A Christ-Centered University

Students, faculty, and staff are the “stuff” of an educational institution, as John Sloan Dickey, the former President of Dartmouth College used to say.  Further, the “stuff” defines the institution.  I firmly believe that the “stuff” of Huntington University defines it as Christ centered and that every element within that “stuff” plays an important role in its impact on the world around it.

My perspective is that of a citizen of the City of Huntington for a number of years, I am not a graduate or have not been a faculty or staff member, but simply a friend and neighbor to many who were involved in those various roles.  I became interested in what then was Huntington College due to lifelong preoccupation with higher education, having served as an instructor and overseer at Dartmouth’s engineering school.  I started attending the Huntington College Foundation breakfasts, which led me to a Foundation Board position and finally a membership on the Board of Trustees.

Along that pathway to increasing involvement, I became convinced of the importance of Christ in the educational process, even though I had been educated in a secular environment.  Everyone I met and talked with on the campus glowed with the light of Christ.  Christian thought entered conversations and enhanced the experience of getting to know members of the Huntington University family.

However, in addition to this personal experience of enlightenment, I noticed that the city of Huntington profited greatly from the Christ centered and inspired volunteerism of the students and the civic involvement of the faculty and staff.  The Huntington University family actively participates in churches, service institutions, and even city government, and through these efforts the impact of Christ is felt throughout every aspect of the greater community.

I have come to know the value of Christ centered education as it reveals itself in the quality of Huntington University students and graduates.  However, what often goes unnoticed is the tremendous impact on the Huntington community of the Christ centered “stuff” of Huntington University.  Contact with this institution in a community setting certainly changed my life and I am sure many others in the area have been impacted by the Christ centered atmosphere of Huntington University.

What does it mean that Huntington is a Christ centered university?  I believe it means that Huntington University has a broader role to play than just educating its students.  I believe a true Christ centered institution impacts the greater community surrounding it, and I submit that Huntington University does that in many ways.  It continues to bring Christ into the daily lives of its friends and neighbors.