Southeastern
University has named Kent Ingle its next president. The appointment ends a
20-month search for the 75-year-old Lakeland university’s new leader.
Southeastern University is the Assemblies of God’s largest university.
Ingle, 48, is
currently dean of the College of Ministry at Northwest
University in Kirkland, Wash., another Assemblies of God school. He will
take the reins as president of the private liberal arts school on Feb. 1.
Wayne
Blackburn, a member of the Board of Regents who chaired the Presidential Search
Committee, says Ingle’s
recommendation came in the wake of grueling interviews and expansive
evaluations by both the committee and SIMA International,
an executive search firm retained for the hunt.
“Dr. Ingle
surfaced as a credible candidate with a vision for the future, the academic
credentials and an understanding of the university system, and a heart for
students,” says Blackburn, pastor of Lakeland’s Victory
Church and a Southeastern University alumnus.
“It became clear
that he was the person who could best lead Southeastern University into the
future. I believe that, after Dr. Ingle familiarizes himself with Southeastern
and its faculty, staff and students, he will move forward with a vision plan
that will lead us toward an even higher level of excellence.”
Ingle has been a
Northwest dean since 2004 and an ordained Assemblies of God minister since
1988. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism and a
master’s in theological studies at Vanguard University of
Southern California. He later earned a doctorate in ministry from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Mo.
Ingle’s
experience includes eight years as a college professor and 15 years of pastoral
leadership at two congregations—one in Los Angeles and the other in Chicago.
Ingle and his wife, Karen, have three teenaged children who were adopted from
Romania.
During the last
10 years, student population at Southeastern University has nearly tripled,
numerous academic courses and programs were added to the curricula, and the
87-acre campus underwent a massive upgrade. Last spring, the university
graduated its largest class ever, with 388 students receiving bachelor’s and
master’s degrees at commencement.
