Though he valued each of these things, and though Claremont of the 21st century enjoys these blessings, the core of Colwell's vision was grounded on the School's faculty. "Above all," he said, "we must concentrate on building our faculty. An excellent faculty will demand a first-rate library. An excellent faculty will attract top students to Claremont. An excellent faculty will insist on a creative setting for learning. An excellent faculty is the foundation upon which we can build this School into the best there is."

In time, Colwell's quest for academic excellence for the churches became a reality. The School's early faculty included Frank W. Kimper, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Robert Arnott, a pioneer in the study and teaching of Church Administration, and K. Morgan Edwards, a charismatic preacher who built an outstanding homiletics curriculum at Claremont. Later, the School attracted a cadre of aspiring younger scholars from around the country, all of whom advanced Colwell's vision and became leading visionaries in American theological education. These included John Trever, who photographed, cataloged and preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls; John Cobb, whose work on Alfred North Whitehead and Process Theology earned world acclaim; Jane Dempsey Douglass, the first woman to serve as president of the American Society of Church History; James Sanders, founder of the School's Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center; Howard Clinebell, whose work in Pastoral Care and Counseling became a national standard; and Joseph Hough, the ethicist who became a leading voice in the work of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

In more recent years, Colwell's vision has blossomed into a fully developed graduate school. Today, the School's faculty is made up of a group of young scholars who have established themselves as leaders in their respective fields, including Ann Taves in American Religious History, Marvin Sweeney in Hebrew Bible, Philip Clayton in Theology, Dennis MacDonald and Gregory Riley in New Testament, Kathleen Greider in Pastoral Care, and Scott Cormode in Church Leadership. A library of 5,000 volumes in the early days has grown to 190,000 volumes of religious and theological scholarship. Faculty interests in particular fields have themselves become institutionalized: Claremont is home to the Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center, the Center for Process Studies, and the Moore Multicultural Center. And early academic programs have been tailored to fit contemporary needs: We offer the Master of Arts, Master of Divinity, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.