The appointment of J. Randall O’Brien as the 22nd president of Carson-Newman (C-N) College was announced today by David Ogle, chair of the presidential search committee and board of trustees. Dr. O’Brien, who currently serves as the executive vice president and provost, professor of religion and visiting law professor at Baylor University, will join Carson-Newman College effective January 1, 2009. However, he will begin his transition into the presidency on August 1, 2008.
A native of McComb, Miss., O’Brien is a graduate of Yale Divinity School, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Mississippi College, the oldest Baptist affiliated college in Mississippi. He has done additional studies at Harvard, and Oxford Universities. He is also a licensed and ordained Baptist minister having served since January 2007 as interim pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.
“After a 15 month extensive national search I am pleased to report that the Board of Trustees today adopted the Presidential Search Committee’s recommendation, and we are absolutely thrilled and excited to have Dr. O’Brien coming to C-N as president. Both the Search Committee and the Trustees are convinced that God has blessed us with the right individual to lead Carson-Newman College into a great new era that achieves our vision of becoming a premier Christian liberal arts college with a world-wide impact,” said Ogle.
“Dr. O’Brien’s experience in Christian ministry and higher education covers a broad spectrum of work, starting as a college instructor, then moving to assistant, associate and full professor of religion. Administratively, he’s been a Dean and Provost. It quickly became apparent to the committee that Dr. O’Brien’s reputation in Baptist higher education was national in scope. He brings a breadth and depth of education, experience and understanding for the roles, challenges and opportunities required to ensure quality faculty and instruction, vibrant student life, and visionary leadership. Further, he is also nationally recognized by Baptists as an outstanding pastor, religious scholar, author and speaker. I look forward to seeing Dr. O’Brien in Baptist pulpits across this nation as Carson Newman’s chief ambassador.”
For more on Tuesday afternoon's announcement, see tomorrow's edition of the Citizen Tribune.
