately sought to improve the academic quality of the university. He visited Wheaton College (Illinois) and heralded its commitment to an integration of academic quality and Christian faith. To accompany his praise of Wheaton, he announced that the first consideration of JBU in selecting prospective students would be academic quality, and raising the entrance requirements. As expected, this began to attract more academically gifted students.^{[7]: 196–197} Also, in the 1980s, an Honors Program was established. However, the third Brown made sure to maintain JBU's historic emphasis on career training, through its non-liberal arts programs such as Engineering, Construction Management, and Graphic Design. As well as academic programs, John Brown III instituted new building programs and a scholarship for Latin American students paid for by Sam Walton.

Presidency of George F. Ford 1993–1994

John Brown III stepped down as president and was succeeded by George Ford, former Vice President of Roberts Wesleyan College, who left after less than a year because of internal difficulties with the university. During Ford's brief presidency, the university began offering an undergraduate degree completion program ("The Advance Program") in various locations in Northwest Arkansas.^[8]

Presidency of Lee Balzer 1994–2004

The former president of Tabor College in Kansas, Lee Balzer, took office after the Ford controversy with a plan to expand the university's reach. He extended the Advance Program for non-traditional students in other cities by establishing branch centers in Fort Smith, Arkansas and Little Rock, Arkansas. During his presidency, JBU offered its first graduate degrees, initially in school counseling, and later including master's degrees in marriage and family therapy, leadership and ethics, business (MBA) and Christian ministry. The Center for Marriage and Family Studies^[9] was established during the Balzer presidency. Under President Balzer, JBU also founded the Soderquist Center for Business Leadership and Ethics^[10] to promote ethical principles in the business world. In addition, JBU's financial campaign at the end of the 1990s raised more than 39 million dollars to build Walker Student Center, Bell Science Hall, North Hall, and the Soderquist Business Center, all in the span of barely more than five years.^[7]: 222

Presidency of Charles Pollard 2004–present

In 2004, Balzer retired. JBU selected Charles (Chip) Pollard, then Professor of English at Calvin College, to take the office of president for the institution. Since taking office, Pollard has overseen an interior and exterior renovation of the Cathedral Group, the expansion of North Hall, growth in the student body to over 2,000 students, and general consolidation after the rapid expansion of the past decade. Pollard's most notable legacy will likely be his extremely successful expansion of the JBU endowment, upgrade of the facilities and successfully growing the school's enrollment. Under the leadership of Pollard, JBU has seen significant growth through a number of sizable financial gifts. Graduate programs expanded to include the Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, MA in Higher Education and MFA in Collaborative Design.

It was announced in early 2010, after receipt of an $8 million anonymous donation, that JBU would construct a new engineering and construction management building. The building was completed in 2011 and named the Balzer Technology Building in honor of the school's former president. Later that year, a JBU engineering student turned successful alumnus and businessman, Bill Berry, provided the financial gift for the Berry Performing Arts Center^[11] which was completed in 2011. In 2012, it was announced that the Simmons family, owners of the privately held Simmons Foods located in Siloam Springs, would make a financial gift providing JBU with a new dining and gathering facility. The Simmons Great Hall was completed in mid-2013. The Health Education Building that houses the nursing department was completed in 2016.

Associated centers

John Brown University has two endowed, associated centers: The Center for Healthy Relationships and The Center for Faith and Flourishing.

Basketball

On March 22, 2005,^[20] the JBU men's basketball team won the 2005 NAIA Division I National Championship. John Brown defeated Azusa Pacific University 65–55 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.^[21] Each year during the first home game, JBU basketball fans come armed with rolls...and rolls...of toilet paper, which they hurl onto the court after the first JBU basket of the season. This 34-year-old tradition brings in record crowds with approximately 2,000 rolls of toilet paper and lands JBU an automatic technical foul for the season.

Golf

The JBU varsity men's golf team was originally formed in 1966. The team lasted until 1973, at which time it was cut from the athletic program. The school restarted its men's varsity golf team in the fall of 2008 and remained intact until 2016.^[22]

Cheerleading

JBU began a cheer squad in the fall of 2010. JBU had cheerleading many years ago, but it only counted as a club then.

Club teams and intramurals

The university has club rugby, ultimate frisbee and esports teams for both men and women. The JBU Talons men's club baseball team began play in 2021. These clubs compete against clubs from other universities. To house its club teams, JBU has a rugby pitch and on campus. JBU also has a club ultimate frisbee team. JBU students also participate in a number of intramural sports, from soccer to volleyball to flag football to dodgeball. Many of these events take place on the intramural fields or in the Walton Lifetime Health Complex.