Dallas Baptist University

Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private Christian university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst. History Dallas Baptist University (formerly known as Decatur Baptist College) opened in Decatur, Texas in 1898. The Baptist General Convention of Texas purchased the land in 1897 from Northwest Texas Baptist College. The school enjoyed a rich, full history in Decatur until 1965 when it moved to Dallas at the invitation of the Dallas Baptist Association. The school's historic Administration Building in Decatur, built in 1893, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was destroyed in a fire on March 18, 2023, after years of service as the Wise County Heritage Museum. In October 1965, Dallas Baptist College began offering classes to its first class of over 900 students. The initial piece of land for the campus, overlooking Mountain Creek Lake in the hill country of southwest Dallas, was donated by John Stemmons, Roland Pelt, and associates. An interested group of businessmen donated additional acreage, and in 1994 a donation by the Louis Hexter family brought the current size of the DBU campus, known as University Hill, to . In 2018, an additional land acquisition increased the total campus size to 368 acres.