In February, Beeson Divinity School received a large donation with the purpose of increasing the school’s enrollment.
An anonymous donor pledged one million dollars, with the purpose of covering 22 three-year full tuition scholarships for students enrolling in Beeson in the fall. The donor would like to potentially continue this gift for another year, after seeing the result of the first donation, and to continue helping the school reach its enrollment goals.
Beeson Divinity currently enrolls 132 students, with a goal of reaching about 180 students.
Doug Sweeney serves as the dean of Beeson Divinity School, teaching and leading the faculty, staff and students. He pointed out that many seminaries have had to make the move more often to online instruction.
“Most schools are going aggressively online not because they think that’s the best way to form pastors, but that’s the way they can survive economically,” Sweeney said.
Beeson Divinity has continued to be completely in-person thanks to the founding endowment gift of Ralph Waldo Beeson, the school’s namesake. The average student in Beeson Divinity receives about 50% off tuition in scholarships. However, the endowment does not allow for additional student scholarships, making this recent gift even more impactful.
Although many seminaries are turning to online instruction, Beeson is seeking to resist that trend and continue their in-person “life together” nature of the school.
“These scholarships are really going to help us because it’s more and more expensive to persuade students who don’t have to move and be part of your community and be kind of mentored by your faculty to do it,” Sweeney said.
Amanda Hohn, a Samford senior planning on attending Beeson in the fall was attracted to the school for this very aspect.
“My personal preference is that I learn in person, and when I went to a preview day at Beeson, they really just kept going back to the community aspect,” she said.
Shaun O’Neal, also a Samford senior, was also drawn to the community that Beeson provides, as well as the wide variety of denominations within.
“I have kind of some different denominations in my own personal background, so being in that environment yet with people who all sort of hold the same core beliefs about Scripture and their Christian faith seems like kind of unbeatable,” he said.
Those who believe in Beeson’s mission are pleased that it is funded to continue for the foreseeable future.
“Everybody around here is thrilled because it helps us stay on mission and grow and reach our goals at the same time,” Sweeney said. “And of course, the prospective students are thrilled because usually seminary is not free and in this case for 22 students, it can be free.”
As Beeson seeks to further its longevity in pursuing their mission, the students continue to experience the community becoming increasingly rare in seminaries.
“I think, you know, the Lord’s going to continue to bless Beeson and what they’re doing,” Hohn said. “And I think that is Beeson’s calling card: community.”
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