SPICER COLLEGE: Different Names
South India Training School (1915-1937)
Coimbatore (1915-1917), Bangalore (1917-1921), Krishnarajapuram (1921-1937)
When the school was first established in 1915 leaders referred to it in the Tidings that year merely as "Our Training School in Coimbatore," though from the 1916 onwards in SDA Yearbooks it is called the South India Training School. Ten years earlier, in 1905, pioneers had established a small training school in Karmatar for the Northeast which eventually moved to Falakata as the Raymond Memorial Training School. Also in 1915 another training school opened in Lucknow which survived only four years. These schools were established to train indigenous workers in the various lines of work required by the Adventist church (E M Meleen, "The Training School--Its Object and Purpose," A Paper Presented at the Ranchi Conference, Eastern Tidings, May 15, 1920, 1.) For some time it was called the SDA Training School. (Yearbook 1927).
G G Lowry moved the headquarters and the school to Bangalore for a more central location for South India and for a better climate. The property in Krishnarajapuram was purchased in 1917 but buildings were ready for occupation only in 1922. Meanwhile classes were held in rented quarters in Bamboo Bazaar.
Below is the very first signboard of the school in Krishnarajapuram.
The South India Training School developed best among training schools and attracted students from all over the Division. Eventually the "South India" was dropped in speech and committee actions where it was referred to as Krishnarajapuram Training School and sometimes even as Krishnarajapuram College. Here is an excerpt from 1937.
Spicer College (1937-1944)
Krishnarajapuram (1937-1942), Poona (1942-1944)
In 1937 the Division committee clarified that only the training school at Krishnarajapuram and Vincent Hill School & College should offer post-high school coursework. The Krishnarajapuram school was made a Division institution and renamed Spicer College in honour of William Spicer who had been president of the General Conference till 1930. The change in name from training school to college indicated the intent that this institution should be more academic than before. Here is the Division action approving the change in name to Spicer College.
Spicer Missionary College (1944-1954)
Two years after the college moved from Krishnarajapuram to Kirkee in Poona, the leaders felt that the term "Missionary" needed to be included in the name to define the true purpose of the college.This was not just an ordinary college, it was an institution to educate mission workers. Here is an excerpt from the Jan 15, 1944 Eastern Tidings.
This is the marble sign that was on the gate post for ten years from 1944-1954.
Spicer Memorial College (1954-2015)
Soon after India became independent and a republic, many became sensitive to the terms mission and missionary. Since SMC had become a popular abbreviation, the "Missionary" in the name was changed to "Memorial" as William Spicer had passed away in 1952. At the same time the Division committee decided to abandon using the term Union Mission and Local Mission for church organizational units.
There's often confusion during a transition and minutes earlier alternated between Spicer College and Spicer Missionary College. At the time of this transition one can see Spicer Missionary College and Spicer Memorial College in the same Division Committee action in December 1954.
The initials SMC were humorously expanded variously to reflect the changing demographics of the student body. It has been called Spicer Malaysian College, Spicer Malyali College, Spicer Maharashtrian College, Spicer Mongolian College, and even Solusi Missionary College when many Kenyans joined as students. Here is the sign at the gate that many will remember.
Spicer Adventist University
When the institution became a university it was of course decided to retain the name "Spicer" which had been connected with the institution for more than seventy-five years. This is the sign at the gate as it stands now.
