An engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota, Charles Alderson joined the BJU staff in 1979, following his retirement from Honeywell in Minneapolis. He designed and oversaw the construction of the cogeneration plant, named in his honor, which produced electric power for the University for some years after 1988. However, 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act eventually made it impractical to continue, and today the plant is used only for emergency backup power.

William Barge was a Miami surgeon who had received his medical training at Mercer University and the University of Georgia and was a founding member of the American Board of Abdominal Surgeons. He served as president of the Miami Christian Businessmen’s Committee and the Florida Child Evangelism Fellowship. In 1960, BJU conferred on him an honorary degree. The campus hospital, named in his memory, was opened in 1969 and closed in 2015.

Luena Barker’s parents separated when she was in the eighth grade, and she was sent to live with the family of an uncle who was a Methodist pastor.  She attended Bob Jones College in Cleveland, Tennessee, from 1943 to 1945 but dropped out after her fiancé was killed in World War II. She returned to BJU in 1947, graduating in 1949. Thereafter she served as a dorm supervisor, and after 1952, Assistant Dean of Women. She became Dean of Women at the retirement of Hazel Claire Riley in 1977. In 1994, following her own retirement, she returned to Michigan to serve her family.

The fifth of six siblings from northern Maine who all attended BJU, Roy Barton graduated from the University in 1953. After serving as a naval officer during the Korean War, he returned to Maine where he eventually became a bank vice president, civic leader, and lay preacher. In 1974, Bob Jones III asked him to return to BJU as business manager. His financial acumen proved especially beneficial to the University during the years that followed the death of R. K. Johnson in 1971 and the loss of the federal tax case in 1983.

Acting Chief Executive Officer, 2023-24; Executive Vice President for Student Development and Ministry Advancement, 2018-2024.

Alan Benson was born into a nominally Protestant family in Northern Ireland that moved to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, when he was four. When he was eleven, Benson was introduced to the Gospel by a BJU graduate. In 1992, Benson himself graduated from BJU as a Bible major. He later earned an MMin from BJU in 2009, an MDiv from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary in 2011, and a DMin in Expository Preaching from BJU in 2020. For 25 years, he served as a senior pastor in Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois. He returned to BJU in 2018, and following the resignation of Steve Pettit in 2023, the Board of Trustees named him acting CEO. After the nomination of Josh Crockett to the role of president in 2024, Benson moved into a role outside the University as a business development executive.

Jim Berg was reared in a Christian family in rural South Dakota. Though saved as a child, he surrendered his life to Christ (and sold his electric guitar) only after his first year at BJU, 1970-71. Following graduate studies in theology, he was asked to remain at the University as an assistant to Dr. James Edwards; and after Edwards’ death in 1981, he was named Dean of Students. In 2010, Berg moved to the seminary where he engaged in teaching, counseling, writing, and conference speaking. He published eleven books and workbooks as well as numerous articles about biblical leadership, counseling, and discipleship.

Bud Bierman graduated from BJU in 1961 and eventually earned two graduate degrees in Bible. He pastored the First Baptist Church, Westfield, New York, 1965-1972, before returning to BJU. He served as the Director of Church Planting (2006-2011) and as a Staff Evangelist for Gospel Fellowship Association until 2017. In 45 years as an evangelist, he preached nearly 1,200 evangelistic campaigns, revivals, Bible conferences, and youth rallies in 48 states and more than 20 countries.

Born in Pennsylvania but reared largely in Louisville, Kentucky, Emery Bopp received excellent training in illustration and fine art, respectively at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, and the Yale University School of Art. An active member of the South Carolina Artists’ Guild, Bopp won numerous awards for his paintings, which are represented in many regional collections. Bopp joined the BJU faculty in 1951 and remained until his retirement in 2001, an exceptional long tenure that shaped the direction of the his division.

Bowen, Barbara MacDonald (1876-1957) and Frank Henry (1870-1957), donors of the Bowen Collection of Antiquities, 1944, of which they served as curators until their deaths.

Frank Bowen had been a postal inspector, but both he and his wife eventually became ordained ministers and spent considerable time during the interwar years collecting antiquarian items from the Middle East, loosely defined. Presumably their collecting was funded by a patron because the Bowens were not themselves independently wealthy. Though the items in the Bowen assemblage varied widely in historical and cultural value, the collection continues to be of significant educational and public relations benefit to the University.

The son of a Cincinnati shoemaker, Charles Brokenshire displayed a remarkable gift for languages and distinguished himself as a biblical scholar. He graduated from Marietta College, summa cum laude, in 1907 and thereafter studied with some of the finest conservative scholars at Princeton Seminary. Though he nearly completed a PhD twice, he ultimately did not finish either program. Alma College awarded him an honorary doctorate. Brokenshire came to Bob Jones College in 1943, and he served until he died the day he turned in his final grades in 1954. A men’s residence hall is named in his honor. Brokenshire was essentially the founder of BJU’s Graduate School of Religion.

Lillian Brown was born in Luverne, Alabama, and enrolled at BJC during its second year. She graduated in 1932 and earned an MA in chemistry at Colorado State College of Education in 1934. Lee taught science, Bible, and English in Bob Jones Academy. Though the Joneses intended Lee to be the high school principal, they had to wait to appoint her until she was 25, a requirement of Tennessee state law. Her 28-year tenure was the longest in the history of the Academy. In 1948, she married university science teacher Paul Brown, and they had two children before her comparatively early death from cancer. An Academy building is named in her memory.

Floyd Collins was the oldest member of the BJC faculty—thirty years older than Bob Jones Sr.—when the school opened in 1927. Having received the classical education typical for late nineteenth-century educated Americans, he had already spent fifty years as a teacher of Latin, Greek, and literature and as the principal of several high schools. Among an inaugural BJC faculty that was mostly young and inexperienced, Collins was a steadying influence who helped Bob Jones Sr. standardize the work of the “Preparatory Department.” Though he served only one year as Academy principal, he continued to teach Latin and English until his death. An Academy building is named in his honor.

An Alabama native of Ulster Scots stock, her death when her son (the eleventh of twelve children) was fourteen proved to be a traumatic event from which he never completely recovered. A women’s residence hall is named in her honor, the only building on campus named for person who had no knowledge of Bob Jones University.

Josh Crockett earned a BA in rhetoric and public address (2001), a master’s degree in counseling, and a MDiv from Bob Jones University. In 2020, he earned a DMin from Liberty University. In 2004, Crockett began ministering at his home church, Grace Baptist Church, Anderson, Indiana; and in 2015, he became the senior pastor of Morningside Baptist Church, Greenville, South Carolina. The BJU Board of Trustees named him president in May 2024. In May 2025, Crockett returned to Morningside Baptist Church as senior pastor but remained on staff at BJU to assist President Bruce McAllister.

Stewart Custer earned a BA (1955) and MA (1957) in Bible and a PhD (1966) in Greek from BJU. He then spent his career teaching Bible, Greek, and philosophy at both the University and the Seminary, most notably teaching Methods of Bible Exposition in the latter. He also served as the director of the campus planetarium, editor of Biblical Viewpoint, and pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Greer, South Carolina. The BJU Seminary created the Stewart Custer Lecture Series in his honor.

Charles Daniel was a South Carolina businessman with interests in construction, banking, building supplies, telecommunications, insurance, and airlines. He was the co-founder of Daniel International Construction Corporation, based in Greenville, which at one point was the largest construction company in the world. In 1946, Daniel promised Bob Jones Sr. that he could finish every necessary building within the next school year, and he did. In 1954, Governor James Byrnes appointed Daniel to the U.S. Senate to complete the last months of the term of Burnet R. Maybank, who had died suddenly.

D. Davis was the founder of Davis International, Youngstown, Ohio, a company that designed and constructed industrial buildings for cold storage and food processing. As a philanthropist, he funded buildings in the Youngstown area, some of which were consequently named for him and his wife, including University’s Davis Field House.

Director of Food Services, 1956-78, Director of Ancillary Services, 1978-2000.

Frederic E. Davis was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and graduated from Bob Jones Academy and from Bob Jones University (BA, ‘54, MA, ’56) with degrees in Bible. As a student, he worked in the dining common on the serving line, as a baker, and finally, when a graduate student, as kitchen manager. In 1956, R. K. Johnson asked him to take charge of the Dining Common, and the current building was built under his supervision in 1965. In 1978, Davis became Director of Ancillary Services, overseeing the operations of many nonacademic departments of the University, including the snack shop and the 640-acre University farm. In semi-retirement, he served as campus pastor. In 2015, the Family Room of the Dining Common was renamed the Davis Room to honor the contribution of Fred Davis and his son Tim for their combined 57 years of leadership in BJU Food Services.

A graduate of Edinboro State College (now Pennsylvania Western University-Edinboro), Deuink began his career as a social studies teacher in a public school, then became an administrative assistant at an Atlanta insurance company. In 1965, he served as an advertising sales representative for WAVO, an Atlanta radio station owned by BJU. In 1970, Deuink became principal of Stone Mountain Christian School. While there he earned an MS in Education Administration from West Georgia College and an EdD from the University of Georgia. In 1981, he moved to Greenville and became BJU registrar. As Dean of the School of Education for 18 years, he wrote books on Christian school management, finances, and testing, and traveled widely to consult with administrators and speak at teacher conferences.

A native of Findlay, Ohio, John Dreisbach graduated from Findlay College and Ohio State University School of Medicine. In 1948, he and his wife Betty Short Dreisbach, served a Muslim area of Nigeria, West Africa, where he specialized in the care and treatment of leprosy patients. In 1959, they relocated to neighboring Benin and built a new, general practice hospital. In 1964, he accepted an invitation from BJU to join the faculty/staff and develop a BJU curriculum for medical mission students. In the summers, he conducted 25 field experience teams called “Project Compassion.” In 1990, he became a field representative of Gospel Fellowship Association Missions and served as an administrative director of the mission board for 19 years.

Though born and reared in Alabama, Elizabeth’s family spent six months of every year in Jackson, New Hampshire, where her father was a chef and she worked in the restaurant. She graduated from Bob Jones College in 1938, then earned a master’s degree at the University of Michigan. Edwards both performed in and directed numerous Classic Players productions, and she acted in several Unusual Films productions. In the Greenville community, Edwards was known for directing the annual Singing Christmas Tree. She retired from the classroom in 1991, the first person outside the Jones family to have served at BJU for more than fifty years. In 1982, an addition to the Student Center was named in her honor and that of her husband and Hazel Claire Riley.

A native of Alabama, James Edwards graduated from Bob Jones College in 1936 and earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Michigan. In 1952, Northwestern Schools conferred an honorary doctorate. While teaching U.S. history, he served BJU at different times as Dean of Men, Dean of the College, Dean of the School of Commerce, and Dean of the Students. He was the only person in BJU history to bear the title Dean of Administration, essentially combining the later positions of provost and dean of students. As early as 1940, during their simultaneous absence, the Joneses entrusted Edwards with overseeing the affairs of the college. In 1982, an addition to the Student Center was named in honor of him and his wife, Elizabeth, and in memory of Hazel Claire Riley.

Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Walter Fremont worked as a toolmaker for a year after high school before being drafted into the Army during World War II. After discharge, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dayton and a master’s degree in curriculum development from the University of Wisconsin. With a year of GI Bill benefits remaining, he decided to study Bible for a year at BJU, where he was immediately asked to teach educational psychology. The following year he became a full-time faculty member in the School of Education and was named dean in 1953. In 1961, he completed a doctorate at Penn State University. Fremont wrote his dissertation about Christian schools, which he continued to promote for the rest of his life. He pioneered the development of graduate study in education at BJU, developed the annual Principal’s Recruitment Conference, was an enthusiastic supporter of BJU Press, and helped found The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center. With his wife, Trudy, he wrote five books, three on family living, one on youth methods, and one on Christian counseling. In 1993, BJU named the Fremont Fitness Center in his honor.

Frank Garlock was born into a musical family in Montclair, New Jersey, and graduated from BJU in 1951. In 1958, he completed a master’s degree in music theory at Eastman School of Music and subsequently received three honorary doctorates. Returning to BJU in 1960, he taught music theory, organized a trombone choir and faculty brass quintet, and directed a Vesper choir. In 1972, he and his wife, Flora Jean, founded Majesty Music, and through it he published a hymnal, numerous choral works, books on the Christian philosophy of music, and his own autobiography. His numerous publications and extensive ministry travels had a significant impact on conservative Christian music.

Dwight Gustafson was born in Seattle, Washington, and graduated from BJU in 1952 with a B.A. in music. After completing a master’s degree at BJU in 1954, Bob Jones Jr. asked him to become dean—when Gustafson was 24. Eventually he earned a D.Mus. in composition from Florida State University. Gustafson was a more-than-competent administrator with unusual abilities in art, music, and drama. He conducted campus choirs and the Bob Jones Symphony Orchestra, especially in annual opera productions. As a composer, Gustafson was best known for his sacred choral compositions, although his more than 160 works included five film scores, a string quartet, a violin concerto, a one-act opera, and numerous extended compositions for chorus and orchestra. In 1999, the new Gustafson Fine Arts building was named in his honor.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts but reared in Louisville, Kentucky, Grace Haight was able to live simply on a small inheritance and paid her own way as a missionary to China. After a stint at editing a Southern Methodist newsletter, Floyd Collins recommended her to Bob Jones College, where she edited the Fellowship News, taught missions and hymnology courses, and wrote devotional and sentimental poetry. In part because she was skilled at turning Bob Jones Sr.’s dictation into readable prose, Jones conferred on her an honorary Doctor of Literature. (She had no earned degrees.) A building on the Greenville campus, first used for faculty housing, later repurposed as a dormitory and, finally, classroom space, was named in her honor.

Hay was the first director of the Institute of Christian Service (later, the School of Applied Studies), 1957-1970.

A native of California and the son of a pastor who regularly took his sons camping, Hay graduated from BJU in 1955 with a degree in Bible. After completing a master’s degree in 1957, he was named director of the Institute of Christian Service, a BJU program for non-traditional students seeking to enter Christian ministries. In 1969, he founded The Wilds, a non-denominational camp and conference center in Transylvania County, North Carolina, with Walter Fremont, Joseph Henson, and Carl Blythe. In 1975, BJU conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Laws.

Joseph Henson was born into the family of a circuit-riding preacher in Hollis, Oklahoma, and graduated from high school in Durango, Colorado at age 14. He earned three undergraduate degrees at BJU and a PhD in biology from Clemson University. Henson taught science to generations of BJU students from 1957 until his retirement in 2003. A noted creationist speaker, he served on the boards of the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis. In 1969, he helped to found The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center.

Chair, Department of English, 1969-72; Chair, Division of English, 1973-2001; Chair, Department of Professional Writing and Publication, 1981-2001; Chair, Department of Philosophy 2001-2019.

Born in Los Angeles, Ron Horton graduated with a BA from BJU in 1958, an MA in English in 1961 from UCLA, and a PhD in English (Renaissance Literature) in 1972 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The University of Georgia published his award-winning manuscript on The Faerie Queen. He wrote numerous secondary and college texts, as well as two trade books, that were published by BJU Press.

Pioneer faculty member of Bob Jones College, Principal of Bob Jones Academy, 1932–36, Dean of the College, 1932-1941, member, Board of Trustees, 1942-1947.

Born in southeast Alabama, only fifteen miles from the birthplace of Bob Jones Sr., Eunice Hutto graduated from the Women’s College of Montgomery (later Huntingdon College) in 1923 (at age 18) and earned a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Alabama in 1929. Westminster College conferred an honorary doctorate in 1939. Hutto joined the BJC faculty in 1928 and was appointed dean of the college in 1932. She was possibly the first female chief academic officer of a coeducational college in the United States. She resigned in 1941 to marry Jefferson Davis Morelock, and Bob Jones Sr. named her to the Board of Trustees. A Bob Jones Academy building is named in her honor.

A native of South Carolina, Iris Jumper received her bachelor’s degree from BJU in 1946 and thereafter worked in the University business office and at the switchboard before becoming assistant office manager in 1952 and office manager in 1954. She continued to work in the office and file room even after her retirement in 1997. Because of her careful attention to detail, she was the chief guardian of the University’s institutional memory well into the 21^st century.

First chairman of the BJU Board of Trustees (2013-2016) who was not a member of the Jones family.

Larry Jackson grew up on campus as the son of G. G. Jackson (1918-2007), campus postmaster, and stepson of Iris Jackson (1925-2019), manager of administrative offices. He earned BS and MA degrees in Film and Video Production at BJU. He was named Alumnus of the Year in 2000 and served on the Board of Trustees, 1982-2016, and as chairman, 2013-2016. Jackson was the founder and former CEO of a national marketing agency and was a 55-year veteran of the communication industry. He served on numerous academic, governmental, and professional boards, including the boards of the Gospel Fellowship Association and The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center.

Born in Virginia, and orphaned at eight, Johnson almost immediately became a student leader when he arrived at BJC in 1931. He was elected president of the 1935 senior class. While he was still a student, Bob Jones Sr. named Johnson the college business manager, and he retained that title for the rest of his life. Johnson’s pay-as-you-go business policy played a significant role in helping BJU survive the loss of its federal tax exemption in 1983. Before his death from a heart attack in 1971, Johnson wrote a commemorative biography of Bob Jones Sr., which includes a chapter on the construction of the Greenville campus in which Johnson himself played a significant role. After his death, a men’s residence hall was named in his memory.

Born in Oregon, Beneth Jones earned her bachelor’s (1959) and master’s degrees (1962) in speech at BJU. She appeared in three feature-length films and also took leading roles in campus Shakespeare performances; but she felt most fulfilled supporting her husband, speaking at couples’ retreats, and counseling and writing notes of encouragement to those in need. For years she taught an undergraduate course for women who were preparing to become pastors’ wives.

Third president of Bob Jones University, 1971-2005, chancellor, 2005-.

Born in Cleveland, Tennessee, Bob Jones III earned a bachelor’s (1959) and master’s (1961) degrees in speech from BJU and took additional courses in speech and drama at Northwestern University and New York University. He also received honorary degrees from two small Bible schools and a seminary. Like his father, he was a preacher and a Shakespearean actor from his youth, but Jones III evidenced more interest in the mechanics of university governance. Under the leadership of Jones III, the University’s influence widened through endeavors such as Show My People, the addition of Pleasant Pastures, the creation of BJU Press, and more.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Bob Jones Jr. was the son of the University founder. He served as acting president in his father’s absence, 1933-1947, as president 1947-1971, and as chancellor thereafter until his death. A graduate of BJC (1931) and the University of Pittsburgh (1933), Jones received many honorary doctorates, the first in 1934, when he was 23. An accomplished preacher and Shakespearean actor, he also served as the editor of the periodical Faith for the Family (1973-1986) that he had founded, wrote poetry and hymns in traditional forms, and was a self-taught and well-advised collector of Old Master paintings. The BJU Seminary was named in his honor.

Born in southeast Alabama into a poor farm family, Jones attended, but did not graduate from, Southern University. At 15, he was already supporting himself with his preaching, and by the 1920s, he was one of the best-known evangelists in the United States, having preached face-to-face to millions. In 1927, he founded Bob Jones College and spent the remainder of his career promoting it. Jones was also a pioneer radio broadcaster and, during the 1950s, an influential supporter of separationist fundamentalism in opposition to the cooperative evangelism of Billy Graham. The largest campus auditorium, Founder’s Memorial Amphitorium, was named in his memory.

Wife of Bob Jones Jr. and mother of Bob Jones III, head of the Department of Home Economics, 1947-1985.

Born in Fort Deposit, Alabama, Fannie May Holmes graduated from BJC in 1931, the college’s second graduating class. She earned a master’s degree in home economics at Colorado State Teachers College. Fannie May Jones organized the University Park Garden Club, was an active member of the Greenville Music Club, and frequently used her gift for hospitality to support her husband’s interests.

Mary Gaston Stollenwerck was born into an affluent family in Uniontown, Alabama, where she met the newly widowed Bob Jones Sr. in 1907 when he conducted evangelistic meetings in her hometown. Jones saw her in the choir and later recalled, “She had all the refinement that I lacked.” After their marriage in 1908, she dedicated her life to supporting his ministries, including offering forthright advice and criticism. Behind the scenes she made suggestions about landscaping and the remodeling of buildings, and she quietly helped needy students. In 1977, a women’s residence hall was named in her honor.

Born on the Greenville campus, Stephen Jones received a bachelor’s degree in public speaking from BJU in 1992 and an M.Div. in 1996. On the day he became the fourth University president in 2005, he was also awarded a Ph.D. in Liberal Arts Studies from BJU. Early in his administration, BJU was granted full accreditation by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. In November 2008, Jones issued a statement saying that the University was “profoundly sorry” for having allowed “institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful.” In the fall of 2010, he became seriously ill, took an extended medical leave, and ultimately chose to resign from the presidency for health reasons in December 2013.

A native of Iowa, Laurence Lautenbach earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State Teachers College in 1930 and a master’s degree in business education from Indiana University-Bloomington in 1950. Before coming to BJU in 1959, he served as a comptroller for a manufacturing company, taught at several business colleges, and served as a major in the Army Air Force during World War II. Lautenbach was instrumental in growing the business program at BJU. In the words of a successor dean, Lautenbach was “responsible for developing the excellent academic reputation the business program now possesses.”

Born in Buffalo, New York, but reared in Chicago, Grace Levinson demonstrated musical ability early on, earned a BMus from Chicago Musical College, and then taught there from 1935 to 1944 as an associate of Swiss-American conductor and music educator Rudolph Ganz. Levinson earned a master’s degree from the BJU School of Religion, and Tennessee Temple College conferred on her an honorary doctorate. For several decades, she trained virtually every voice faculty member at BJU, and her book, The Singing Artist (1962), was used as a textbook in voice classes. Grace Levinson Hall is named in her honor.

Born in Columbia, North Carolina, William Liverman earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the BJU School of Religion following his service as a cryptographer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. In 1952, he became Acting Dean of Men and, the following year, Dean of Men, a position he held until his retirement in 1981. In this role, he was heavily involved with the counseling and disciplining of young men. In May 1963, Tennessee Temple College conferred on him an honorary doctorate.

John Ludwig was born in Michigan and graduated from BJU as a Bible major in 1943. Thereafter, he served—during a period of explosive physical expansion—as Head of Maintenance, 1944-1962, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, 1962-1977, and Superintendent of Special Projects until his retirement in 1996.

John Sephus Mack was the son of a farmer, educated in the public schools of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, and at a business college in Johnstown. In 1911, he purchased part interest in G. C. Murphy Co., a small chain of “five and dime” stores near Pittsburgh. Once in charge, Mack turned around the failing company and transformed it into the third-largest variety-store chain in the country. A devout Presbyterian, Mack first met Bob Jones Sr. in 1927 and, shortly before his death, he told Jones to “construct your buildings and send me the bill.” Bob Jones College awarded Mack an honorary degree and named the campus library in his honor.

Wife of J. Sephus Mack, Margaret Mack continued to donate to Bob Jones College after her husband’s death, for instance, providing funds to improve the campus auditorium in Cleveland that was named in her honor. When BJU moved to Greenville one of the original women’s residence halls was named in her honor.

Bruce McAllister was reared in a middle-class home in Decatur, Huntsville, and Hartselle, Alabama. He earned all of his degrees at BJU: a BA in Bible education in 1977, an MA in pastoral studies in 1979, an MDiv in 1988, and a DMin in 1995. McAllister spent most of his career in various roles at BJU, including serving as a Bible teacher at Bob Jones Academy from 1978 to 1983, Assistant to the Director of Ministerial Training and Extension from 1978 to 1991, and Director of Ministerial Training and Outreach from 1991 to 2014. From 2019 to 2024, McAllister served as Director of Ministry Relations at Gospel Fellowship Association Missions, where he assisted with church staffing and church planting. In 2025, the Board of Trustees named Bruce McAllister as the 7th president of BJU.

Robert McKenzie was born and reared on a farm in Macon County, Georgia. In 1902, he moved to the Florida Panhandle where he became a successful businessman and helped incorporate Panama City, of which he was elected the first mayor. McKenzie met Bob Jones Sr. during a 1919 evangelistic campaign in Panama City, and when Jones decided to start a college in the area, he consulted with McKenzie about possible locations. The college charter was signed in McKenzie’s home office, which is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. McKenzie served on the Executive Board for the rest of his life. The Dixon-McKenzie Dining Common is named for McKenzie, his wife, Blandford Dixon, and his wife’s sister, Mary Dixon, all of whom were financial supporters of the school.

George Mulfinger was born in Syracuse, New York, the son of a composer and music professor. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in physics from Syracuse University and pursued further graduate studies in the physical sciences at Harvard and the University of Georgia. He was also principal cellist with the Syracuse Symphony and cellist with the Krasner String Quarter. At BJU he taught physics, astronomy, geology, philosophy, and cello. A noted creationist author and speaker, Mulfinger co-authored the first text published by BJU Press, Physical Sciences for Christian Schools (1974).

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Marshall Neal earned a bachelor’s degree from BJU in Bible in 1944, a master’s degree in 1945, and a PhD in 1947. He taught Bible, Greek, and systematic theology from 1945 until his retirement in 1994 and was also Registrar from 1957-1965. Neal served as interim pastor for two churches, was treasurer of Gospel Fellowship Association, led study tours featuring the missionary journeys of Paul, and wrote a book about the seven churches of Revelation.

Born in Armagh, Northern Ireland, the son of a Baptist pastor, Ian Paisley was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1946; but believing his church to have deviated from biblical truth, he founded the Free Presbyterian Church in 1951. Paisley was also an influential politician in North Ireland, founding the Democratic Union Party in 1971 and holding a seat in the British House of Commons for 40 years. He and Bob Jones Jr. became good friends during the 1960s, and Paisley spoke at the BJU Bible Conference on many occasions.

Born the son of Armenian immigrants in Elmira, New York, Edward Panosian first enrolled at BJU in 1948 and eventually earned BA, MA, and PhD degrees in Bible and Church History. He also studied at the University of Chicago; Garrett, Fuller, and Union Theological Seminaries, and Tulane University. Panosian frequently took major roles in Unusual Films productions and in plays performed by Classic Players. He regularly led tours of European sites important to the Protestant Reformation and presented, in diverse venues, biographical talks he called “Church History in First Person.” For 52 years he taught history and church history to generations of BJU students before his retirement in 2004. Because he lectured the required two-semester History of Civilization course, he taught more undergraduates than any other faculty member in BJU history.

Composer of the University Hymn.

Harriette Stollenwerck, a native of Alabama, was a distant cousin of Mary Gaston Stollenwerck Jones (Mrs. Bob Jones Sr.). A precocious student, she was already a college sophomore at age 17, when Monroe Parker proposed marriage in 1930. (Her parents thought her too young, and the couple waited until after she had graduated from BJC in 1933.) Parker took summer school courses at Chadek Conservatory of Music in Chattanooga, earned a Master of Music from Cincinnati Conservatory in 1942, and took further course work at the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, and at UCLA. She was developing a gift for composing and arranging sacred music when Bob Jones Jr. wrote the original five stanzas of what was to become the University Hymn. Harriette composed the music, and the University Hymn premiered at Commencement in 1943. Three years later, Harriette was killed in a traffic accident while on her way with Monroe to visit the site of the new Greenville campus in 1946.

Born in Thomasville, Alabama, Parker matriculated at Birmingham Southern College. After his conversion in 1928, he transferred to BJC and graduated in 1931. He eventually earned an M.A. (1944) and PhD (1947) from BJU. In 1937, after five years in full-time evangelism, Parker returned to BJC as Director of Religious Activities and assistant to the president. In 1949, he resumed his evangelistic ministry and pastored a church in Decatur, Alabama. From 1958 to 1965, Parker served as president of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, and then, after another stint as an evangelist, he became General Director, Baptist World Missions, 1969-1992.

Reared in Columbia, South Carolina, Steve Pettit was a student leader in high school and attended The Citadel, where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration in 1978. After his conversion in 1975, he felt called to preach and earned an M.A. in pastoral studies from BJU in 1980. In 1985, he formed the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Association. Concurrently, he served as staff evangelist (1985–2002) and camp director (2002–2011) at Northland Camp and Conference Center, Dunbar, Wisconsin. In 2014, Pettit became the first BJU president who was not a member of the Jones family. During his tenure, the university achieved regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the university regained its tax-exempt status. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pettit successfully chose to open the university for in-person classes during the fall of 2020. In March 2023, Pettit resigned as president and is now the president of Palmetto Family Council.

Robert Pratt was born in Red Springs, North Carolina, but no one would have guessed that from his speech patterns. He graduated from BJU with a BA (1946) and MA (1948) in Bible, studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, and earned a master’s degree in radio and television from Northwestern University. Pratt appeared in and directed many Vesper programs, Shakespearean plays, and Unusual Films productions and wrote hundreds of RTV scripts.

Born in Charleston, West Virginia, and partially crippled (he wore a leg brace), Reveal left school in his teens to work with his father in a contracting and bricklaying business. After his conversion in 1904 and his ordination as a minister in 1919, he felt led to establish a rescue mission in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana. He was known for his power in prayer to meet the needs of his ministries. A men’s residence hall was named in his honor.

Born in south Alabama, Hazel Riley earned a BA degree in speech at BJC in 1933. Bob Jones Sr. then asked her to help the college transition from Florida to Cleveland, Tennessee. At first, she worked wherever she was needed, including at the check-out desk, in the dining common, and in the women’s dormitories; however, when the position of Dean of Women opened in 1941, she was asked to fill it and did so until her retirement in 1977, counseling and disciplining students during a period in which the student body grew tenfold. In 1982, an addition to the Student Center was named in her memory and in honor of James D. and Elizabeth Edwards.

Born in Hocking County, Ohio, Homer Rodeheaver was reared in eastern Tennessee and there became familiar with local mountain ballads and Negro spirituals. He learned to play trombone while attending Ohio Wesleyan College. From 1910 to 1930, he served as music director for evangelist Billy Sunday, but he made much more money as a pioneer gospel recording artist and music publisher. Will Rogers said, “Rody is the fellow that can make you sing whether you want to or not. I think he has more terrible voices in what was supposed to be unison than any man in the world. Everyone sings for Rody!” Rodeheaver made a large contribution toward the construction of the Auditorium, and it is named in his honor.

Born in Archbold, Ohio, Richard Rupp entered BJU after service in World War II, and he graduated in 1951 with a degree in speech. Called to preach, he took a church in Chicago before returning to BJU to earn a master’s degree and to teach speech and religion. While a faculty member, he also pastored two Georgia churches in succession. In 1978, Faithway Baptist College conferred an honorary doctorate. Because for many years he taught all the pulpit speech classes, it has been estimated that he trained 4,000 men how to preach—including by having them preach to him. Rupp played roles in several Unusual Films productions and on stage in various Shakespearean roles, notably comic ones.

Born in Holtville, Texas, Ryerson attended junior college before serving as a Navy pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He received his bachelor’s degree in religion from BJU in 1947 and then became a graduate assistant in the Voice Department. In 1950, he began overseeing the University’s radio station WMUU, where he sang on his own program, Radio Hymnal, and hosted a Bible quiz program. He also regularly sang in campus opera productions. After retiring from WMUU, Ryerson served as campus pastor, 1980-1993. He was a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award conferred by the governor of South Carolina.

Born in Bochum, Germany, into the home of a Baptist pastor, Guenter Salter was drafted into the German army during World War II. He survived an American attack on his unit and was taken prisoner. After immigrating to the United States in 1951, he was then drafted into the American army during the Korean War and served as a military policeman in Japan. Back in the United States, he was successful, but unfulfilled, in his international business career. He graduated with a BA from Wayne State University in 1964 and earned an MA in German literature in 1967. In 1970, he earned a PhD in literature and philosophy at Vanderbilt University. At BJU, he taught freshman orientation, German literature, and graduate philosophy courses.

A native of Alabama, Estelle Siddons was well educated for a woman of her generation, fluent in French, and an inveterate reader. She sporadically made her home with the Joneses. Bob Jones Sr. called her “Mother” and treated her with the utmost respect and deference. On her part, she collected material from her extensive reading that she thought Jones might be able to use in his sermons, and as a relatively wealthy woman, she made timely contributions to the college. As a child, Bob Jones Jr. was left in her care, and she taught him French and a love of literature. He later said, “She was the one person who, to my thinking, could do no wrong.” A women’s residence hall on the Greenville campus was named in her memory.

James Y. Smith was born in Ohio but seems to have begun his working career in Peoria, Illinois, employed first as a tinsmith, then as a company foreman, and finally as an employee of a hotel cafeteria. Smith then struck out on his own, opening cafeterias in Los Angeles; Davenport, Iowa; and Rock Island, Illinois, before becoming the owner of a cafeteria in South Bend, Indiana, one of the largest in the state. Smith met Bob Jones Sr. by chance in a South Bend hotel, and the men were immediately impressed with one another. At their first meeting, Smith handed Jones a check for $1000—perhaps $35,000 in today’s value. Smith was elected to the Board of Trustees and bequeathed a considerable sum to the University in his will. A men’s residence hall was named in his honor.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Phil Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies education from BJU in 1955, an M.Ed. from Miami University of Ohio in 1956, and an Ed.D. from Penn State University in 1964. He became dean of the College of Arts and Science in 1961, when he was 27. He served as registrar for sixteen years (1965-1981) and then became the first provost of the University, serving from 1981 until 2005. As provost, he superintended the academic life of the institution including the faculty, the curriculum, and the educationally related departments: the elementary school, the Academy, and BJU Press. Additionally, he chaired the Administrative Conference and the University Scholarship Committee.

Director of Religious Activities, 1949-1952; Director of Extension, 1949-1964; Dean of the School of Religion, 1952-1964; Director of Extension and Ministerial Training, 1964-1977.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, into a family of Swedish immigrants, Gilbert Stenholm was fluent enough in the language to preach in Swedish churches. He received a BA at BJU in 1938 and served as an assistant to the Dean of Men while he earned his master’s and PhD degrees. Gilbert married Katherine Stenholm, who also graduated from BJU and returned to serve in the University. In his later administrative roles, he used his extensive knowledge of contemporary fundamentalism to bring together thousands of BJU alumni with appropriate churches and Christian organizations. He was also influential in establishing the modern Republican Party in South Carolina. As a preacher, he received more speaking invitations than he could fulfill, and he concluded his career as BJU staff evangelist, 1977-1987.

Katherine Corne was born and reared in Hendersonville, North Carolina. She graduated from BJC in 1939 as a speech major, having been a student of, and assistant director with, Bob Jones Jr. In 1941, she married fellow alumnus Gilbert Stenholm. While serving on the BJC speech faculty and directing numerous plays and Vesper programs, she earned a master’s degree in speech at Northwestern University and completed most of the requirements for a PhD. When, in 1950, the Joneses asked her to create a film studio at BJU, she abandoned her doctoral work in speech to study film making at the University of Southern California. Stenholm became one of only a handful of female directors in the United States. During her career she produced seventy-two films of various types, including five feature-length religious costume dramas.

Melvin L. Stratton was born in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. While attending public schools there, he worked at a printing business and with his father, who was a cabinetmaker. Meanwhile, he tore down auto engines as a hobby. After working on the stage crew both in Cleveland and in Greenville, he graduated from BJU in 1951. In 1953, R. K. Johnson asked him to return to BJU to become stage manager. The following year, when the University acquired the stage machinery from Center Theater in New York City, Stratton dismantled the lifts and turntables and then reassembled them all in Rodeheaver Auditorium, apparently with no photos or written plans. As Dan Turner has written, “He could build anything a stage designer could conceive and repair anything a stagehand could break.” Following his death, the Concert Center was renamed Stratton Hall in his honor.

Billy Sunday, born near Ames, Iowa, was orphaned when he was five weeks old. He early demonstrated unusual athleticism, and in 1883, became a professional baseball player with the Chicago Whitestockings, popular both with fans and his teammates. In 1891, he left baseball for full-time Christian ministry, and by the second decade of the twentieth century, he had become the most influential evangelist in the United States, noted for his energetic language, acrobatic preaching style, and support of Prohibition. It is estimated that he preached to over a hundred million people before the existence of electronic sound systems. Despite a twenty-year difference in their ages, Sunday and Bob Jones Sr. struck up a warm friendship, and in 1935, a few months before his death, Bob Jones College conferred an honorary doctorate.

Born in Dundee, Illinois, the daughter of a prosperous merchant, Nell Sunday early developed organizational skills. Her father sent her to business college despite her mother’s objection that such study was “unladylike.” Shortly after marrying the evangelist Billy Sunday, she began to put his affairs in order, and he leaned on her practical abilities. When Sunday was at the height of his career, she began to speak regularly herself; and after his death, she embarked on her own 22-year ministry, preaching and raising money for Christian organizations. As a member of the BJU Board of Trustees, she sometimes spoke in chapel, and a women’s residence hall was named in her honor.

Willie Albert Thompson was born in Woodruff, South Carolina, and attended public high schools there after rising early to milk cows. Following graduation from Woodruff High, he spent four years on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps. Believing God had called him into the ministry he applied to BJU, though it had only recently decided to admit black students. Thompson graduated from BJU with a BA in Bible in 1979; and in 1999, he earned an MA in Pastoral Studies. While still an undergraduate, he began working full-time as an announcer for radio station WMUU. He served as chief announcer, 1979-1995, and Operations Manager, 1995-2002. He also taught Bible in the BJU School of Applied Studies and pastored a local church.

A native of Illinois, Gary Weier graduated from BJU in 1988 with a degree in Interpretative Speech and from Purdue University in 1997 with a PhD in rhetoric. A member of the Communication faculty, 1995-2025, Weier also held a number of administrative posts, including Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, 2011-2015, and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, 2015-2025. Weier successfully led BJU through the TRACS and SACSCOC accreditation processes during the first two decades of the 21st century. Following Steve Pettit’s resignation as president in 2023, Acting CEO Alan Benson formed an executive leadership team with Weier and Bruce McAllister, to guide the university through the interim period.

Wisdom was born in Ratcliffe, Arkansas, but graduated from East Detroit High School, Michigan, before serving in the U.S. Air Force, 1949-1955. (He later joked that in the Air Force, he flew a Royal typewriter.) He studied theology at Bob Jones University, graduating cum laude in 1959 and earning his MA in 1960 and PhD in 1975. Wisdom taught at BJU for 42 years, from 1961 to 2004. He served first as Dean of the School of Applied Studies, 1969-1978 and then Dean of the School of Religion, 1978-2000. He traveled twenty times to minister in Russia and Ukraine, and he also taught in Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

A native of Tucker, Georgia, Bob Wood graduated from Tucker High School and attended Washington University in St. Louis. After starting his business career in medical sales, Wood worked in the family business, Brown Transport and Harper Motor Lines, during the 1960s and 1970s. Meanwhile, he held Bible studies in his home, the nucleus of Killian Hill Baptist Church, which he began to pastor in 1972. In 1977, Bob Jones III asked him to become executive vice president of BJU. In addition to managing the operation of the University, he frequently preached in chapel. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1974 until his death.