Alliance University (formerly Nyack College () was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

university affiliated with the

Christian and Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship (or The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA) is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian denomination It includes 6.2 million members throughout 88 countries within 22,000 churches. History The Alliance has its origins in ...

and located in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It offered undergraduate and graduate programs; in addition, it included

Alliance Theological Seminary Alliance Theological Seminary was an evangelical Christian seminary affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, last located in Manhattan. It operated from 1882 to 2023. History The seminary had roots from the Missionary Training Inst ...

. In June 2023, the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

announced that it would revoke the university's accreditation in December 2023 due to significant and ongoing financial challenges. On June 30, 2023, university leaders announced that it would cease operations as of August 31, 2023.

History

Originally known as the Missionary Training Institute, the school was founded in 1882 in New York City by Dr.

A. B. Simpson Albert Benjamin Simpson (December 15, 1843 – October 29, 1919), also known as A. B. Simpson, was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), an evangelical denomination with an emphasis ...

. Simpson resigned from a prestigious New York City

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

to develop an interdenominational fellowship devoted to serving unreached people. Simpson's view was shared by many of his contemporaries, including mainline church leaders, laborers, and theological scholars. After more than a decade of nomadic address changes for the Institute—including Eighth Avenue and 44th Street in Manhattan—28 acres of land were purchased in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state' ...

, and, in 1897, the school relocated to the village of South Nyack becoming widely known as a Bible college and an institute for ministry preparation. The Missionary Training Institute was later granted a charter by the

New York Board of Regents The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over the University of the State of New York and the New York State Education ...

and the school's curriculum was registered by the State Education Department in 1944. In 1953, the school was authorized to confer the

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree and, in 1961, the

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. In 1960, the corporation was authorized to conduct a post-baccalaureate program as the forerunner of the Alliance Theological Seminary. Nyack first received

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

in 1962 from the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

. The seminary was established in 1960 as the Jaffray School of Missions, a graduate program of the college. The Jaffray School of Missions emphasized the interdisciplinary encounter between theology and the social sciences. In 1974, the Jaffray program was redesigned to include the preparation of students for ministry in North America and abroad. The name of the seminary was subsequently changed to the Alliance School of Theology and Missions. In September 1979, the Alliance School of Theology and Missions became

, which is recognized by the

as the denomination's official seminary in the United States. The school changed its name to Nyack College in 1972 and began offering professional degree programs like education and business in the early 1970s. In 1997, the college returned to Manhattan with a branch campus. Steady growth in enrollment prompted a search in 2008 for a new permanent home for the New York City campus, an initiative that became known as The Miracle in Manhattan. In 2012, Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary signed a 20-year lease with a two-year option to purchase the on eight floors of the structure at 2 Washington Street in historic Battery Park. Classes began in the new facility in fall 2013. On November 7, 2018, the college announced plans to close its Nyack campus and consolidate its New York operations in its Manhattan-based campus by fall 2019. The Nyack campus was scheduled to close at the end of the 2018–2019 academic year; however, the closure was delayed to September 2020. After the sale of the Nyack campus, the college was renamed Alliance University in September 2022. The Nyack property was sold to and is operated by Yeshiva Viztnitz Dkhal Torath Chaim. In June 2023,

announced that it would revoke the University's main accreditation in December 2023 due to the university's significant and ongoing financial challenges. On June 30, 2023, the university announced that it would cease operations as of August 31, 2023. At the time of the closure, the denomination said it was exploring ways to continue the seminary program.

Academics

In spring 2013, Alliance University graduated its first

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

degree students. Through a collaboration with Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, Alliance University provided a Bachelor of Science program in organizational management to incarcerated individuals at

Fishkill Correctional Facility Fishkill Correctional Facility is a multi-security level prison in New York, United States. The prison is located in both the Town of Fishkill and the City of Beacon in Dutchess County. Fishkill was constructed in 1896. It began as the Matteaw ...

Beacon, New York Beacon is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city located on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 13,769. Beacon is part of the Kiryas ...

and at

Sing Sing Correctional Facility Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York, United States. It is about north of Midtown Manhattan ...

Ossining, New York Ossining ( ) is a town located along the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York. The population was 40,061 at the time of the 2020 census. It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which ...

. In 2015, the school graduated 24 inmates. With the closure of Alliance,

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

, through their

Bard Prison Initiative The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) is a program of Bard College that provides college education to people in prison. BPI currently enrolls 400 students full-time across seven prisons in New York State. It engage students in the full breadth of libera ...

, began accepting incarcerated Alliance students as transfer students.

Accreditation

Alliance University was

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

. In March 2023, the accreditor placed the university on "show cause" status due to significant and ongoing financial struggles. Three months later, the accreditor announced its decision to revoke the university's accreditation in December 2023.

Reputation and rankings

* In 2016, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Nyack College as one of the 10 most diverse colleges in the northern region of the United States. * In 2015, ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

'' named Nyack College a "Great College to Work For" for the fifth consecutive year. The college received high marks in the areas of work/life balance, respect and appreciation, compensation and benefits, and diversity. * In 2016, the inaugural ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

College Rankings'' named Nyack College among the top 20 schools in the nation assessed for campus environment. According to the October 28, 2016, article, the campus environment category evaluates "the racial and ethnic diversity of students and faculty, the number of international students enrolled and the inclusion of students from lower-income and first-generation college families." In addition, Nyack was recognized for being among "the top multicultural schools in the Northeast" region of the United States.

Notable alumni

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), known professionally by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapping , rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Walker is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major rec ...

, rapper * Cynthia Davis, politician * Seth Galloway, soccer player * Maryanne J. George, Christian musician *

Donald J. Harlin Donald J. Harlin (August 14, 1935 – February 9, 2015) was an American Air Force major general who served as Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. A native of Flushing, New York, where he was born in 1935, Harlin is an ordained Ba ...

, United States Air Force general * Karl Hood, Grenadian politician * Rashida Jolley, harpist * James Knaggs, American Salvation Army officer *

Mark Putnam Mark Putnam is an American academic administrator serving as the 21st president of Central College, a liberal arts college located in Pella, Iowa. He was appointed to the role July 1, 2010, Early life and education Putnam was raised in Endi ...

, college president

References