Regent University Celebrates 30 Years

An idea to change the world was set in motion 30 years ago this week. Regent University traces its beginnings to its incorporation in 1977. A lot has happened since then.

“Thirty years ago there wasn’t one single building here,” Dr. Pat Robertson tells a group of students at Regent University. “We had a group of several hundred people, and we gathered together with flags of the nations behind us. I shared what God had shown me and what was going to happen here, that indeed there would be a school and we would have a headquarters and would be reaching out to the world.”

“God spoke to me and He said, ‘I want you to buy this piece of land,’” Robertson says. “And many people laughed because they said, ‘It cannot be done.’ But God said, ‘Buy it and build a headquarters and build a school and reach out to the world.’”

“I think in the first class we had included 77 students. I was honored that they would entrust their futures to the school,” he says.

“That first class, they were the kind that liked to climb the Himalayas, Mt. Everest, and go out and fly small airplanes across the ocean, that sort of thing. These were pioneers.”

“It started very small, but it has grown dramatically,” Robertson says. “I am so thrilled because I know it is God. It’s a planting of the Lord.”

The first class to graduate from what was then called CBN University was in 1980. There was a new administration building and classroom building. A huge library was started in 1982.

Regent continued to grow with the addition of Robertson Hall and the Robertson School of Government.

In 2002, the Communication and Performing Arts Center opened, one of the most technologically advanced communication buildings on the East Coast.

Todd Simms, producer of the motion picture Echoes of Innocence learned his craft at Regent.

“I saw an ad for, at that time, CBN University and something just jumped in me,” Simms says. “I felt like I knew about storytelling, but how to use film as a way to tell a story, I had no clue until I came here and I got that right here at Regent. I ended up getting my degree here from the School of Communication, and it has been pivotal in aiding me in getting this feature film, Echoes of Innocence, completed. When I came back to visit and I saw the new School of Communication and the Arts building, I was just blown away. It’s the place to be. It’s the place to learn how to take that art and apply it to your Christian worldview. I would even recommend it to people who don’t necessarily have a Christian world view because the facilities are top of the line. The education that they’re going to get and the hands-on experience is world class.”

The sense of community on the Regent Campus was enhanced in 2003 with the opening of the Student Center that includes a restaurant and bookstore.

Regent has been a leader in online learning and now offers a School of Undergraduate Studies.

“The power of a dream can carry all obstacles in front of you,” Robertson tells a recent group of Regent graduates. “From that dream can come success. From that dream can come political change. From that dream can come educational blessings. From that dream can come evangelization. From that dream can come wonderful movies and television programs. From that dream can come books and literature. And, I charge you: cherish your dream. Nurture your dream.”

“The legacy will be the students and their impact on society,” he says. “They will be Christian leaders to change the world.”