Pillar College in National Spotlight with Viewpoint Documentary Hosted by Dennis Quaid

Photo: Pillar College COO & Executive Director Dr. Rupert A. Hayles, Jr. is interviewed on The Viewpoint Project.

By Candace Waller

The Viewpoint Project, the educational television show distributed nationally and hosted by veteran actor Dennis Quaid (The Parent Trap, Dragon Heart and Any Given Sunday), produced a mini-documentary on Pillar College. The Viewpoint Project has geared up with content providers to promote content featuring the essential role of higher education. The Pillar College segment showcases the stories of individuals positively impacted by their college experiences. The mini-doc will air on Public Television networks throughout the country with the commercial associated with it featured on CNN, Fox News, CNBC and other networks giving the school national exposure.

“Poverty is a major issue in the underserved populations,” said Pillar College COO and Executive Director Dr. Rupert A. Hayles, Jr. “The areas that are underserved are mainly people of color so the way to address that is through education. We believe that is one of the major ways for people to increase and better themselves in life.”

Pillar College, based in Newark, is the only accredited Evangelical Christian college in New Jersey. The college has been commended for its LEAD (Life-Enhancing Accelerated Degree) and BLEND (Bi-Lingual ENtry Degree) programs and was recently recognized as one of the top 50 colleges in the state. Pillar College has locations in Newark, Somerset, Paterson, Jersey City, and Plainfield.

“We have a program called Programa BLEND that helps Spanish speaking students earn up to 60 credits in their own language,” said Pillar College President Dr. David Schroeder. “This is a totally unique program. We’re also known for our adult degree completion program which caters to working adults who for whatever reason didn’t finish their degree when they were younger.”

Schroeder says one of the school’s goals is to be a practical Christian college and the school launched a new initiative, Windmills of Change this year. Pillar College has expanded its offerings in Project Management, Supply Chain Management, including an Applied Science degree and a new online degree program they hope to start soon. These changes are based on statistics that show job growth in these areas.

“We are intentionally urban and we cater to a wide variety of students both in terms of age and ethnicity. We try to reflect the communities that we serve,” said President Schroeder.

Jersey City Councilwoman Joyce Waterman graduated from Pillar College with a bachelor’s degree in 2010 and a master’s degree in 2020 as a non-traditional student.

“Pillar College had exactly what I needed,” said Councilwoman Waterman. “I met wonderful people at the college. What I like about Pillar College is that class sizes are small. To me you learn better when there are more people at the table from different cultures, that is important being a politician. If you understand different cultures to me you can serve them better.”

The average age of a Pillar student is 32 and the school caters its teaching style and resources to include practical information and theory when working with adult learners.

“Because so many of our students come from poor backgrounds we offer institutional financial aid to every student,” said Dr. Schroeder. “We find that they are greatly encouraged when they know we are doing all that we can to help them get their education.”

About Pillar College                                                                      

Pillar College is a comprehensive institution of higher learning, providing a Christ-centered education. Pillar College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) and licensed by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and a member of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). Pillar College offers Associate’s, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programs. Pillar College educates, inspires and equips students for excellent scholarship, service and leadership. Rooted in and committed to Christian faith, Pillar College fosters intellectual, spiritual and social development among its diverse student population. Pillar College has locations in Newark, Somerset, Paterson and Plainfield, New Jersey. Founded in 1908. For more information about Pillar College, visit https://pillar.edu