3 minute read
LOOKING BACK BEYOND 75 YEARS
DR. BRUCE FAWCETT ('88) PRESIDENT AND VICE CHANCELLOR
Knowing that our 75th anniversary was approaching, I’ve been reflecting on the beginnings of Crandall University – not the founding of the United Baptist Bible Training School (UBBTS) in 1949 where we often begin the story, but the founding of schools that predate UBBTS.
Joseph Crandall (1770-1858) was the first ordained Baptist minister in New Brunswick. For 58 years he served as the pastor of the Baptist church in Salisbury and from that platform travelled widely and launched new churches across eastern parts of the then-colony.
In addition to an interest in pioneering new churches, “Elder Crandall,” as he was popularly known in his day, also served as the founding chair of the New Brunswick Baptist Education Society. In 1836 the society opened the “New Brunswick Baptist Seminary” in Fredericton, a high school which enrolled 120 students in its inaugural year. Students from all religious backgrounds were welcome and boys and girls studied in the same classroom – two facts that would have made the school stand out among the few high schools that existed in New Brunswick during that era. Though the education offered was excellent and the staff cared deeply for the students, the school closed in 1872 due to financial stresses.
Ten years later, in 1882, Baptists attempted to overcome the financial challenges inherent in having just a small group of churches operate a school on their own. A “Union Seminary” was opened in Saint John as a joint project of the Reformed and Free Will Baptist groups who later came together in 1905-1906 as the “United Baptist Convention.” Six years after it opened, the high school moved to St. Martins to occupy a beautiful new building. When the facility opened, one reporter called it “the most beautiful school building in the province.” This school closed in 1895, again challenged by the cost of servicing its debt and covering the annual operating expenses. Though I was not there, I have no doubt that when the founding board of UBBTS met in the years following the conclusion of World War II to discuss opening another high school and Bible institute, those in the room would have known that their dream of education in New Brunswick was an attempt to revive an ambitious vision from the past.
As we mark 75 years of what we now know as Crandall University, I want to assure you that I have served as a President who not only looks ahead, but also has one eye on the past, learning from challenges faced in previous eras. Our Board and leadership team has worked hard to secure our University’s future by increasing revenue and seeking to eliminate all debt and all due maintenance, so that the University could turn its attention to building its endowment. I invite you to join many other supporters who have spoken with our Advancement department to learn how gifts given now or through estate planning can contribute to the University’s endowment. These strategic gifts can strengthen and secure Crandall University’s mission for generations of students to come.
