The University of Redlands is a Baptist-founded nondenominational university in California, United States.
Founding the university
The University of Redlands had its roots in the founding of two other Baptist institutions, California College in Oakland (not to be confused with the founding institution of the University of California, but a Baptist college founded with a $28,000 endowment on a site donated by Mrs. E. H. Grey) and Los Angeles University, first proposed in 1883 by Charles Button, a preacher who convinced an association of Southern California Baptist churches to raise funds for what became Los Angeles University. Both institutions were opened in 1886, but LAU never became financially solvent, soon ceased functioning as a university, and incurred massive debts. The Baptists appointed an education commission in 1905 to raise funds to cancel the debt and reopen the university as a high school. After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 damaged the finances of California College, the commission began exploring the liquidation of both institutions to develop a new institution in Southern California.
After the Baptist education commission tentatively accepted a proposal to join with Congregationalists to make Pomona a strong interdenominational college, Jasper Newton Field, a new Baptist pastor at Redlands, persuaded the Redlands Board of Trade to pursue the college at Redlands, California, and the Southern California Baptist convention to reject Pomona's offer.
The selection of Redlands
The convention appointed a second commission to coordinate efforts with Baptists in Northern California to establish a college in Southern California. Newton Field became first a member, then chair of the 14 member commission.
Due to miscommunication, California College retained its autonomy for the time being, leaving the commission with only the physical assets of Los Angeles University to convert into capital for a new university. Meanwhile, Redlands proposed at least 100,000 dollars and for a campus (on land donated by Baptist layman Mr. K.C. Wells) if the Baptist Church could bring in from 240,000 to 500,000 dollars towards building the university. On June 27, 1907, the commission met in Pasadena and, out of a field including Azusa, Pasadena and Riverside, voted all in favor of the Redlands proposal.
Redlands won because there was no other college in that part of the state, insuring a large local patronage. Also, there was much interdenominational interest among the local citizenry in a non-sectarian college in Redlands. Of the seven signers of the Redlands petition, only one was Baptist, but all were college men from the East and North who valued education. Of the original board of trustees of the new institution three were to be non-Baptists and laymen were to be in the majority, which marked a change from the days when higher education administration in the US was primarily conducted by ministers.
From the beginning, there was debate over what to call the new institution, a "university" or a "college." Field envisioned Redlands becoming a full university with a medical school and professional programs, although others more realistically saw it as a liberal arts college. Field's vision carried the day, however, and the Baptists charged him with raising their portion of the start-up funds. After he had successfully raised over $300,000, the board of trustees moved to elect him the first president of the University of Redlands on January 13, 1909, with the full support of the Redlands community.
Prior to the founding of the University of Redlands, The land on which the University is now located was known as the Stillman Ranch page 29, pdf. pg.78. The Stillman Ranch was "distributed to Jane L. Stanford by decree of Distribution dated Dec. 28, 1898. and same deeded to Trustees of L.S.Jr University by Jane Stanford May 30, 1899. The Stillman Ranch was 282-1/2 Acres laying between Church St/ and Judson St. Under East Lugonia Ave. and East Colton Ave pdf. pg 79. The Ranch was later sold by the trustees of L.S.Jr University on Sep. 14, 1906 for $35,000 .