Columbia International University celebrates 100th anniversary
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) —
Columbia International University kicked off its 100th anniversary celebration with a parade of flags, representing 160 nations that alumni from the school work and serve.
Students marched to the university’s Shortess Chapel while being cheered on by other CIU students and neighboring Ben Lippen High School students.
Once inside the chapel, the school’s “Ambassador Choir” performed and guest speakers reflected on the university’s Christian history.
“Every time I get up in the morning and think I get to go work there this morning, it just fills my heart with joy. The greatest people on Earth live in Columbia, SC. The community, the staff members who are here, the students who are here. And in my lifetime I’ll never be able to serve at a place as wonderful as Columbia International University,” says CIU President Dr. Mark Smith.
Student Body President Alex Brickey agrees, saying, “It’s so encouraging to have brothers and sisters in Christ who I can rely on, and I know that in 10 years, I’ll pick up on a Homecoming here at CIU again or get their missionary cards as they’re across the world and meet with them. And I’m very excited to continue those deeper relationships — that community that CIU has provided.”
Board of Trustees member Marion Davis started working for the university in 1976, when the school was still called Columbia Bible College.
“It means a lot to all of us. You just look around. You see students, faculty and everybody, they just love each other,” Davis says.
The student body will attend a three-day conference and anniversary celebrations will continue until November 2023.
CIU has 24,000 alumni serving in over 160 nations, and consistently ranks among the Top Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report.
