Campbell Magazine | Presidential Installation

SPECIAL EDITION: THE INSTALLATION OF J. BRADLEY CREED

WELCOME TO CAMPBELL | Hundreds of Campbell students formed a tunnel from the convocation center to D. Rich Commons and cheered on President J. Bradley Creed and his wife Kathy after Creed’s installation ceremony on April 8. Many of the students wore outfits representing the opportunities made possible by their Campbell education. | Photo by Lissa Gotwals

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THE INSTALLATION J. BRADLEY CREED

MY CAMPBELL STORY SPECIAL EDITION | VOLUME 11 | ISSUE 2 __________________________________ PRESIDENT

J. Bradley Creed VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT AND ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT

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Founded in 1887, Campbell University is a private, coeducational institution where faith, learning and service excel.

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The following is an excerpt from Campbell University President J. Bradley Creed’s Installation Ceremony speech in the Pope Convocation Center, April 8, 2016:

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y Campbell story started on Nov. 18, 2014, when I met with the Presidential Search Committee in a hotel conference room in Raleigh. Prior to that time, my only exposure to Campbell was a visit in the fall of 2000 when I lectured here on campus.

Two days after my meeting with the search committee, I received a phone call inviting me for further conversation and a visit to campus.

Forty-three days later, the Board of Trustees voted me as the fifth president of Campbell.

And I’ve already composed my elevator speech: Campbell is a thriving university village in a dynamic and changing rural setting, located in the fourth-fastest growing metropolitan area of the United States with connections around the world.

And what a great place it is.

A door of opportunity opened. In faith, I walked through it. And I quickly began to see Campbell as an opportunity school for all who join this community. An opportunity is a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. Twenty-six-year-old J.A.Campbell saw an opportunity when he opened an academy near the banks of the Cape Fear River in 1887, an enrolled 16 students in the first class. Since then, students have been coming off the farms and the mill villages and county seat towns — and soon from the big cities and across the state and throughout the nation and from literally throughout the world.

Here, in this place, is an opportunity for a better life. A better life involves making a living, which Campbell prepares students to do. But the path to a better life is through an education that stimulates and sometimes unsettles minds with new ideas and demanding concepts ­— where students experience Emerson’s adage that “the mind, once stretched to a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”

Campbell students learn skills and competencies that last a lifetime and enable them to survive and even thrive in a complex and constantly changing world. They study human history and culture.

The natural world. Physical sciences. They have an opportunity to be captivated by the beauty of art and enraptured through the joy of music. As the

great British educator Matthew Arnold describes it, Campbell students have the opportunity to study the best that has been thought and said as an antidote to materialism, selfishness, incivility and inhumanity.

Over the last eight months and eight days, Kathy and I have traveled to 13 cities at meet-and-greet events with friends and alumni of this university.

During those events, I have interfaced with 2,000 people. I’ve traveled to other places to meet many others, and here on campus I have convened around 20 listening sessions with more scheduled to interact with students, faculty, staff and coaches. These meetings help straighten out my learning curve, but they also allow me to hear other people’s Campbell story.

Campbell pride is strong and robust. There is an enormous amount of love, loyalty and support for this school. So many have told me about how Campbell has changed their lives. I received a letter from a man who began college at another institution, where needless to say, he did not show much promise in the classroom. Someone directed him to Campbell Junior College, where he enrolled for just one year, and where he lived in the home of President Leslie Campbell. He said that one year at Campbell did more to change his life than any other experience for the rest of his life. To Campbell, he said, I owe a huge debt of gratitude. And he’s given us more than his gratitude; he’s become one of the most generous donors in the history of this institution.

That man understands that a Campbell education is not a transaction. It is a transformational learning experience that changes lives. That transformation is not easy. Change is difficult for people, and it’s sometimes trying for a university.

Change can be painful. The crucible for growth is challenge and difficulty. Progress is simply not possible without it.

In his momentous autobiography, “Up From Slavery,” Booker T. Washington speaks eloquently about education as struggle. He says it’s not a fundamental right, but it must be earned by determined, industrious people who are good stewards of golden opportunities.

We are not living in the golden age of higher education. The challenges to colleges and universities are daunting. But let us remember that our work is not operating an institute of higher education, our work is transforming lives.

Watch President Creed’s complete Installation Ceremony Speech at campbell.edu/installation

Photo by Lissa Gotwals

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THE INSTALLATION J. BRADLEY CREED

A Place of Opportunities

President J. Bradley Creed celebrates Campbell in his Installation Ceremony

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ampbell University officially inaugurated J. Bradley Creed during a ceremony April 8 at the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center that celebrated Campbell as “A Place of Opportunities.”

“Campbell gives us the opportunity to make a living, to make a life — more importantly to make a difference through service to others,” Creed said in his inaugural address before about 1,300 Campbell students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and delegates from schools around the nation. “Service is at the heart of our mission as a Christian university. Your major, your profession, your discipline, your life can contribute to the common good of society ...

“We have the opportunity to change the world — one course, one program, one project, one student at a time.”

Creed is just the fifth president to serve Campbell in its 129-year history, which made the installation all the more significant, said Benjamin N. Thompson, chair of the Campbell Board of Trustees who presided over the ceremony.

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“This is, indeed, a great day for the university. For only the fifth time in our 129year history, we observe the installation of a president … a fact that attests to the depth of commitment that each of our leaders has demonstrated.”

He added: “The driving concern of the university, since its inception in 1887, has been its students. While the university has diversified since those early years and now enrolls students in undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, the focus on students has never waned.”

That won’t change under Creed.

“During his short time with us, Dr. Creed has already shown us his overwhelming care and support for the students,” said Nicholas Hudson, a Campbell student and executive president of the Student Government Association. “He has also already shown us a glimpse of what Campbell will be like under his leadership, and that future is going to be great.”

“We have the opportunity to change the world — one course, one program, one project, one student at a time.”

That was evident April 8. Creed addressed

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WHY I’M HERE J. Bradley Creed shares how he ended up as president of Campbell University — and why (compiled over a series of speeches during Creed’s first year at Campbell): I’m a native Texan. All our friends in Texas wonder when we are going to come back. But we keep moving in the right direction. We are so delighted to be here at Campbell.

I was not looking for another job.

We were minding our own business, believing we were doing good work at Samford University in Alabama.

But I’ve always been open to a sense of stewardship with the things I’ve learned, the experiences I’ve had and the abilities I believe God has perhaps given to me. I’m also open to a sense of calling. I believe vocation is a powerful word. I was open to whatever service I might be able to perform with my life that is remaining.

I got a call from a consulting firm.

I didn’t pay much attention to it. I resisted the idea at first. But once I sat down and visited with the presidential search committee in Raleigh on Nov. 18, 2014, I thought, “If these people are representatives of that institution, it must be a really fine place.”

I was attracted to Campbell because I saw it was a place of opportunities. I believe it was an opportunity for me to pursue a call of God and to pursue a new opportunity for service.

More than that, I have seen the difference that this school has made in the lives of students during its 129 years. An opportunity is a set of circumstances that make it possible for something to happen. That is a good way to describe Campbell.

One of the great joys I’ve had is meeting Campbell students, faculty, staff and alumni over the past year and hearing their stories of transformation and what a difference Campbell has made in their lives for the good.

My pledge is to work with all of you to build on our firm foundation so that we can maximize strengths, seize new opportunities, and engage our mission even more thoroughly and authentically.

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the students directly multiple times during his inaugural address.

“There is one reason and only one reason for Campbell University — and it is you,” Creed told the students. “Before there were presidential installations, there were students and there were teachers — two essential elements for learning to take place.”

Students also played significant roles during the Installation Ceremony and reception that followed. Danny Allen, a piano pedagogy major from Benson, North Carolina, served as the student conductor of the Campbell University Wind Ensemble & Symphony, conducting “Shenandoah.” A 90-second video of Allen talking about how Campbell has prepared him for servant leadership was also one of two videos shown during the Installation. The other video was also a student testimonial — of Senior Army ROTC Cadet Cierra Livecchi sharing why coming to Campbell was the best decision she has ever made.

After the ceremony, Creed and his wife, Kathy, were greeted by an outdoor “human tunnel” that more than 300 students formed.

The Creeds passed through the tunnel on a golf cart from the Pope Convocation Center through the Academic Circle to the Butler Chapel, where they received guests. Along the way, the students cheered them on.

The students also wore attire indicative of their Campbell experience, including white lab coats, Greek letters, orientation leader T-shirts, business suits and athletic jerseys.

One of the students who participated in the tunnel was Sue Ann Forrest, a senior and executive vice president of the Student

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Government Association who served on the presidential search committee that nominated Creed to the trustees.

“I wanted to be part of this tunnel because I am overwhelmed with gratitude for each and every opportunity that Campbell has given me. I would not be the person I am today without the opportunities that I have received from Campbell,” Forrest said. “The ‘opportunities’ tunnel was an excellent way to visually illustrate what Campbell means to each student. Each student has a different set of skills they bring to Campbell. However, the opportunities that Campbell gives, allow each student to become the very best version of themselves that they can achieve. I admire Campbell’s emphasis on serving those in need.”

Located in the Research Triangle Region, Campbell was founded in 1887 when there were no other schools in the area. Campbell also opened the first law school in North Carolina in 35 years in 1976, the first pharmacy school in the nation in 40 years in 1986, and the first medical school in North Carolina in 35 years in 2013. Today, Campbell enrolls more North Carolinians than any other private university; and with more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs, is one of only three private schools in the state to achieve the highest level of accreditation (Level VI) by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

In the past five years alone, in addition to opening the medical school, Campbell has started degree programs in physician assistant, public health, physical therapy, homeland security, and biomedical research.

In fall 2016, Campbell will become only the second private school in the state home to an engineering school when the Campbell University School of Engineering enrolls its first students.

“Through Campbell, we all have an opportunity to make a difference. And we make a difference by following a sense of calling to serve others,” Creed said. “All of our university programs yield intellectual resources and professional skills for service to humanity. Through our various programs, we engage some of the most pressing issues of society.

“A Campbell education is not a transaction,” he added. “It is a transformational learning experience that changes lives.”

An accomplished leader of mission-driven institutions and a scholar and historian of religion, Creed began his duties as Campbell’s fifth president July 1, 2015.

Previously, Creed was the provost, executive

vice president, and professor of religion at Samford University, a private Christian university in Birmingham, Alabama.

Since Creed became president, Campbell has received its largest humanities-related grant in university history ($593,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish a youth theology institute); received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to offer a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree and enroll its charter class in August 2016; dedicated the state-of-the-art First Citizens Wealth Management Center in the Campbell Business School; received $8 million to establish The G. Eugene Boyce Center of Advocacy at Campbell Law; hosted the 2016 Big South Men’s Basketball Championship March 3-6; and announced Campbell Law will open in Fall 2016 a fourth servicefocused clinic to its roster with the addition of the Campbell Law Community Clinic.

A PLACE OF OPPORTUNITIES Campbell has been a place of opportunities … … for kids who have come out of the small towns and off the farms pursuing a life that would be better for themselves, answering a call from God, sensing that something was possible with their lives and their faith to make a difference in the world. … for nontraditional students, like men and women in the military and people like my mother who received her college degree when I was in high school. … for men and women who answer a specific call from God to pastor churches or to be a youth minister or a minster of music or a missionary. … for first-generation students. I’m amazed and overwhelmed by the number of students who are the first in their families to go to college.

What a difference it will make in their life and in the lives of those who follow them.

FROM THE CEREMONY • In a nod to the university’s history, the ceremony included the singing of the hymn “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” and a scripture reading of Psalm 1. On the first day that the school opened, on Jan. 5, 1887, founding President J.A. Campbell led the students in singing his favorite hymn “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.” He also read aloud Psalm 1.

• Delegates from 57 colleges and universities, including most in North Carolina, attended the Installation Ceremony. Among the delegates was Andrew Westmoreland, president of Samford University, where Creed previously served as provost.

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• Each person who attended the ceremony received a bookmark that bears the Campbell seal and commemorates the date of Creed’s inauguration.

• Creed was presented with the presidential medallion and chain during the ceremony.

The medallion represents the university mace design and incorporates the seal, which is supported by two flanges and the Celtic cross. The chain bears six seals that represent the four stages of Campbell’s academic growth from an academy to a university, as well as the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

… for those who want to pursue public service through graduate programs in law, business, pharmacy, medicine and other health science fields. … for discovery and for learning and for knowing more about human history and culture, about the physical and natural world, about the arts and beauty, about pursuing truth, and about developing intellectual and practical skills that will enable students to navigate this complex and changing and sometimes challenging world.

— J. Bradley Creed

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YEAR ONE | It was a year full of firsts for President J. Bradley Creed perhaps none more unique than his camel ride to lead the 2015 Homecoming Parade. Enjoy a look back at Creed’s year, from the big announcement to his historic installation ceremony . | Photo by Bill Parrish 8

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JAN. 2, 2015

Campbell University announces J. Bradley Creed as its fifth president. Creed is unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees during a special session. “Dr. Creed is the embodiment of all we hoped to find in Campbell’s next president. He brings the breadth of vision and depth of experience required to lead Campbell to even greater levels of regional and national prominence,” says Benjamin N. Thompson, chair of the Board of Trustees. “He is a man of strong personal faith and deep integrity. I am confident that Campbell has found the right leader at the right time.”

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JAN. 29, 2015

The Campbell community gets its first opportunity to shake hands and chat with President-Elect Creed during several “meet & greet” sessions on campus. “The school has been very hospitable and warm from the beginning,” Creed says in his introductory speech to faculty and staff. “We felt a very strong calling to this place, and we’re very excited about this and looking forward to the days ahead.”

MAY 16, 2015

Creed, in one of his last acts as provost of Samford University in Alabama, addresses Samford graduates as the spring commencement keynote speaker.

Creed talks about his decision to leave for Campbell, and he tells students, “Be open to alternate routes, unplanned passages, and journeys whose destinations are unchartered and whose ends are now occluded by mystery.”

JULY 1, 2015

The official first day of J. Bradley Creed’s presidency at Campbell, succeeding Jerry Wallace. “The best is yet to be for Campbell University, and we have a bright, bright future,” says Wallace, who will return this fall as chancellor. “I see in the future God continuing to bless and bring blessings to this school.”

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JULY 8, 2015

Creed follows up two summer ice cream socials with a one-hour #AskDrCreed question-and-answer session on Twitter that draws more than 70 questions touching on a variety of topics, from his favorite NASCAR driver to his vision for the university.

AUG. 16, 2015

Creed welcomes his first class of freshmen at the annual New Student Convocation, where more than 1,000 first-year Camels receive their Campbell medallion. “It’s the starting of a new page for all us,” Creed tells the students. “I have about a 44-day head start on you. This is a new experience for me like you.”

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SEPT. 15, 2015

Creed speaks to a sellout crowd in Dunn at the first of a dozen “An Evening with J. Bradley Creed” speaking tour events. The events allow for alumni and members of the Campbell community to get to know the new president, who introduces his “Place of Opportunities” theme at this time. Most of the events are held in North Carolina, but Creed visits alumni in Virginia and San Diego, California, as well.

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OCT. 14, 2015

Creed joins trustees, business students and faculty, university leaders and donors at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the First Citizens Wealth Management Center. The state-of-the-art center simulates an investment firm environment, a trading room and a trust center, as well as provides the latest tools and data that financial advisors use.

NOV. 4, 2015

For the first time, Campbell is named host of the Big South Men’s Basketball Tournament, coming four months after the announcement.

Creed delivers the big news at a press conference complete with cheerleaders, the mascot and members of the men’s team.

The tournament will go on to draw more than 12,000 fans over a four-day period.

DEC. 14, 2015

In his first graduation ceremony as Campbell’s president, J. Bradley Creed bookends the winter commencement with a welcome message and challenge to the graduates to live a life of service to make the world a better place.

“When you do this,” he said, “you truly make a difference. Now and forever more.”

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FEB. 3, 2016

Creed leads his first Campbell Day celebration by welcoming students, faculty and staff in Turner Auditorium for the symbolic 129th birthday of Campbell University. The event is part of Founders Week, which celebrates Campbell University and its founder’s rich Scottish heritage.

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Creed urges students at the Divinity School Service of Convocation and Commissioning to remember what Jesus told his 12 disciples when he commissioned them: be willing to receive and be willing to be sent. “Mission is about activism and about doing something, but there is also the passive dynamic. It means yielding to a force that is greater than we are. The power is in receiving.”

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APRIL 2, 2016

Creed runs more than 1,000 miles a year, so it is only fitting that his presidential installation week begins with a 5K on campus. Nearly 100 runners turn out on a rainy Saturday morning for the first “Running with Creed 5K,” including the president, who helps set the pace.

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APRIL 3, 2016

Students present Creed with two gifts during a worship service on the Sunday before his installation. The first: a pitcher and basin to symbolize Creed’s call to servant leadership. The second: a box full of prayers and words of encouragements that nearly 1,000 students wrote to him and his wife.

APRIL 4-5, 2016

Wayne Flynt — longtime friend of the “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee and one of the world’s most notable scholars on Southern history, religion and literature — delivers a lecture on race, history and literature and joins Creed for a public forum on these subjects the following night.

APRIL 6, 2016

Campbell University Opera Theatre welcomes Creed with an evening performance featuring selections from “Carmen,” “Figaro” and “The Elixir of Love.” The concert is followed by a reception for Creed and his family.

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APRIL 7, 2016

The Creeds host students for “Cookout with the Creeds” in Marshbanks Cafeteria on the eve of the presidential installation.

Later that night, the Campus Activities Board holds a movie night, featuring the appropriately titled “Creed.”

APRIL 8, 2016

Campbell officially inaugurates Creed as its fifth president in 129 years during a ceremony at the Pope Convocation Center that celebrates Campbell as “A Place of Opportunities.” “Campbell gives us the opportunity to make a living, to make a life — more importantly to make a difference through service to others,” Creed says in his inaugural address before about 1,300 Campbell students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends and delegates from schools around the nation.

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‘That’s why we’re here’

Installation Ceremony a testament to new president’s chemistry with the Campbell community

“He’s gotten to know as many names as he can — and that approachability, for a school our size, that’s important. That’s why we’re here today. Dr. Creed’s the perfect fit for Campbell.”

– Debora Jodrey, junior

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pproachable. It’s a quality that may not rank at the top of the list of important attributes for a university president, but when you asked those in attendance at Campbell University’s installation ceremony, it’s the one attribute of President J. Bradley Creed that earned a mention every time.

Every. Time.

His approachability is the reason more than 1,300 people were on hand for the historic event.

It’s the reason his friends and former colleagues traveled from Texas, Alabama and points in between to witness and share in his important day. It’s the reason the student section in the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center was overflowing and why the student tunnel to cheer on the Creed family post-installation stretched from the camel statue to the Academic Circle. It’s the reason the receiving line in Butler Chapel to congratulate Creed and his wife, Kathy, lasted a full two hours.

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The success of the installation ceremony of only the fifth president in the university’s 129year history was the result of the relationships J. Bradley Creed has built with the Campbell community in a short time — less than a year since his first day on July 1, 2015.

“Campbell’s learned in 10 months what I’ve known for years,” said Mike Hawthorne, a longtime friend who traveled from Birmingham, Alabama, with three other “runnin’ buddies” from Creed’s marathon days at Samford University. “He’s approachable. Personable. A great story-teller.

A sharp-wit. He loves his family. And he has a real strength of purpose. I was moved by today. Brought to tears. Everything Brad has told us about Campbell — we saw firsthand today. I’m very impressed.”

Junior Audrey Jordan and seniors Deborah Jodrey and Tatiana Amador attended the ceremony, cheered in the “tunnel” and stayed for the after-party to show support for a

“During his short time with us, Dr. Creed has already shown us his overwhelming care and support for the students. He has also already shown us a glimpse of what Campbell will be like under his leadership, and that future is going to be great.”

– Nicholas Hudson, president, Student Government Association

president who they said has taken the time to get to know them and show a true concern for their needs. Jordan said she’s been impressed with Creed’s focus on undergrads, while Amador said she liked that he’s not intimidating and that he even once carried on a conversation with her in Spanish.

“He’s gotten to know as many names as he can — and that approachability, for a school our size, that’s important,” added Jodrey. “That’s why we’re here today. Dr. Creed’s the perfect fit for Campbell.”

Fans of Creed came in all ages. Ann Mason and Margaret Green — nieces of Pulitzer Prizewinning author and 1914 Campbell alum Paul Green — attended Campbell when it housed a grammar school in Kivett Hall in the early 1930s. They stood in line for 30 minutes to greet the Creeds in Butler Chapel and didn’t mind the wait.

“We met the Creeds in Wilmington, and we just loved them,” said Green. “That’s why we’re here.

They are warm, friendly, personable and honest.

We wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

The kind words began with the ceremony’s

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first speaker — Board of Trustees Chairman Benjamin N. Thompson — and continued throughout the two-and-a-half-hour ceremony.

Creed’s predecessor — Campbell’s fourth president Jerry M. Wallace — talked about getting to know him during school-related trips throughout the state and becoming convinced “from the bottom of my heart to the top of my head that he is the right person to lead Campbell in the years ahead.”

Andrew Westmoreland, president of Samford University where Creed served as provost prior to coming to Campbell, recalled the day Creed told him of his job interview and said he saw a gleam in his eye “that told me he had found his home.”

“Dr. Creed left Samford a far better, more vibrant place than he found it,” Westmoreland said. “And in the process, he valued every relationship.”

In his installation speech, Creed stayed true to the theme appearing on the backdrop behind him and the theme of his successful first-year “road show” meeting alumni from throughout the state and region — Campbell is a place of opportunities.

“Campbell gives us the opportunity to make a living, to make a life — more importantly to

make a difference through service to others,” Creed said. “Service is at the heart of our mission as a Christian university. Your major, your profession, your discipline, your life can contribute to the common good of society.”

They were inspiring words for Jeffrey Biggs, a sophomore from Madison who was one of the final dozen in line to shake Creed’s hand before they finally closed the doors at Butler Chapel that evening.

“He’s an advocate for vocational education, and he understands the needs of us students,” Biggs said. “I appreciate his mission here — to educate leaders and servants. That’s why I’m in line … I want to be a part of his big day.”

After nearly seven straight hours on his feet, Creed left Butler Chapel for a small family dinner in the Alumni Room at Marshbanks Hall. On his way to the dining hall, the president walked past a table of students who missed out on the free food in the Academic Circle hours before.

Of course, he stopped to chat with them.

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Installation of

J. Br adley Creed Campbell University’s Fifth President Photo Essay by Lissa Gotwals

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#CONGRATSDRCREED

@ambersummerlee Historic day at Campbell! #CongratsDrCreed #campbellproud @ncbiggio Historic day @campbelledu with their new President. So proud and happy for him. #hegotsomebling #CongratsDrCreed @alexthe_lion_ The weather and atmosphere today leaves no doubt that God continues to shine on the “Big miracle in Little Buies Creek.” #CongratsDrCreed @KTurrentine2016 Huge congratulations for Dr. Brad Creed, @campbelledu’s new president! Excited for your tenure! #CongratsDrCreed @_callmemal #CongratsDrCreed on your installation today as @campbelledu’s 5th president! Camels past and present are happy to have you!

Austinivory30 So glad that I was able to see Campbell’s fifth president, Dr. J Bradley Creed, be installed today! Campbell University is full of opportunities, and Dr. Creed is going to take Campbell places! So blessed to be called a Camel. #GoCamels #CongratsDrCreed

Mrsreneegreen Tunnel of over 300 @campbelledu students celebrating Campbell and Dr. Creed!

Be still my heart. #CongratsDrCreed #campbelluniversity @campbell_business #ilovemyjob

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Kendra.Elleirbag What a great day here in the Creek! We’ve officially, in Campbell fashion, welcomed Dr. Creed and his family into ours, and I couldn’t be happier. For the 8 months and 8 days he’s been here you could tell a difference in the atmosphere. #congratsdrcreed

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@ToriHarwell23 Never been more proud to be a camel than I am today #CongratsDrCreed

LawrencePowers I couldn’t be there in person today, but I was proud of my alma mater from afar! #CongratsDrCreed #GoCamels #campbelluniversity

Dddavviss Welcome to The Creek, Dr. Creed! #CambellsFinest #CongratsDrCreed

Michalaniccole Congratulations Dr. J. Bradley Creed on the installment as Campbell University’s 5th president. I am thankful I got to be a part of the historical event and play for the installment. I look forward to all the great changes coming to Campbell under your leadership. #CongratsDrCreed @campbelledu

Congratulations on your new leadership role — a­­­­n awesome responsibility but one which I know you are equal to. Campbell University played a major part in my professional and spiritual development, equipping me for seminary and eventual active duty as a Navy chaplain and civil servant hospital chaplain. I feel confident you will carry on the great tradition of our University that stands head and shoulders above and beside many of today’s higher institutions of learning. Please know you have my very best prayers and wishes for a long and successful tenure. The faculty and students are fortunate to have you as their new leader and president.”

— Capt. Ray McPherson (’65), retired Navy chaplain & civil servant chaplain

Kbabyy24 His first year, my last year.

I’m forever grateful of the opportunities Campbell has given me during my four years here and I am privileged to have witnessed the installation of Dr. Creed as Campbell’s fifth president. #CongratsDrCreed #Campbell W W W. C A M P B E L L . E D U / M A G A Z I N E

The opportunity to shape the future of your institution is one that you have undoubtedly prepared for and one that only a few have the privilege to undertake.”

— E. Joseph Savoie, president, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Congratulations Dr. Creed on accepting and becoming the fifth president of Campbell University. It was my privilege to graduate twice from Campbell, a BA degree (’66) and doctorate in education (’92). I have had opportunity to be associated with Campbell and the last three presidents in various ways through the years and look forward to a bright future for the University during your tenure.

Congratulations!”

— W. Mack Roberts, retired pastor

Theredheadedcamel When asked what an installation is, this is what he said. He’s so awesome! #CongratsDrCreed We are so happy you’re here!

Commstudiescu Some of our students are working behind-the-scenes at the presidential installation! #campbellproud #placeofopportunities #commstudies #congratsdrcreed

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#CONGRATSDRCREED May God lead you in this exciting new challenge and many congratulations on your Installation Dr. Creed! A warm hug and all the best all the way from Chile!”

– Alejandra Shaw (’07), proud Camel Congratulations Dr. Creed and best wishes for a long and successful tenure at Campbell.

Continued growth and prosperity will be a priority during your tenure as our fifth President! You are a great choice to lead us for many years to come. Roll Humps!”

– Warren Gay, member, Alumni Board of Directors Embrace the blessing of this amazing position God has granted you in your life.

Thank you for accepting and walking in obedience to His calling for you and your family. We, as your alumni and Campbell family embrace you in return and pray for success in all that lies before you” — Angela Daniels Millenbaugh The work of higher education is a noble and worthwhile calling. I wish you the very best and pray God’s blessings on you, your family and those associated with Campbell University.”

— Phil Schubert, president, Abilene Christian University Congratulations! Jane and I are excited for you and Kathy. A great opportunity and challenge is in front of you, but I believe no one else can do it like you. You are an East Texas Stump Jumper and East Texas Go-Getter who has done well! Thanks be to God.” Emilyann2458 Gaylord and I give Dr. Creed a thumbs up! #CampbellProud #GoCamels

shoestringadventuring Day hall ladies showing their orange! #congratsDrCreed #campbell19 #DayHall #vscocam

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#CongratsDrCreed

greektsik Got to meet Dr. and Mrs. Creed at the Presidential Installation today! #campbellproud #congratsdrcreed

THE INSTALLATION J. BRADLEY CREED

— Rev. Kyle Childress, Austin Heights Baptist Church, Nacogdoches, Texas

tahnia_rav Dr. Creed’s Installment Ceremony into Campbell #cuproud #gocamels #president #campbelluniversity #congratsdrcreed #gopro

margieanddot This Friday is even better than Hump Day for all Camels because @campbelledu installed its 5th president today! Congrats Dr. Creed #campbelluniversity #CongratsDrCreed #Campbell

mrsreneegreen Our awesome team of volunteers for the Yes! Math Tutoring at Operation Inasmuch. #operationinasmuch @campbelledu @campbell_business #cuinasmuch2016 #CongratsDrCreed @cu_campusministry #ilovemyjob

caitlin_mancil I am so glad I was able to take part in the welcoming of Dr. Creed as the new, and only fifth president of Campbell; it was also an honor to meet his lovely wife.

They are such kind hearted people who will continue to make Campbell feel like home. #gocamels #DrCreed #campbellproud @GoCamels The start of something special here in Buies Creek. We are happier than on HumpDay! #CongratsDrCreed #GoCamels @MrGurkinAHS My alma mater is inaugurating its 5th president in its 129 year history. That consistency makes @campbelledu special. #CongratsDrCreed @liver522 It’s a huge day at @campbelledu and I’m so thankful to be a part of it! #CongratsDrCreed @RepDavidRLewis Such a great day for @campbelledu. #CongratsDrCreed Welcome to the Creek! #CampbellProud @hawkk01 Dr. Creed is THE MAN! #CongratsDrCreed

heyimdanielle__ Today was a historic day for Campbell University. Thankful I was able to witness the installation of our fifth president. #congratsdrcreed

@DRConnieR Welcome to the Campbell family. Looking forward to your leadership and innovation. #CongratsDrCreed @lblittlewing There is no where else I would rather be ... #congratsdrcreed @DebbieITemple #CongratsDrCreed We are so Blessed to have you as our President. May God continue to give you wisdom in years to come! @SAOCU The sisters of Sigma Alpha Omega want to say #CongratsDrCreed!

We can’t wait to see what’s ahead for Campbell! @ArkadyAdler Dr. Creed is President, to thunderous applause. I admit I cried a little—what a beautiful ceremony! #CongratsDrCreed

graybarnhill Congratulations to the 5th President of Campbell University in 129 years! #CongratsDrCreed

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@MattBurke93 Welcome to the family #CongratsDrCreed #campbelledu

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CAMPBELLPRESIDENTS

J.A. Campbell

L.H. Campbell

O

L

President from 1887-1934

Timeline • Jan. 5, 1887: Buies Creek Academy opens to 16 students on a cold winter morning • Dec. 20, 1900: A fire destroys all but one building on campus • Jan. 8, 1901: Buies Creek Academy reopens • Nov. 2, 1903: Architect Zachary Kivett completes Kivett Hall, today Campbell’s oldest building • 1923: The school’s first dormitory, Treat Hall, opens for female residents • Nov. 17, 1926: Buies Creek Academy becomes Campbell Junior College

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nly seven families were living in the Harnett County community when James Archibald Campbell, a 25-year-old, second-year student at Wake Forest College, sought to earn money in the summer of 1886 to support himself and his family by canvassing the neighborhood selling books. Along the way, he met William Pearson, who convinced some of his fellow residents to establish an academy in Buies Creek. The rest is, as they say, history.

A slender six-footer with red hair, J.A. Campbell possessed an early interest in education and a love for preaching.

An ordained Baptist minister, he began Buies Creek Academy on Jan. 5, 1887, with three faculty members: himself as principal; A.E. Booth as assistant and teacher; and Campbell’s future wife, Cornelia F. Pearson, who was both an assistant and a teacher.

In keeping with the University’s motto, “ad astra per aspera,” Campbell kept Buies Creek Academy alive through a ravaging fire at the turn of the century, World War I and the Great Depression.

Campbell died at the age of 72 in 1934.

At his funeral, Dr. Charles E. Maddry of the Southern Baptist Convention proclaimed, “Because of his great love for others, [Campbell] literally wore himself out serving them, giving poor boys and girls the chance of an education ... He always saw a future of service in his boys and girls.”

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President from 1934-1967

Timeline • 1934: The Paul Green Theater, named for BCA alumnus, Pulitzer Prize winner and “The Lost Colony” playwright, is built • 1942-1945: World War II means enrollment decline, food shortages at Campbell • April 11, 1950: Leslie Campbell publicly announces he will keep Campbell College in Buies Creek, despite calls from other institutions to join forces for a larger college in Wake Forest, N.C. • Sept. 11, 1961: Campbell Junior College achieves senior college status, changes name to Campbell College

eslie Hartwell “L.H.” Campbell, the oldest son of founder J.A. Campbell, was the unanimous choice by the Board of Trustees to succeed his father. Campbell was 8 years old when the academy burned in December 1900.

He remembered attending classes in the reconverted tabernacle when the Kivett Building was under construction.

He graduated from Buies Creek Academy in 1908 and enrolled in Wake Forest College, along with his younger brother Carlyle. In three years, they both graduated with honors from Wake Forest, alongside their father.

After returning to Buies Creek, he taught English and mathematics, and later served as a dean. For a short period, Campbell also worked as a merchant in Buies Creek.

Affectionately known as “Prof. Leslie,” Campbell was popular with the students; the Pine Burr staff dedicated the yearbook to him in 1930.

Upon his father’s death in 1934, Campbell, then 42, became the youngest college president in North Carolina.

During his 33-year tenure, he guided the college through many challenges and economic struggles. His major achievement was to expand the institution following World War II, steering Campbell to become a fully-accredited co-educational Baptist-affiliated liberal arts and vocational college. Like his father before him, he encouraged students to pursue higher education in spite of the Depression.

Norman A. Wiggins

Jerry M. Wallace

D

D

President from 1967-2003

Timeline • February 1976: Campbell begins its first classes at Fort Bragg • Aug. 30, 1976: The School of Law opens with a charter class of 97 students • 1977: Campbell Athletics joins the NCAA • June 6, 1979: Campbell College becomes Campbell University • Oct. 11, 1983: The Lundy-Fetterman School of Business enrolls its first class • Dec. 2, 1985: The School of Education enrolls its first class • Aug. 25, 1986: The School of Pharmacy welcomes its charter class • Aug. 19, 1996: The Divinity School welcomes its charter class

r. Norman Adrian Wiggins came to Campbell with a solid academic background as a law professor at Wake Forest. His vision of Campbell becoming a world-class learning institution extended the institution’s reach not only to military bases such as Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, but also to the Research Triangle Park, Malaysia and Wales.

Wiggins grew up in Burlington and enrolled at Campbell College on an athletic scholarship in 1942. After his first semester, World War II interrupted Wiggins’ studies. He served in the Marines in the Pacific during the war; and afterward, he returned to Campbell to continue his education.

He completed his bachelor’s degree at Wake Forest and was admitted to the law school there, where he graduated cum laude in 1952. He excelled in trusts, and went on to work as a trust officer at Planter’s National Bank in Rocky Mount.

Upon assuming his duties as Campbell’s president in 1967, he immediately embarked on a new five-year master plan for the college. “There is a kind of spirit that captures people who come to this school,” he said. “There has never been a place more sensitive to others than right here. God is expecting you to do something great for him. You have an obligation today, and you know it.”

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President from 2003-2015

Timeline • October 2007: Ronald W. Maddox Hall opens to pharmacy students • Oct. 17, 2008: John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center opens • Aug. 30, 2008: Football returns after a 58-year absence • August 2009: Construction complete on the Robert and Anna Gardner Butler Chapel • September 2009: Classes begin at the School of Law’s new location in Raleigh • Oct. 30, 2013: Wallace is honored at a ceremony formally dedicating the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine • March 25, 2015: Groundbreaking ceremony for the Tracey F. Smith Hall of Nursing & Health Sciences

r. Jerry McLain Wallace was elected by the Board of Trustees as the fourth president of Campbell University on May 29, 2003.

As president, Wallace expanded on the growth trajectory that began under Dr. Wiggins in 1976.

Wallace initiated a new master plan that made Campbell’s campus more aesthetically pleasing; he re-inaugurated Campbell football following a more than 50-year hiatus; and he grew undergraduate enrollment to more than 3,000 students.

In 2009, he played an integral role in moving the law school to Raleigh. The vacated Buies Creek facility was renovated, and the Carrie Rich Memorial Library, renamed Wiggins Memorial Library, was relocated. The pinnacle of his tenure was the establishment of the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine.

He also guided the start of the physician assistant program, as well as programs in physical therapy, nursing, medical research, homeland security and engineering.

In Wallace’s inaugural address, he presented his vision of Campbell: “The 21st century has brought great opportunities and challenges for Campbell, including the need for major physical changes to campus. We must respond with a bold program of expansion and renewal, which will ensure Campbell’s continuing success. At the heart of this vision is the development and enhancement of an academic community which is traditional, beautiful and functional.”

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EDUCATION • Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1986) • M.Div., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1982) • Bachelor of Arts in Religion, Baylor University (cum laude, 1979) • Jacksonville (Texas) High School (1975)

ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION EXPERIENCE • President, Campbell University (2015-Present) • Provost and Executive Vice President, Samford University (2006-15) • Provost, Samford University (2002-06) • Associate Provost, Samford University (2001-02) • Dean, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University (19962000) • Associate Dean, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University (1993-96)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE • University Fellows Professor, Samford University (2009-2015) • Professor of Religion (Samford University, 2001-2015) • Visiting Professor of Church History, The John Leland Center for Theological Studies (2000) • Professor of Christian History, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University (1993-97) • Adjunct Lecturer, Northwestern State University and Scholar’s College of Northwestern State University (198893) • Teaching Fellow in Church History, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1983-85)

PASTORAL EXPERIENCE • Pastor, First Baptist Church, Natchitoches, Louisiana (1988-1993) • Church Planter and Mission Pastor, McCart Meadows Baptist Church, in Fort Worth, Texas (1983-86) • Pastor, Wheatland Baptist Church, in Fort Worth, Texas (1983-86) • Pastor, Easterly Baptist Church, in Easterly, Texas (1980-82)

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J. BRADLEY CREED President from 2015-Present

J

. Bradley Creed, an accomplished leader of mission-driven institutions and a scholar and historian of religion, began his duties as Campbell University’s fifth president July 1, 2015. Previously, Creed was provost, executive vice president and professor of religion at Samford University, a private Christian university in Birmingham, Alabama.

During his 12 years as Samford’s provost, Creed led multiple transformational initiatives, including the launch of the university’s College of Health Sciences in 2013 and the addition of more than twodozen new or upgraded undergraduate and graduate programs. He also played a key role in strategic enrollment efforts designed to increase the size, retention, and academic quality of the undergraduate student body.

In addition, during his time as provost, Samford achieved the highest graduation rate of any college or university in Alabama and saw the average ACT score of its incoming students increase by a full point.

Prior to joining Samford, Creed was professor of Christian history, associate dean, and dean at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He has also served as the scholar-in-residence at the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C., and visiting professor of church history at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Falls Church, Virginia.

Earlier in his career, he served as pastor of

THE INSTALLATION J. BRADLEY CREED

churches in Texas and Louisiana.

Throughout his career, Creed has been a frequent speaker for universities, civic organizations and churches, and he is the author of numerous published works and articles on religion, ethics, education, and church history. He also sits on the board of directors of the Lilly Fellows Program in the Humanities and the Arts and is a member of the Young Scholars in the Baptist Academy planning team. He chaired the Council of Independent Colleges’ Chief Academic Officers Task Force from 2013-14 and was on the executive board of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities from 2003-06 and 2010-13.

A Jacksonville, Texas, native, Creed received a bachelor of arts in religion from Baylor University, graduating cum laude. He earned his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He pursued further study in Harvard University’s Management Development Program and in the Spanish language program at Academia Hispano Americano in Mexico.

Creed’s wife, Kathy, is an educator by training and previously was a public school teacher and administrator in Texas and Louisiana. The Creeds’ family includes son Charles, of Plano, Texas; daughter Carrie Grace, a first-year student at Samford; and one grandson, James Noble Creed. Their daughter Caitlin died in 2007 during her freshman year in college.

‘ENERGETIC, INQUISITIVE & FUN’ From their home in Jacksonville, Texas, Charles and Jeanette Creed shared a little more information about their son, the president of Campbell University:

What was your son like as a kid, and how he is the same today?

KATHY CREED

First Lady of Campbell University

K

athy Creed has enjoyed several roles in public and private school education in her career, including teacher (grades 3, 5 and 6), speech and hearing therapist, schoolwide testing coordinator, career ladder liaison, middle school assistant principal, elementary school principal, high school counselor, university student teacher supervisor and teacher in an adult leadership academy.

A native of Jacksonville, Texas, Creed holds a bachelor of science degree in education, with certification in speech and hearing therapy and elementary education from Baylor University; and a masters of education with midmanagement administrator certification from the University of North Texas. She has done post graduate study in counseling at Baylor.

Creed is the mother of three children: Caitlin, who was lost in a car accident in 2007 when she was 19; Charlie, 25, who lives and works in Texas; and Carrie Grace, who is a student at Samford University in Alabama. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, tennis and painting.

In February of this year, Creed was the keynote speaker for the School of Education’s commissioning ceremony, an event that recognized 71 seniors. She encouraged the students to serve their communities and God using the gifts He had given them. Her two gifts, she said, are faith and teaching.

“My experience of service in my community began with a nudging within myself that I should be giving back to God, to my community and to others through my gift of teaching,” she said. “I felt called to use my gifts.”

She asked the students to do the same – to seek to serve and to give. “There is a world of people out there in every community wanting and needing something that only you can give,” she said. “In God’s perfect timing and in God’s perfect will, the needs of those in your communities will meet the need in you to serve God by using the gifts he has so generously given you. So keep preparing yourself, striving to be the best you can be for God and for those around you.”

5 Things not found on J. Bradley Creed’s resume • He has run 40 road races, including marathons and half marathons, over the last 10 years in nine states and provinces.

• He has worked at funeral homes, a discount store, a plastics plant, a bookstore and an electric supply company. He has also sold insulation, hauled hay and driven a school bus.

• He enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, backpacking, bicycling, and kayaking.

• He likes sports and is an enthusiastic supporter of his school’s teams. He is also a NASCAR fan and attends the races at Talladega Superspeedway every year.

Having Brad as a son has been a joy. All his life he has been energetic, inquisitive and fun. He loves people and has been blessed with many friends of all ages and has had the gift of making them laugh. All his life he has loved the church and has been active in its service. At age 11, he gave his life to Christ and has followed Him since.

What do you hope he learned from you?

We hope we have taught Brad and his sister to work hard, love people and show gratitude. One of Brad’s greatest assets is Kathy. We tell him to take her with him when he can, because she makes him look good.

Why is Campbell a good fit for him?

We never had to goad him into taking care of his responsibilities as he seemed to be able to discern what was important and what was not.

We think he will be a real asset to Campbell because he can be trusted, is loyal and has some common sense.

What else would you like for us to know?

We thank the trustees of Campbell for giving our son this place of service, and we pray that he will be a leader who will help Campbell fulfill its mission and continue to be a Christcentered university that prepares students to become leaders in the world today.

• He and Kathy enjoy hosting students and other guests in their home. His first year at Campbell has included hosting barbecues, ice cream socials and other gatherings.

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WARM EMBRACE | President J. Bradley Creed and his wife Kathy receive welcoming hugs from David and Michelle Courie in Butler Chapel following Creed’s installation ceremony in the Pope Convocation Center on April 8. Hundreds of Campbell students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends stood in line to personally welcome the Creeds. | Photo by Lissa Gotwals

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