Baptist University of America is a now defunct college that was located in Decatur, Georgia

Decatur, Georgia

Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...

 near Atlanta.
It was made up of a merger of five separate seminaries.

History

In 1965, Pastor Al Janney began offering college classes. In 1971, he incorporated Baptist University of America, which the classes became part of. Temple Heights Christian College (founded in 1973 by the pastor of Temple Heights Baptist Church), Tallahassee Christian College (founded in 1974 by the pastor of Temple Baptist Church), Regency Baptist College (founded in 1974 by the pastor of Regency Baptist Church), and University Baptist College (founded in 1974 by the pastor of University Baptist Church) merged with Baptist University of America in 1974 and retained the Baptist University of America name. The pastors of Forrest Hills Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia and Bible Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia also supported the new organization. Tampa was used as the campus in the spring of 1974, but it was moved to an Atlanta campus in December of that year.

Closure and Online Reestablishment

Baptist University of America was closed in May 1987. Recently, Baptist University of America, Inc. (which is based in Mississippi), the former owner of Baptist University of America, established an online seminary called the Baptist University Institute for Leadership Development. , the Baptist University Institute for Leadership Development is not accredited by any of the 7 regional accrediting bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation

Council for Higher Education Accreditation

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...

.

Notable Presidents

• Pastor Al Janney (also founded Dade Christian School
  Dade Christian School
  Dade Christian School is a private school located in Country Club, Florida and operated by New Testament Baptist Church. DCS has a 2011-2012 enrollment of 793. In 2008, it was the second largest private school in Miami-Dade. The school was named a Blue Ribbon School in 1984...
  
   and New Testament Baptist Church in South Florida) - 1965-1974
• Curtis Hutson
  Curtis Hutson
  Curtis Hutson was an Independent Baptist pastor and editor of The Sword of the Lord .Curtis Hutson was born in Decatur, Georgia, of a barber and hair dresser, the second of five children. He attended Avondale High School where he met his future wife, Barbara Crawford...
  
   - 1974-1980
• Jack Baskin 1983-1987

Notable alumni

Daniel Lawrence Whitney (better known by his stage name, Larry the Cable Guy) attended for three years, dropping out after his Junior year to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.