The American Theological Seminary: An Unfamiliar Institutional Autopsy

Abstract

Christian educators can learn much from institutional autopsies of Christian schools of higher education that have failed. The untold story of the now-defunct American Theological Seminary (ATS) in St. Augustine, Florida, provides an excellent example of critical errors that Christian educators can learn from to avoid the same fate. An institutional autopsy of the American Theological Seminary explored the purpose of the seminary, a brief history of higher education correspondence programs, the effects of the sociological changes of the 1940s on ATS, the nature of the curricula offered, the types of degrees awarded and the reasons why the seminary eventually closed. The American Theological Seminary was one of several schools that functioned under the aegis of The University Foundation in St. John's County, Florida. Data collection for this study was accomplished primarily by the process of studying archives. These data were collected through two methods: (a) conducting interviews, and (b) researching historical archives. Since this is a qualitative research study, the collected data were processed through the use of multiple data-collection methods, data sources, and analyses, which insured the validity of the findings of the study.