C. I. Scofield and William L. Pettingill, leading Bible teachers of their day, were holding a large conference in the Philadelphia area. Encouraged by numerous requests to establish a permanent school to continue teaching, the two men co-founded "Philadelphia School of the Bible" on October 1, 1914. Scofield, known internationally for his Bible teaching and his work on the Scofield Reference Bible, became the first president of PSOB and Pettingill was the first dean.
On October 8, 1921, Rugh's school became independent of the New York school and changed its name to "Bible Institute of Pennsylvania" (BIOPA).
Both BIOPA and PSOB focused on training lay people in the Scriptures for service in the church and their communities. No degrees were conferred.
=== Merger and accreditation (1951–1979) ===
In 1951, the two schools merged to become "Philadelphia Bible Institute" (PBI), located at the YWCA Building at 1800 Arch St. At the time of the merger, William A. Mierop from BIOPA was appointed president and Clarence …
