Dateline: October 18, 2001

New college claims 'spiritual connection' with Clarendon  

Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The president of a new Christian college in Amarillo says his institution seems to have a “spiritual connection” to Clarendon’s heritage of education.

Dr. Kyle Huckins, president of the Christian Institute of the West (CIW), says when his college opens next fall it will be the first Christian college to operate in the 26-county Texas Panhandle since Clarendon College became a secular school in 1927.

CC was established in 1898 as a Methodist institution and was upgraded to a senior-level institution in 1926. One year later, politics within the Methodist conference led CC to become a municipal junior college.

Huckins says he finds it interesting that CIW will open 75 years after Clarendon College’s church affiliation ended. He also says the first ACT test scores sent to CIW have come from Clarendon.

“That’s intriguing since we haven’t really been recruiting yet,” Huckins said. “There just seems to be something spiritual going on here.”

CIW will be contacting students in the Donley County area in the coming months, Huckins said.

The Christian Institute of the West, promoted as the Panhandle’s first “modern era” Christian college, is an independent, interdenominational school with 23 different church backgrounds represented on a 30-member leadership team.

According to a press release, the Bible’s tenets will be upheld in all institute instruction. CIW was formed two years ago to provide Christian higher education in professional and liberal arts.

Huckins says he doesn’t plan for his college to compete with the modern Clarendon College and says he looks forward to working together with all area junior colleges. He said CIW will allow students to transfer 18 to 36 junior college hours, including vocational and training classes, toward their degrees.