Southeastern University (Florida)

Southeastern University is a private Christian liberal arts university located in Lakeland, Florida, United States. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama as a Bible college, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became a liberal arts college in 1970. The school has six colleges and is the largest Assemblies of God educational institution in the United States. The university offers 54 bachelor's degrees, 15 master's degrees, and one doctoral degree.HistorySoutheastern University was founded in 1935 by Assemblies of God Alabama District Superintendent J.C. Thames and other Southeastern district leaders as the Alabama Shield of Faith Institute and was later renamed the South-Eastern Bible Institute (SEBI) in 1936. Originally located in a former high school building in New Brockton, Alabama, it opened its doors to students on November 4, 1935, under the direction of four faculty members. Two years later, in May of 1937, the first graduation exercises were held. Seventeen students received diplomas for the two-year academic program.SEBI continued classes in New Brockton until 1940 when a decision was made to consolidate the school with Beulah Heights Bible Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. The school was known from 1940 to 1942 as the Beulah Heights—South-Eastern Bible Institute. In the fall of 1942, the district superintendents of the Southeastern districts accepted the invitation of the Rev. Ralph Byrd and his congregation to move the school to another location in Atlanta where it was once again renamed SEBI. In 1946, the school’s board of directors voted to secure a permanent location for the full development of the school. A new campus location was purchased later that year in Lakeland, Florida. The Atlanta campus was sold, and development of the new site began. Student body growth continued at the new central Florida campus along with the academic program.