Keeping the Soul in Christian Higher Education

William C. Ringenberg
— author of The Christian College: A History of Protestant Higher Education in America
“This intellectual history of Roanoke College is a model case study of how one institution, born in the wake and spirit of the Second Great Awakening, moved from orthodoxy toward secularism and now finds itself in a conflict between these two impulses. Robert Benne, who possesses a masterful understanding of typology in church-related higher education, argues compellingly that Roanoke—and by inference all church-related colleges—should provide an assured ‘place at the table’ for the Christian worldview.”

Gilbert Meilaender
— Valparaiso University
“Using both the 175-year history of Roanoke College and his own experience as a member of its faculty as a case study, Robert Benne examines the current state of Christian higher education in this country. The story he tells is one of constant struggle to discern the place of faith in academic life. Whether readers are drawn to his ‘glass half full’ or his ‘glass half empty’ assessment, they will be in Benne’s debt for drawing them into reflection on this important subject.”

Gerald McDermott
— Beeson Divinity School
“In many ways, the Roanoke story is the story of church-related colleges writ large. All who want to strengthen Christian colleges, and who wonder about their fates, will learn much from this engaging history.”