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Houghton College is a Christian liberal arts college in Houghton, in the Genesee Valley of southwestern New York State. It is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church.^[2] The college is a member of both the Christian College Consortium and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

History

Houghton College began in 1883 as Houghton Seminary, a coeducational high school founded by Willard J. Houghton, a Wesleyan Methodist minister. In 1899, the first few college classes were offered. James Luckey was appointed president in 1908 and Houghton College received its provisional charter from New York in 1923.^[3] A permanent charter was granted in 1927, and accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools came in 1935. Stephen Paine was appointed president in 1937. When the former Buffalo Bible Institute merged with Houghton College in 1969, the West Seneca campus was created.^[4] Wilber Dayton was appointed president in 1972 and he was succeeded by Daniel R. Chamberlain in 1976. The college initiated its first master’s degree program in 2004 and currently offers nine such degrees. Shirley Mullen was appointed president in 2006.

Campus

Houghton College’s main campus is in the hamlet of Houghton, in Allegany County, New York, about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Buffalo, New York and 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Rochester, New York. The 1,300 acres (5.3 km²)-acre campus sits on the Allegheny Plateau at roughly 1,300 feet (400 m), on the site of the former Caneadea Indian Reservation. A new Adult Education program offers a B. S.in Management at a variety of locations. Houghton College will open two new locations in Niagara County for their Adult Education Program in 2013. The first location to open will be in the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and will begin classes on January 16, 2013. The second location will be in Lockport, N.Y., and is set to begin classes in the summer of 2013.^{[citation needed]}

Academics

Houghton College grants 2-year and 4-year degrees in 46 majors. The college also offers six graduate degrees through the Greatbatch School of Music.

First Year Honors

A distinctive First Year Honors Program is for qualified first-year students. There are three options: Contemporary Contexts, East Meets West, and Science Honors. Contemporary Contexts is the replacement program for the London Honors program which began in 1996. Both Contemporary Contexts and East Meets West involve taking integrated classes during normal semester then traveling abroad during 'Mayterm', exploring the roots of Western culture. Science Honors takes place both first-year semesters at Houghton involving research in recent real-world issues, such as fuel-efficiency. The theme for 2012-13 will be Global Warming and ways in which to improve Houghton's efforts in environmentalism.^[5]

Student life

There are four traditional residence halls and four townhouses residences. Two of the traditional residence halls, Gillette Hall and Lambein Hall, are female residences. Rothenbuhler Hall and Shenawana Hall are male residences. Junior and senior students have the option to live in the townhouses. Houghton College is a distinctly residential campus but does allow for upper class students the opportunity to apply to live in approved off-campus housing, called Community Living Opportunities (CLOs) or specialized theme housing.^[6] Many organizations and clubs are available for students to join or found their own.

Athletics

The Houghton Highlanders field 16 varsity teams. Women participate in soccer, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, softball, volleyball, track, and cross country. Men participate in baseball, soccer, basketball, golf, track, lacrosse, and cross country. The college will add men's and women's tennis for the 2013-2014 season.

Houghton is a full member of the NCAA Empire 8 Conference.

May 2012 graduate Danielle Brenon was the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field national champion in the marathon. She is currently training for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.^[7]

On December 1, 2011, the college announced plans to build the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex thanks to a $12 Million gift from 1991 graduate Kim Pegula.^[8] The complex is named after Kim's father Ralph Kerr, an instructor in Houghton's PACE program, and her husband Terrence Pegula. The multi-sport turf field facility will be home to the Houghton Highlander baseball, softball, field hockey, indoor track, and lacrosse teams. It is expected to include lighted, regulation-size fields that can also be used to enhance the intramural program. The hope is that the multipurpose field house will provide dedicated practice space for outdoor sports over the winter and during inclement weather and also serve as a hub of involvement for the campus and the surrounding communities of Northern Allegany County and Western New York.

The college also offers club and intramural sports for men and women, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and indoor soccer. Co-ed club and intramural sports are handball, water polo, volleyball, and softball. Co-ed frisbee is also a popular sport.

Notable alumni

• Robert Beckford, a British academic theologian and a reader in black theology and popular culture at Oxford Brookes University
• Ira S. Bowen, astronomer, director of Mt Wilson and Palomar Observatories 1946-1964^[9]
• Ronald Enroth, evangelical Christian author
• Neil MacBride, Vice President of Anti-Piracy and General Counsel of the Business Software Alliance, formerly Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee and Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Richard J. Mouw, currently the president of Fuller Theological Seminary
• George Beverly Shea, Dove Award winning musician with the Billy Graham Crusade
• Bruce Waltke, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary

References

External links

• Official website
• Official athletics website