Mount Vernon Academy was established in 1893, making it the oldest continually operated Adventist Boarding Academy. Originally an Adventist sanitarium in Mount Vernon, Ohio, it was on the advice of Ellen White that the facilities were transformed into a school. In response to a letter regarding the sanitarium, Mrs. White replied:
"Let the building be converted into a seminary to educate our youth in the place of enlarging the college at Battle Creek. I have been shown that there should...be located, school buildings in Ohio which would give character to the work" (Ellen G. White letter K35)."
When the school opened with William T. Bland as its Principal it had 32 students. However, by the end of its first school year it had over 100. The school continued to grow until in 1905 it became the official Adventist College for the Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, a distinction it held for eleven years until it reverted back to a secondary school. At its peak, the school enrolled approximately 320 students and operated several industries including a gas station, a laundry facility, a green house, a puffery, a printing press, a farm, and a mill.
The location of the school is in central Ohio, which itself is home to the first organized Adventist Conference (the Ohio Conference of SDAs, established in 1861 and headquartered in Mount Vernon). The school is located next to Lake Hiawatha on a site once known for its flowing natural springs. The current Academy campus facilities have roots stretching all the way back to 1924 when the present Administration Building was constructed (which saw its most recent significant renovations in the early 1990s). The women's dorm, Linden Hall, was built in 1928 and has seen several extensions and renovations, the most recent renovations taking place in the early 2000s. Hadley Hall, the men's dorm, was built in 1945 with major renovations also taking place in the early 2000s. Other buildings making up the campus include Hiawatha Hall (the science building and cafeteria), the gymnasium, the industrial arts building and student center, Echo Hall (the music building), and the Mount Vernon SDA Hill Church.
The Academy has been subject to a few recoveries and close calls. Its most famous revival is documented in Shane Anderson's book, How to Kill Adventist Education. In 2001, Dr. Dale Twomley, former CEO of Worthington Foods, stepped in and brought the Academy up from 78 students to 168. During his tenure over $3.6 million was poured into the Academy to improve its physical plant (including the renovations to the dorms). The campus culture was transformed and the school experienced a complete turnaround. In 2003 Mount Vernon Academy received the Academy Award for Excellence from the Alumni Awards Foundation.
MVA enjoyed a number of years of prosperity until 2009 when the Academy began a steady downward trend of shrinking enrollments and various hardships which have put it in a precarious position today. The project facing us is daunting, but our team is committed to working with the Administration, the Conference, alumni, the local community, and anyone who is willing to partner with us to not only put MVA back on its feet, but to make it an even better school than it was before. God has entrusted us with a wonderful school and with wonderful students, and it is our job to be good stewards with what He has given us. God still has work to do at Mount Vernon Academy and we want to ensure that MVA continues to play a role in God's master plan for training young people to carry on the work He has ordained.
No comments:
Post a Comment