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La Mirada, Calif. (5/11/07) – The Biola University Board of Trustees announced on May 11 the appointment of the University’s eighth president, Dr. Barry H. Corey, effective July 1. His tenure officially launches the celebration of Biola’s centennial year.
"We are thrilled that Dr. Barry Corey has been affirmed by the Board of Trustees as Biola's eighth president,” said John Siefker, chair of Biola’s Board of Trustees. “His academic and fundraising experience, collaborative leadership style and deep love for the Bible is just what Biola needs at this time in our history."
Corey, 45, succeeded Clyde Cook, who retired in June as one of the longest-standing college presidents in the nation, serving as Biola’s president from 1982.
Corey is a native of Massachusetts and previously served as vice president/chief academic officer and academic dean of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Mass. He held this position since 2002, overseeing academic operations including faculty relations, curriculum development and degree/non-degree programs. Corey began at Gordon-Conwell in 1992 and served as vice president for development, leading all fundraising and external relations programs. During this time, he led a successful $54 million capital campaign.
“Over the past few months Paula and I have listened carefully to God’s voice as we’ve considered a calling to Biola University,” Corey said. “Although after 15 wonderful years we will be leaving those we love and respect at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, we believe this calling to Biola is sure. How honored and humbled I am to follow President Clyde Cook, a man of profound integrity and strength of leadership, a man after God’s own heart.”
Corey received a B.A. in English and biblical studies from Evangel University in Springfield, Mo., in 1984. In 1988, he received an M.A. in American Studies with a concentration in literature and religious history from Boston College’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He received a Ph.D. from Boston College in curriculum, instruction and administration (a higher education program) in 1992.
In addition to his educational experiences, Corey was a Fulbright Scholar with Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and lived in Bangladesh among the rural poor from 1990 to 1991. He has served on a number of non-profit boards including the Board of Trustees of “Convoy of Hope,” an international relief and development organization, and the Board of Trustees of “The Boston Theological Consortium” (a nine-member consortium of theological schools in the Boston area including Harvard University, Boston College and Boston University). Corey also has completed two Boston Marathons, one in 2004 and one in 2006.
Biola Trustee Stan Jantz, who chaired the Presidential Search Team, said that Corey was selected as the final candidate after an exhaustive 10-month process defined by “an extraordinary amount of due diligence and characterized by the faithful prayers of countless numbers of people.” When the broader Biola community finally had a chance to meet Corey in the days leading up to the Trustee vote, the reception was very affirming. “As Dr. Corey interacted with Biola's faculty, staff and students on campus, he demonstrated the qualities that attracted our Search Team to him in the first place — a deep love for Jesus and Scripture, 100 percent affirmation of Biola's doctrinal statement and a genuine authenticity that came through in both large and intimate gatherings,” Jantz said.
Mike Wilkins, dean of faculty at Biola’s seminary, Talbot School of Theology, and a member of the Search Advisory Committee (an 18-member group of faculty, administrative, student and alumni representatives who provided significant input for the Search Team) added, “We believe that Dr. Corey has outstanding qualifications to make an excellent president.”
Corey has been married to his wife, Paula, for nearly 16 years, and they have three children: Anders, 14; Ella, 11; and Samuel, 8.
“Paula, our three children and I look forward to the years ahead, serving alongside this strategic, biblically centered Christian university,” said Corey. “We are confident that the Lord will continue to lead Biola University from strength to strength, holding fast to our mission while boldly moving into a second century as a global center for Christian thought and spiritual renewal.”