From the colonial period on through the 19th century, there existed a vital connection between faith and learning in higher education in America; virtually every private institution of higher learning founded during that period had a religious affiliation. At the same time, higher education was generally only the privilege of white males, with few opportunities afforded to females or people of color. Evangelical leaders, however, believed that the education of women was critical to the development of the nation and, after the Civil War, were also instrumental in the foundation of many historically Black colleges. Cedarville University, in Cedarville, Ohio, was founded by the Reformed Presbyterians in 1887; ownership was transferred to the Regular Baptists in 1953. Today, Cedarville and the over 100 institutions in the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities carry on that tradition of the intersection of faith and learning in American higher education