The King's College (TKC or simply King's) is 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 ...

non-denominational Christian Non-denominational Christianity (or nondenominational Christianity) consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligni ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

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 ...

. The King's College was founded in 1938 in

Belmar, New Jersey Belmar is a Borough (New Jersey), borough located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,907, an increase of 113 ...

, by

Percy Crawford Percy Bartimus Crawford (October 20, 1902 – October 31, 1960) was an evangelist and fundamentalist leader who especially emphasized youth ministry. During the late 1950s, he saw the potential of FM radio and UHF television and built the first ...

. The college re-located to the State of Delaware in 1941 and then to

Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

in 1955. Following its loss of accreditation in December 1993, the college closed in 1994. After being taken over by

Campus Crusade for Christ Cru (until 2011 known as Campus Crusade for Christ—informally "Campus Crusade" or simply "Crusade"—or CCC) is an interdenominational Christian parachurch organization. It was founded in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles by ...

and acquiring

Northeastern Bible College Northeastern Bible College was founded by Charles W. Anderson and first opened in September 1950 as Northeastern Bible Institute, at the Brookdale Baptist Church in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The college relocated to a campus in Essex Fells in the ...

, The King's College re-opened in Manhattan in 1999. The college became independent of Campus Crusade in 2012. During and after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the college faced financial challenges. 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 ...

withdrew accreditation from The King's College on August 31, 2023. The college did not open for the fall 2023 semester, but does not intend for its closure to be permanent. As of January 2024, the college was not accepting applications for admissions. In January 2025, the trustees were seeking "to gift the college, including its charter and intellectual property … to likeminded evangelical Christians who propose the most compelling vision to resume the operations of the college".

History

Early years

Percy B. Crawford founded The King's College in 1938 in Belmar, New Jersey. The school re-located in 1941 to a Lexington mansion on the 65-acre former estate of Major Philip Reybold near

Delaware City, Delaware Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,885 as of 2020. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the Forts Ferry Crossing to F ...

, and again in 1955 to the former

Briarcliff Lodge The Briarcliff Lodge was a luxury resort in the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York. It was a notable example of Tudor Revival architecture, and was one of the largest wooden structures in the United States. It was also the first hotel in West ...

site in

. At Briarcliff, The King's College sponsored the King's Tournament, a sports

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

in which East Coast Christian college athletes competed each year. Briarcliff Lodge c

After Crawford's death,The Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.
'As This Is Our First Broadcast...': Biography of Percy B. Crawford"
Retrieved 10 January 2009. Robert A. Cook became the college's second president in 1962. The college prospered under his leadership, with enrollment growing to a high of 870 students in 1980. After 23 years as president, Cook retired and became the college's

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 1985, a position which he held until his death in 1991. Friedhelm Radandt succeeded Cook to become the college's third president. Nine years later, in December 1994, the New York Commissioner of Education ordered the college to shut down after 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 ...

revoked the school's accreditation. By 1994, the college had experienced years of declining enrollment, financial troubles, and the deterioration of the Briarcliff campus. The college had purchased property for a new campus at Sterling Forest, but was prevented from selling the Briarcliff campus in a timely fashion. The college declared bankruptcy, owing more than $25 million to its creditors, mostly from the mortgage on the new campus.Carnes, Tony (February 9, 1998).
King's College Resurrection Signals Big Apple's Renewal"
''Christianity Today,'' p. 60. Retrieved November 10, 2009

Reestablishment in New York City

The college charter first granted 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 ...

in 1955 remained in force. In 1997, the college's charter was amended to make

the sole member of the corporation. Together with Campus Crusade founder

Bill Bright William R. Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003) was an American Evangelism, evangelist. In 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles, he founded Campus Crusade for Christ as a ministry for university students. In 1952 he wrote ...

, J. Stanley "Stan" Oakes, then the director of

Faculty Commons Faculty Commons is the faculty ministry of Cru, an interdenominational evangelical Christian organization. Faculty Commons resources groups of Christian professors on over 100 U.S. universities across the country, including locations such as Pri ...

, a Campus Crusade ministry, began work to pay off the institution's debts and re-establish it in New York City. Instrumental in this process was the acquisition of

, which had experienced a decline and closure similar to that of King's.Aviv, Rachel (April 4, 2006).
On High
" ''The Village Voice''. Retrieved January 9, 2009. In 1999, King's leased of space on three floors of the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

in New York City for classrooms, a student recreation center, and administrative offices, and the college re-opened. Radandt remained president, with Oakes as chairman. In January 2003, Oakes became the fourth president. Five years later, Oakes became chancellor and board member Andy Mills served as interim president. Beginning in 2009, the college was accredited by the

. Accreditation was reaffirmed in 2015. Following treatment for brain cancer, Oakes reassumed the presidency on January 1, 2009 although by December 2009, Andy Mills was again serving as served as interim president. On August 23, 2010, the college announced the appointment of the conservative Christian writer

Dinesh D'Souza Dinesh Joseph D'Souza (; born April 25, 1961) is an American Right-wing politics, right-wing political commentator, conspiracy theorist, author, and filmmaker. He has made several films and written over a dozen books, several of them The New Y ...

as its new president. This proved to be a turbulent time for the college as much of the faculty did not agree with D'Souza's

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

media associations. On October 18, 2012, D'Souza resigned his post at the school shortly after it became known that he booked a room at a hotel with a woman who was not his wife. D'Souza claimed to be engaged to be married despite the fact that he was still married to his estranged wife. While a search committee was formed to select a permanent president, Andy Mills filled in for a third time. In 2012, the college relocated from the Empire State Building to a new location one block south of

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. The college also became independent of Campus Crusade in 2012. On July 11, 2013, the college announced the appointment of Gregory Alan Thornbury, former dean of the School of Theology and Missions at

Union University Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It was estab ...

, as the sixth president of the institution. On November 21, 2017, the college announced that Thornbury would become its chancellor and retired Air Force Brigadier General Tim Gibson would serve as interim president. In June 2018, the college purchased a former hotel in the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

to become a student residence. Gibson was formally appointed the seventh president of King's on August 21, 2018. Gibson resigned in August 2022.

Stockwell Day Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a former Canadian politician who served as leader of the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001 and later as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. A provincial cabinet minister from Alber ...

, former finance minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, was appointed as the interim president. On May 8, 2023, Steven French was appointed interim president.

2023 financial struggles and loss of accreditation

In February 2023, the college's accreditor, the

(MSCHE) sought additional information regarding its "teach-out plan". In March 2023, the MSCHE placed the college on "show cause" status after rejecting its plan. This action required the college to demonstrate its compliance with MSCHE standards by April 18, 2023, or face the loss of its accreditation. In March 2023, King's began notifying students that it might soon close due to financial difficulties exacerbated by the

. An emergency loan extended the school's operations through the end of the spring 2023 semester, however students living in apartments arranged by the college received eviction notices due to rent non-payment by the college to the landlords. King's pursued negotiations with seven other colleges to create preferred transfer agreements. On May 26, 2023, the MSCHE withdrew its accreditation of The King's College; the withdrawal of accreditation was made effective as of August 31, 2023. The college appealed this decision on June 12, 2023. One week later, the college announced that it would not hold classes in the fall of 2023 and reduced the number of faculty and staff positions. The college also noted that it did not intend for the closure to be permanent. On July 27, 2023, the MSCHE noted that it considered King's to be closed and that the closure of the college terminated the college's June 12 appeal. The college's financial challenges were documented in the 2023 ''Demise of the Crown'' podcast, produced by the ''Empire State Tribune'', the King's student-led news outlet. The

New York State Education Department The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the supervision for all public schools in New York and all standardized testing, as well as the production and administration ...

lists King's as a "potential closure" and that since July 2023, the college has not had any students. In January 2025, the school announced that they were hoping to have a go-forward plan determined by July 15th and that they expected to be debt free by the end of the year. In addition, The King's College must either dissolve or present a go-forward plan to the New York State Education Department by July 15, 2025.

Presidents

* Percy B. Crawford (1938–1962) * Robert A. Cook (1962–1985) * Friedhelm Radandt (1985–2002) * J. Stanley Oakes (2003–2009) * Andy Mills (interim) (2009–2010) *

(2010–2012) * Gregory Alan Thornbury (2013–2017) * Tim Gibson (2017–2022) *

(2022–2023) * Steve French (2023–present)

Notable faculty

Anthony Bradley Anthony B. Bradley is an American author and was professor of religion, theology and ethics at the King's College in New York City, where he also served as the chair of the Religious and Theological Studies program and directed the Galsworthy Cri ...

, research fellow at the

Acton Institute The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is an American conservative and libertarian think tank in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with an office in Rome. Its stated mission is "to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by i ...

Peter Kreeft Peter John Kreeft (; born March 16, 1937) is an American professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College. A convert to Catholicism, he is the author of over eighty books on Christian philosophy, theology and apologetics. He a ...

, philosopher, theologian, and author

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:King's College, New York, The 1938 establishments in New Jersey Belmar, New Jersey Universities and colleges established in 1938 Educational institutions disestablished in 1994 Educational institutions established in 1999 Evangelicalism in New York (state) Financial District, Manhattan Briarcliff Manor, New York Nondenominational Christian universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in Manhattan USCAA member institutions Liberal arts colleges in New York City 1994 disestablishments in New York (state) 1999 establishments in New York City Conservative organizations in the United States Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges in New York City