Board Welcomes New AD, Ratifies Two New Academic Programs
Posted on: June 21, 2024
NGU Athletics Director Will Lowrey addresses the university’s trustees during the board’s summer meeting on the Tigerville campus.
Tigerville, SC—Meeting in a new on-campus venue, North Greenville University trustees welcomed a new athletics director during their summer meeting on NGU’s Tigerville campus June 20. The board also heard a preliminary financial report for the 2023-24 year, approved faculty promotions, and ratified two new academic programs.
“We have had a busy and productive spring,” said NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr. He highlighted April 12 dedication of the university’s Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center, the announcement of a new athletics mascot, and a Spring Commencement which included 301 graduates.
The board met in the Myrtice Boazman Room, an events/classroom space on the second floor of the 20,000-square-foot Plaster Center. The building houses NGU’s College of Business and Entrepreneurship and offices for senior administration.
“The dedication was a great time for NGU, and it was followed by a mascot reveal where students were ecstatic over the news,” said Dr. Fant.
NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr., shares his report with university trustees during the board’s summer meeting in Tigerville June 20.
During his report to the trustees, President Fant asked NGU Athletics Director Will Lowrey to introduce himself. The Mississippi native, who moved to the Upstate from the same role at Blue Mountain Christian University in early June, discussed the transition process.
“Chasing God is a great thing,” said Lowrey. “He’ll take you to places you never imagined to go. What you’ll see from student-athletes is the light that shines in them is greater than the light that shines on them.”
The board received a preliminary report on the fiscal year which concluded May 31, 2024. University officials noted a positive change in net assets and reported that NGU continues to operate with no long-term debt.
Trustees affirmed promotion for nine university faculty members: Allison Simon from assistant professor to associate professor of physician assistant medicine; Dr. Brendan Payne from assistant professor to associate professor of history; Dr. Greg Graf from assistant professor to associate professor of music; Dr. Jeff King from assistant professor to associate professor of English; Dr. Karyn Campbell from assistant professor to associate professor of communication; Dr. Kayla Black from assistant professor to associate professor of history and honors; Dr. Mark Bjornsen from assistant professor to associate professor of physical education; Dr. Martin Jones from assistant professor to associate professor of business; and Dr. Staci Rollins from assistant professor to associate professor of criminal justice.
NGU Board Chair Bill Tyler addresses fellow trustees during the board’s summer meeting in Tigerville June 20.
The board approved a new post-master’s degree certificate program in Educational Administration and Supervision. NGU’s curriculum committee said the 18-credit-hour program is designed to “empower and equip educators with the skills, knowledge, and ethical foundations required to become effective educational leaders in a rapidly evolving educational landscape, all embodied from a biblical world view perspective.”
Trustees also approved a bachelor of arts degree program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. In proposing the PPE program, the curriculum committee stated that it is “designed to attract high-achieving students to the study of the liberal arts by offering them insights into the ‘ruling disciplines’ that are an essential part of civic leadership, helping ‘bridge’ the vocational training/liberal arts challenge by establishing the essential qualities of ethical and prudential thinking, civic knowledge and understanding, and practical economic insights.”
NGU Board Chair Bill Tyler, of Greer, SC, presided at the meeting of the 25-member board.
