One of the first schools to incorporate modern education in Japan

Seinan Gakuin was founded in 1916 by C. K. Dozier of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States. It began as the first academy for boys in Fukuoka City, and was one of the first schools to incorporate modern Western educational practices. The junior high school was opened in 1947, and the senior high school the following year. In 1949, Seinan Gakuin University (SGU) was accredited as a private Baptist university, and today it has grown to include a elementary school, nursery school and kindergarten to become a comprehensive educational insutitution serving about 10,000 students of many ages. SGU celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. The school still holds its motto, taken from the founder’s last words: “Tell Seinan, be true to Christ.”

 Founder, C. K. Dozier

Charles Kelsey Dozier (1879-1933) C. K. Dozier was born in La Grange, Georgia, in 1879. After graduating from Mercer University in Georgia and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, Rev. Dozier came to Japan in 1906 as a missionary sent by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He founded Seinan Gakuin in 1916 and from 1917 to 1929 served as the school's second administrative head.

History of Seinan Gakuin

	1916 Seinan Gakuin, originally a junior high school for boys, was founded at Daimyo (presently Akasaka, Chuo-ku), Fukuoka.
	1921 Seinan Gakuin Senior High School (Div. of Literature, Div. of Commerce; the predecessor of the University) was founded.
	1937 Ms. Helen Keller visited Seinan Gakuin. Seinan hosted her lecture jointly with Fukuoka Jo Gakko (now Fukuoka Jo Gakuin).
	1941 American teachers returned home due to the rising tension between Japan and the United States. Seinan Gakuin had to close the Division of English Literature during the difficult time.
	1947 Seinan Gakuin Junior High School was established under the new educational system.
	1948 Seinan Gakuin Senior High School was established.
	1949 Seinan Gakuin University was founded as the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Theology, English Literature, and Commerce).
	1950 Seinan Gakuin Junior College was established with the Divisions of Childhood Education, English, and Commerce.
	1953 The rugby club won in a championship of the national competition 3 years in a row.
	1971 Declaration of a sister school agreement with Baylor University in the United States. The university inaugurated its ever-expanding international exchange program.
	1986 The wife of Minister Martin Luther King Jr. visited the University for the 70th anniversary.
	2003 Junior and senior high school moved to Momochihama. (The integrated junior-senior high school system began in 1996.)
	2008 The consecration ceremony of the new University chapel is held, making possible daily chapel services as well as ceremonies, lectures, classes, concerts, etc. The Missionary Monument is erected to recognize missionaries, and the unveiling ceremony is held on the University’s anniversary.
	2009 The largest University athletic field in western Japan (Seinan Gakuin University Tajiri Green Field), equipped with an environment conservation zone, is completed.
	2010 Seinan Gakuin Elementary School was established. This has made Seinan one of the few comprehensive educational institutions in Japan that provides education at all levels of day-care and kindergarten, elementary/junior/high schools, university, and the graduate school.
	2016 Seinan Gakuin celebrated its centennial anniversary.