MNU has a new president - and he's Wesleyan ;)

[David Pettigrew]

http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/n...sp?id=10011042

Does this speak to our new partnership with other Wesleyan holiness denominations, said the optimist?

Or, did MNU struggle to find a non-controversial choice among qualified Nazarenes, said the skeptic?

Or did they just want a president who had the same hair style as both the previous president and the interim, said the humorist?

[David Pettigrew]

They do say that God is great, God is fair, to some God gave brains, to others - hair. said Dave Pettigrew in response to his own humor.

[Randy Wise]

http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/n...sp?id=10011042

Does this speak to our new partnership with other Wesleyan holiness denominations, said the optimist?

Or, did MNU struggle to find a non-controversial choice among qualified Nazarenes, said the skeptic?

Or did they just want a president who had the same hair style as both the previous president and the interim, said the humorist?

I think he was close enough for comfort in matters of religion with the added weight of like experience in the needed role.

"Chairman of the MNU Board of Trustees Larry McIntire said Spittal’s appointment is the culmination of seven months of exhaustive search for a highly-qualified leader"

[Wilson Deaton]

http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/n...sp?id=10011042

Does this speak to our new partnership with other Wesleyan holiness denominations, said the optimist?

Or, did MNU struggle to find a non-controversial choice among qualified Nazarenes, said the skeptic?

Or did they just want a president who had the same hair style as both the previous president and the interim, said the humorist?

Maybe its to ensure they don't lose him to a G.S. election. Oh, wait, that's the church, not the university...

A few months ago, the Wesleyans took over our General Church Loan Fund (through whom my church is mortgaged). Now MNU. Does anyone else see this as an infiltration in preparation for a possible hostile takeover?

Wilson

[Ryan Scott]

It seems to say a lot about the trajectory of the denomination. Our most conservative and most traditional school chose someone outside the denomination. While I have no issue with that, it seems as though the "midwest conservatives" who've had power for a long time may not be as comfortable with the direction the denomination is headed.

I hope he does well at MNU and I appreciate the trustees taking this step. It will be easier for other schools to look outside Nazarene circles now.

[Craig Laughlin]

It seems to say a lot about the trajectory of the denomination. Our most conservative and most traditional school chose someone outside the denomination. While I have no issue with that, it seems as though the "midwest conservatives" who've had power for a long time may not be as comfortable with the direction the denomination is headed.

I hope he does well at MNU and I appreciate the trustees taking this step. It will be easier for other schools to look outside Nazarene circles now.

This is what scares me to death. I don't know that this is the case at all but since our denomination is much larger than the Wesleyan with many more schools it seems strange that we could not find a qualified candidate in our own ranks but found one in the (generally) more conservative Wesleyan church.

I really hope you are wrong, but I fear you are not. They should have remembered that it cuts both ways and traditionally in academia it goes the other way. They may have opened a Pandora's box.

I would also love to get a peak at the search parameters.

[John Dahl]

Contrary to what has been reported in this thread, Dr. Spittal has been a life long Nazarene except during the time he was serving the Wesleyan universities.

[Ryan Scott]

Contrary to what has been reported in this thread, Dr. Spittal has been a life long Nazarene except during the time he was serving the Wesleyan universities.

Well that's just no fun. This was a chance for MNU to push the envelope in two directions at once. An amazing feat!

You might want to mention to NCN News that they should include that fact in their future articles. I searched the whole thing looking for affiliation and found none.

[Wilson Deaton]

I searched the whole thing looking for affiliation and found none.

The fact that he lives in Bourbonnais made me wonder, but it was just a passing thought...

Wilson

[Mike Schutz]

Contrary to what has been reported in this thread, Dr. Spittal has been a life long Nazarene except during the time he was serving the Wesleyan universities.

This seemed to be an obvious issue for the NCN article to address, but they left it hanging, thus leaving it open for speculation.

NCN seems to have problems with the press releases announcing new presidents, although, to be fair, this press release seems to be taken verbatim from the MNU announcement.

[Ryan Scott]

I wonder what the psychology of reinforcement is in a situation like this? I was going to post the question of whether or not he was Nazarene, but when I arrived at the site and saw David had already declared him Wesleyan I assumed my assumption (due to the lack of detail in the NCN article) was correct. Interesting study.

Not to be rude, but do we know how old he is? The picture doesn't give the impression that he's in for a lengthy tenure. He did just retire from one college presidency.

[David Pettigrew]

I assumed he was Wesleyan based on the fact he was president of a Wesleyan university, and no bio was given in the press release. Not that I'm the most connected guy, but I had never heard of him before. I apologize that my posterior regions have once again been left hanging out. I thought I felt a breeze.

[David Pettigrew]

I might add that he's still Wesleyan. At least, I hope he is.

[Jim Poteet]

I assumed he was Wesleyan based on the fact he was president of a Wesleyan university, and no bio was given in the press release. Not that I'm the most connected guy, but I had never heard of him before. I apologize that my posterior regions have once again been left hanging out. I thought I felt a breeze.

I believe that Dr. Spittal is a graduate of ONU.

[Dennis M. Scott]

He is an interesting choice, and certainly illustrates the commitment to cooperative work across denominational lines. It is also interesting that he had already announced his retirement from Southern Wesleyan University. His seventeen years at SWU, and seven years at Indiana Wesleyan suggest he is quite experienced, and that he likely doesn't have another twenty years or so. That's extremely assumptive on my part, admittedly, but would indicate the board of trustees wasn't looking for someone to lead the school into the mid-twenty-first century.

In his role at SWU, he has apparently dealt with a variety of different denominational and theological positions on the part of the trustees, and likely constituency. That might be advantageous at any Nazarene school.

[Bill Morrison]

He is an interesting choice, and certainly illustrates the commitment to cooperative work across denominational lines. It is also interesting that he had already announced his retirement from Southern Wesleyan University. His seventeen years at SWU, and seven years at Indiana Wesleyan suggest he is quite experienced, and that he likely doesn't have another twenty years or so. That's extremely assumptive on my part, admittedly, but would indicate the board of trustees wasn't looking for someone to lead the school into the mid-twenty-first century.

In his role at SWU, he has apparently dealt with a variety of different denominational and theological positions on the part of the trustees, and likely constituency. That might be advantageous at any Nazarene school.

We had multiple outstanding candidates for the position. I believe our Board felt that Dr. Spittal's success and experience were what MNU needs for the unique challenges we face at the present time. Many of us are quite pleased to accept their decision.

BILL

[Bill Morrison]

Maybe its to ensure they don't lose him to a G.S. election. Oh, wait, that's the church, not the university...
Wilson

Do recall that we lost our MNU President (Don Owens) to GSdom in 1989. I still am working on forgiving the denomination for taking him from us.

BILL

[Dennis M. Scott]

We had multiple outstanding candidates for the position. I believe our Board felt that Dr. Spittal's success and experience were what MNU needs for the unique challenges we face at the present time. Many of us are quite pleased to accept their decision.

BILL

I agree with your (and their) assessment, and applaud the move forward. None of our schools stand or fall alone, and we continue to pray for you and the university.

[John F Martin]

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact....vwnERfghvg3VmP

Interesting, David! And above is the link directly from MNU -- probably the exact same words. Yes, indeed, it DOES speak to the Global Wesleyan Alliance formation, which my employer here at the foundation is quite enthusiastic about. (Our organization, Butterfield Memorial Foundation, is historically Free Methodist due to our history being that of Deaconess Hospital. I think my boss is excited about the possibility that the pool of potential board members may be growing. Our bylaws has required a simple majority of FM members.)

I for one am excited about the choice of Dr. Spittal as president, based on his experience in higher education. It signifies to me that the MNU board gave the search their best due diligence by securing a candidate whose background will most inform him how best to move forward. With all due respect to Nazarenes, based on what I saw in Christian higher education across 19 years, I suspect the issue was not in finding a non-controversial Nazarene choice as it was finding a Nazarene whose experience brings a strong qualification. I have nothing to say about the hair.

[Billy Cox]

Does this speak to our new partnership with other Wesleyan holiness denominations, said the optimist?

Or, did MNU struggle to find a non-controversial choice among qualified Nazarenes, said the skeptic?

Or did they just want a president who had the same hair style as both the previous president and the interim, said the humorist?

It could be all of the above. Or mabye the CotN has gone so liberal that it had to expand its search to the Wesleyan tribe in order to get someone with sufficiently conservative credentials.

Interestingly, a pastor friend sent at least one of his kids to Indiana Wesleyan - despite being on the SNU zone - because SNU was sooo liberal. Heck, I've heard that they don't even make women students wear dresses to the compulsory chapel services.

[Billy Cox]

Maybe its to ensure they don't lose him to a G.S. election. Oh, wait, that's the church, not the university...

You're suggesting that there is a difference? Let's just say that there is far more than a symbiotic connection between the two...more like kissing cousins.

[Billy Cox]

This is what scares me to death. I don't know that this is the case at all but since our denomination is much larger than the Wesleyan with many more schools it seems strange that we could not find a qualified candidate in our own ranks but found one in the (generally) more conservative Wesleyan church.

I really hope you are wrong, but I fear you are not. They should have remembered that it cuts both ways and traditionally in academia it goes the other way. They may have opened a Pandora's box.

I would also love to get a peak at the search parameters.

Maybe Spittal has experience in quelling alumni insurgencies?

[Billy Cox]

This seemed to be an obvious issue for the NCN article to address, but they left it hanging, thus leaving it open for speculation.

NCN seems to have problems with the press releases announcing new presidents, although, to be fair, this press release seems to be taken verbatim from the MNU announcement.

Why would you expect journalistic excellence from the marketing department?