Davis president

Davis College Adapts to Changes By Partnering with Word of Life

I am excited to announce that Davis College has entered a shared services partnership with Word of Life beginning this fall semester!

Recently, the New York State Department of Education and Middle States Commission of Education approved Davis College’s decision to sell their campus; Davis will relocate to a smaller property in Johnson City and, in addition, will extend their program to Word of Life’s Bible Institute campus. This agreement between institutions provides a pathway for Word of Life students to matriculate directly into Davis and complete the Bachelor of Religious Education degree (BRE) — with an emphasis in Christian Ministries — which allows students to pursue higher education with Davis professors within the greenhouse of Word of Life’s discipleship-focused atmosphere. 

The New York campus of the Word of Life Bible Institute, founded in 1971, conducts a unique program consisting of Bible classes taught by various professors and leading theologians, a rigorous set of ministry requirements, and a structured discipleship atmosphere. First-year students receive a foundation in understanding books of the Bible, theology, and church history. Second-year students focus more on practical approaches to full-time ministry. I believe the Bible Institute’s philosophy of Christian education echoes the heartbeat of Davis’s century-long legacy.

Historically, evangelist John Adelbert Davis founded Davis College as Practical Bible School in 1900 to provide students with a Biblically-centered approach to higher education. Davis has created and perpetuated a hundred-year legacy of preparing students to serve and lead in the church, in Christian organizations, and in their communities. Davis’s administration and board of trustees have chosen to adapt to the changing landscape of higher education by partnering with Word of Life, which enables Davis to eliminate all debt and move forward unrestrained. We firmly believe this transition will allow Davis to reinvigorate its legacy of training the next generation of men and women to minister with excellence. We anticipate another century of providing a Davis College experience! 

Davis and the Bible Institute will continue as two separate entities but will operate with this shared services agreement on the same campus, sharing buildings and services but maintaining distinctly different programs. We believe this agreement takes the strengths of these institutions and allows them to complement each other: between the Bible Institute’s intense and intimate discipleship program and Davis’s more traditional collegiate approach to academics, students will receive a singular pedagogical experience that equips them for Christ-centered service and leadership in a turbulent world. These transitions yield challenges, but ultimately will yield a new season of prosperity and security in education for Davis College staff and students. 

Notably, the relocated Davis College property in Johnson City will function independently of the shared services agreement with Word of Life and will function conventionally for students returning in the fall. 

We thank you in advance for your prayers as we seek to navigate all these transitions, and to pursue and develop this partnership with wisdom and excellence.

To God be the glory great things He has done!

Doug

D. Alan Blanc, PhD
Interim President
Davis College