Biola’s Board of Trustees were keen ly interested in my commitment to Christ, to the historic do c trin a l statement of the institution, and to the other Christian distinctives of Biola. The Board and faculty mem bers present were, of course, inter ested in my educational philosophy and the goals I thought should be set for our academic program s. These were explored in detail, but the overriding concern was still that Biola must be an institution that adheres to the Word of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Let me share with you some of the thoughts that I communicated to that committee. First, I underscored the fact that Biola must be ground ed squarely on the Word of God. These days more than any other call for a comprehensive knowledge of and adherence to the Word of God. Information, whether it deals with personal conduct, the social issues before us today, or even scientific data, must be analyzed, interpreted and then applied. Both the Christian and a Christian institution as Biola must make its interpretations of in formation in the light of the re vealed Word of God. At Biola I believe our reliance on the Word should be more than simp ly a philosophical or even theologi cal commitment; it should be part of the very fabric of a Biola educa tion. Consequently, I feel keenly that we must continue the clear em phasis upon the instruction of the Word of God that has been the hall mark of our school for the 62 years of its existence. That means, of course, that students who are en rolled in Biola will have excellent and intensive instruction in the Word of God. Even though a person may be majoring in business admin istration, nursing, history or any other major in the curriculum, he will have the equivalent of a full major in Bible and Doctrine. It is also my firm belief that this instruc- 3
MESSAGE FROM BIOLA’S NEW PRESIDENT
Dr. J. Richard Chase
L ast F ebruary Dr. Sutherland an nounced his retirement as Presi dent of Biola. This was to become effective no later than August, 1970. He has served our organization for 34 years — over half of that time as President. In September of this year, he will be 70 years old. With great reluctance, the Board of Di rectors accepted his resignation and decided that upon his retirement, he would become President-emeritus. After the announcement last Feb ruary, faculty and board committees were appointed to select the new President. I was notified recently by Mr. Sylvester Marshburn, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, that I had been selected unanimously as the sixth President of Biola. I’m sure that you will be pleased to know that in my meeting with the Presidential Selection Committee,
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