School of Professional Studies - William Jessup University

2010-2011
Extraordinary Times!
As we look to the history of William Jessup University, we see an institution with a consistent and essential purpose: to educate
Christians for leadership and service in church and society.
William Jessup University began during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Dr. Eugene Sanderson, who had already started three
other Bible colleges, saw the need for a Bible college in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. He purchased two large houses on
adjacent lots at Fifth and San Carlos Streets, across from the campus of San Jose State Teachers College. During the next five
years, he improved the property and built a chapel for the faculty and student body yet to come.
In January of 1939, Sanderson asked William L. Jessup to carry on the vision and start the College. Bill and his wife, Carrie, moved
from Visalia to San Jose to open the College. On September 20, 1939, classes began with fourteen students. The curriculum
focused on the study of the Bible and preparation for church vocations.
During the next few years growth at San Jose Bible College created the need for a new and larger campus. Seven and one-half
acres were purchased at Twelfth and Virginia Streets where the college remained until the move to Rocklin, California, in 2004.
The first three buildings were erected and put into use by February 1951. The first on-campus housing, Beach Memorial Hall, a
dormitory for women, was dedicated in 1960.
During the 1960s and 1970s new buildings included a second dormitory, a cafeteria, the Memorial Library, the Tiffin Center, a
multipurpose gymnasium, and a classroom building. The College received accreditation with Accrediting Association of Bible
Colleges (AABC), presently known as Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), in 1962.
Dr. Bryce Jessup, the son of the founder and president since 1984, has led the University to its greatest growth in enrollment,
facilities and curriculum. Multicultural programs focusing on leadership training were added to the curriculum for students from
various cultural heritages in and around San Jose. Students come to WJU from more than thirty different birth countries. The
School of Professional Studies for working adults was added in 1996 to meet the educational needs of adult learners and now
comprises nearly one-third of the student population.
San Jose Bible College became San Jose Christian College on July 1, 1989. Regional accreditation was granted by the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges in 2002. The name was changed to William Jessup University in 2003, and the main campus
was moved to Rocklin, CA in 2004. The School of Professional Studies continues to have a presence in the San Jose area with a
site on Saratoga Ave. The name change reflected the decision to broaden the academic programs to include traditional
undergraduate studies, professional studies and graduate studies in a variety of disciplines.
Reconstruction of the Herman Miller complex in Rocklin now provides 150,000 sq. ft. of finished space on the 125-acre campus,
including 14 classrooms, the library, faculty and administrative offices, three residence halls, student center, bookstore, coffee
shop, dining room, chapel, cross country course, soccer field and basketball practice court. Additional construction planned for
the future includes: additional classrooms, faculty offices and science labs; gymnasium, fitness center and recreation facilities;
event center, group and individual music rehearsal rooms; permanent dining halls and additional residence halls.
3 333 Sunset Boulevard, Rocklin CA 95765