“We want our A Mission and an Identity Biblical Transformation Is Woven Into the NGU Experience


Transformational leadership is central to NGU’s mission and identity. It’s discussed in classrooms, emphasized by leadership, and highlighted across campuses.


“We talk a lot about our mission statement at NGU because it matters,” said Dr. Donny Mathis, who serves as dean of faculty development and professor of Christian Studies at North Greenville. “Equipping transformational leaders for church and society begins with knowing who you are and who God has made you to be,” he said. NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr. said the university’s mission statement refers to the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 12:2:


“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” “NGU’s mission statement notes that our primary outcome is ‘transformational leaders,’” President Fant said. “Everything else in the statement really is modifying and amplifying that one outcome. We believe that when you leave this campus or one of our other campuses, you will be a transformational leader.”


What is a transformational leader? “You cannot be a transformational leader unless you have been transformed by Christ,” President Fant said.


“The scriptures are pretty clear when they tell us that the heart is a deceiver and not to be followed. We must follow after Christ. Transformational leadership is not rooted in ourselves. It’s rooted in Christ,” he said.


With this perspective, an education at North Greenville offers something different than you will find in most higher education institutions. “A Christian perspective changes everything,” said Cory Truax, who serves as CRM Systems Administrator for NGU Admissions. “The scriptures


say the Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. That includes cybersecurity and elementary education. It includes biology and theatre. No matter what we’re doing, it’s going to be different because we see those things as belonging to the Lord.” “College is not a four-year experience that changes you internally,” he added. “College is a four-year experience that can help you change the world around you.”


Dr. Christine Haltiwanger, associate dean of NGU’s School of Health and Wellness, said this mindset changes the way instruction is approached in the classroom. “We want our students to use their future profession as a platform for discipleship,” Haltiwanger said. “We are image-bearers of God, and so are the people we surround ourselves with. Whether you’re in health, research, or some other field, you’re never going to be just doing what you do for a paycheck. Our work is for the Lord and we want to do it with excellence.” “We care about molding and shaping the spiritual future of our students,” added Dr. Cheryl Collier,


associate dean for NGU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “We don’t just say that. It is carried out daily. Paul talks about being transformed by the renewal of our minds. To live the Christ life, we have to have our minds and hearts changed. We have to put on the mind of Christ. We need the Holy Spirit to transform us.”


President Fant said this makes North Greenville students “changed agents” in their fields rather than “change agents.” “When I was a professor, one of the things I would try and cultivate in my students is that they might be aiming low if they try to be who they want to be. Instead, it’s better to evaluate who God wants you to be,” he said. “We want students to go from being egocentric to theocentric. That is carried out in the life of a community. There are no wasted moments at this university. Even stray conversations that happen between classes or in the cafeteria can be redeemed into something that is transformational.” ◆


students to use their future profession as a platform for discipleship. We are image-bearers of God, and so are the people we surround ourselves with.”


In every academic discipline, NGU seeks to help students see that area of study as “belonging to the Lord.”


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