Gordon College ( Massachusetts ) Gordon College ( GC ) is a liberal arts college located on the former Princemere estate in Wenham , Massachusetts , United States , northeast of Beverly . Founded by Baptist minister A . J . Gordon as a missionary training institute , the predominantly undergraduate college is largely Christian . History . Adoniram Judson Gordon opened a Bible school called the Boston Missionary Training Institute in the basement of his Baptist church in 1889 to train Christian mission aries for work in the Belgian Congo . It was renamed Gordon Bible College in 1916 and moved out of its church and Newton Theological Institution facilities to The Fenway , into a facility given by Martha Frost , in 1919 . In 1921 , it was renamed to Gordon College of Theology and Missions . In the early 1950s , a Gordon student named James Higginbotham approached Frederick H . Prince about selling his estate to the college , and in 1955 , Gordon developed into a liberal arts college with a graduate seminary and moved to its present several - hundred - acre Wenham campus . Gordon sold its old facilities to the Wentworth Institute of Technology , the Prince Memorial Chapel on the new campus ( since razed ) was named for Frederick Prince , and Prince ' s mansion was renamed Frost Hall after Martha Frost . In 1962 , the school changed its name again to Gordon College and Divinity School . In 1970 , the Gordon Divinity School separated from the college and merged with the Conwell School of Theology in Philadelphia , once part of Temple University to form the Gordon - Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton , Massachusetts . In 1985 , Barrington College of Rhode Island went bankrupt and merged into Gordon College . Gordon College is the only nondenominational Christian college in New England . Barrington College was founded in 1900 as the Bethel Bible Training School in Spencer , Massachusetts , and was later located in Dudley , Massachusetts , and Providence , Rhode Island . It took the name Barrington after the campus was moved to that Rhode Island community in 1959 . Gordon and Barrington were merged as the united college on the Wenham campus in 1985 . In 1996 Gordon College began a graduate program in education and in 2003 added a graduate program in music education . Academic associations . Gordon has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges , Inc . ( NEASC ) since 1961 . The music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music ( NASM ) and the social work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education ( CSWE ) . Its teacher education program is recognized by the Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under the Interstate Service Compact . Gordon is a member of the Annapolis Group and the Christian College Consortium . It is also a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities ( CCCU ) . Academics . Gordon College offers the BA , BM , BS , MAT , MEd , and MMEd degrees . It offers undergraduate degrees from 38 majors and 42 concentrations . Gordon offers both a graduate degree in education and music . The Graduate Education program offers M . A . T . , M . Ed . , and C . A . G . S degrees . The Graduate Music program offers a M . M . Ed . degree , Licensure - only options , and workshops . Student life . There were a total of 1 , 599 student enrolled at Gordon College in 2011 , of whom 1 , 514 were undergraduate s . Student body and demographics . As a product of its Baptist heritage , Gordon is largely religious , though not tied to any particular Christian denomination . Students are required to sign the school ' s Statement of Faith , though the religious conclusions and commitments among students and faculty remains diverse . Students must also sign a Life and Conduct Statement agreeing to the standards of behavior that Gordon values . Gordon College prohibits alcohol , tobacco , and narcotic or hallucinogenic drugs on - campus and continues to uphold a dorm visitation policy that allows for male - female visitation only during particular hours . Chapel is offered on Mondays and Wednesdays while an academic convocation takes place on Fridays ; attendance of chapel , convocation or other events ( lectures , debates , presentations , films , exhibitions , etc . ) is required to graduate . All full - time students must obtain 30 " Christian Life and Worship Credits " per semester . This policy is strictly enforced . Students who do not meet the requirement for one semester will be placed on academic probation , and a second semester of non - compliance will result in suspension from the college . In the fall of 2009 the College ’ s undergraduate enrollment of 1 , 583 was drawn from 39 states and 26 foreign countries . Approximately 14 . 3 percent of enrollment — including international students — are of Asian , African American , Hispanic , Native American or non - Caucasian descent . Extracurriculars . Gordon College has a student association , student ministries , intramural sports , and a Campus Events Council . There are student - led community service and outreach organizations , ranging from drama troupes to Big Brothers Big Sisters and Habitat for Humanity . Athletics . Gordon College ' s varsity sports compete in the NCAA Division III , primarily in the Commonwealth Coast Conference ( TCCC ) and the Eastern College Athletic Conference ( ECAC ) . The Gordon College teams , known athletically as the Fighting Scots , sponsor baseball , basketball , cross - country , field hockey , lacrosse , soccer , softball , swimming , tennis , and track & field ( indoor and outdoor ) . Many other outreach programs are led by Gordon College , based in other sites , such as Lynn , MA , where the school has several partners for community development . Several student - led groups organize spring break , winter break and summer break community service trips and mission trips to different sites around the country and the globe . Campus . Campus . Gordon College is minutes away from picturesque beaches of Massachusetts ' s Northshore and 25 miles from Boston . Gordon ’ s main campus , situated on of woods , is in Wenham , MA . The Gordon College Bennett Center is a athletics and recreational sports facility . The Bennett Center is a gift to the Gordon community from the George and Helen Bennett family . The $ 8 million center was completed in October 1996 and in 1997 won the Athletics Business Magazine Top Ten New Facilities Award for its design and usability . The Ken Olsen Science Center , named for the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation and long - time Gordon College Board member , Ken Olsen , is the College ’ s most ambitious building endeavor to date : an science and technology center at the heart of the campus . Video . http : / / www . gordon . edu / aerial Salzburg Institute . The Salzburg Institute explores Christian thought and culture and promotes critical engagement with some of the most significant intersections of religion , European culture , thought , and the arts . Through interdisciplinary symposia , music performances , art exhibits , workshops , the Institute ’ s yearbook , and the summer school in Salzburg , Austria , the Salzburg Institute examines how the study of artistic and cultural expressions and their intersections with Christian intellectual thought relate to contemporary issues .