Earlier this week VP of Strategic Initiatives and Director of the Innovation Center, Jeff Campa joined the Big Morning Show to talk about the Innovation Center, discussing how Calvary arrived at starting the Center in Fort Morgan, when the Innovation Center will launch, and what programs will be offered.
By now I hope you have all heard of our recent announcement that God has blessed us with an incredible 7.5-acre property with a beautiful 130,000 square foot building in Fort Morgan, Colorado. We also announced that we would be launching the Calvary University Innovation Center as a second location there. Quite a few have asked what exactly this Innovation Center is.
Excellent question. I am glad you asked. While God has been very gracious in allowing us the wonderful property at our main campus in Kansas City, Missouri, we don’t quite have the room there to do some of the things we believe necessary for Calvary University to best fulfill its mission. So we have been on the lookout during these past couple of years for properties that might fit our needs for a second site to complement what we are doing in Kansas City and online. Our new Innovation Center offers just what we need.
First, the Innovation Center will be a hub for student and faculty engagement in the Western United States. Calvary U currently offers more than 60 different degrees at our main campus, and many of those are available fully online as well. But along with our blended model which integrates the best of both the online and on campus worlds, we still want our students in other regions to be able to have an on-campus community. The Innovation Center allows us to do that in a ministry-rich area around Denver, Colorado. We plan to offer degrees onsite there in Bible and Theology, Christian ministries, Biblical counseling, intercultural studies, and business and organizational development, with classes launching late this Summer.
Second, the Innovation Center will be a center for community engagement. The athletic center seats nearly 1700 and the auditorium seats nearly 900. These are incredible facilities that will allow the Calvary University Innovation Center to be home to conferences, community groups, and more. We are working as we speak to develop relationships and partnerships with those who might be a great fit for collaboration. The facilities allow us to serve the residents of Fort Morgan and beyond. Further, we will have plenty of space to house ministries and businesses who want to locate their offices at the Innovation Center. This will provide great opportunities to connect community leaders with our students, allowing our students to learn and serve the community well. Have a ministry or business in the Denver area, and interested in being part of Calvary’s Innovation Center? Let’s talk! There may be a home for you at the Innovation Center.
Third, the Innovation Center will be a place of outreach to a beautifully diverse population. The area northeast of Denver is surprisingly diverse, with a few major companies operating factories and plants there. It is a growing area, and judging by the housing market in that area, the economy there seems about ready to explode (in a good way).
Speaking of housing – that will be one of our greatest challenges: to provide housing opportunities for students. While the opportunity is significant, so is the cost. We ask that you consider how you might prayerfully support our efforts there in providing opportunities for our students. If you can help in any way let us know!
Finally, the Innovation Center will give us opportunities to launch innovative mission-supporting programs, complementing and aiding our efforts in Kansas City. We expect that the Innovation Center will help us grow and sustain the quality we need in order to best serve our students in both of our locations. We are excited about this second location for Calvary University, and we ask you to keep us in prayer as we strive to be excellent stewards with this unique opportunity. And if you have a pair of gloves or a few expendable dollars, come on! We could use your help…
FORT MORGAN, CO: Calvary University formally acquired the former middle school in Fort Morgan, Colorado, as closing was finalized on Tuesday, January 16. Calvary officials had been working for several months with Morgan County School District leaders to complete the transaction, and both groups are excited about Calvary’s new presence in the Fort Morgan area.
Calvary plans to develop the 7.5-acre property and the 130,000 square-foot building to house the Calvary University Innovation Center, which will be designed to facilitate collaboration between Calvary’s academic programs, local businesses and ministries, and the community as a whole. Calvary University will be reaching out to businesses and ministries who might have interest in housing their offices at the Innovation Center, as a way of connecting students with real-world community partners with whom students can serve and grow.
Calvary University’s mission is “to prepare Christians to live and serve in the church and in the world according to the biblical worldview,” and is built on four distinctives: (1) the Bible as the foundation of its courses and programs, (2) high quality programs at an affordable cost, (3) highly marketable degrees for its graduates, and (4) an environment for growth and not just learning. Calvary University offers more than 60 degrees through its online global campus and its main campus in Kansas City, Missouri, and Calvary plans to highlight several of those at the Innovation Center (including undergraduate and graduate programs in Bible and theology, biblical counseling, and business administration and organizational leadership, and an undergraduate emphasis in intercultural studies). Calvary also plans to develop new programs in Colorado based on community need and in cooperation with Morgan Community College.
Calvary University President, Dr. Christopher Cone sees this move as significant for Calvary’s future growth and service: “We are thrilled with this opportunity to be part of the Fort Morgan community, and we have already begun the process of developing collaboration with Morgan Community College and other community partners. Even though those discussions are just beginning we are thankful for the new relationships being formed, and for the chance to work beside those already working hard to serve the people of Colorado. We hope and pray that Calvary University will be a blessing there, and we will work hard to ensure that happens.”
Calvary’s Innovation Center will be led by Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Jeff Campa, who is in the process of relocating from Kansas City to the Fort Morgan area. Campa wants Calvary’s Innovation Center to be a place for students, for community partners, and for the community itself to feel at home and to flourish. Campa added, “This move gives Calvary a platform to complement the rich heritage of this facility in serving the Fort Morgan Community”
While Calvary is now beginning a process of development and approvals, Campa is working for a Fall 2018 launch for the Innovation Center.
For comment or questions, please contact Jeff Campa at jeff.campa@calvary.edu or Dr. Christopher Cone at president@calvary.edu.
