Updated with video: Tim Perrin named sixth president of Lubbock Christian University

Tim Perrin, right, newly named president of Lubbock Christian University, receives congratulations from Chancellor Ken Jones. (Photo provided by Lubbock Christian University)

L. Timothy Perrin, a 1984 graduate of Lubbock Christian University in Texas, has been tapped to serve as his alma mater’s sixth president.
Perrin, vice dean and professor of law at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, Calif., will succeed Ken Jones, the Lubbock Christian president for 18 years before transitioning to the role of chancellor last year.
On behalf of the university’s board of trustees, Jones announced Perrin’s selection this morning in a news conference carried live online at LCU.edu/live.
Jones said Perrin and his wife, Lucy, a 1986 LCU alumnus, “both believe that, by the providence of the Almighty God, they’ve been brought right here for this time.”
Perrin took a moment after his introduction to — as he described it — “soak it up.”
“I can’t describe the sense of privilege and the sense of honor I feel in being given this great trust, sacred trust, to take on this role,” he said.
He characterized himself as a “passionate advocate” for Christian higher education. “I want to be a part of a place that pursues not just knowledge but wisdom,” he said.
Brian Starr, executive vice president and professor of economics and investments at Lubbock Christian, was the other finalist invited to meet with the presidential search committee. Perrin served as Pepperdine Law vice dean under former Dean Kenneth Starr, Brian Starr’s uncle and the president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Lubbock Christian, which is associated with Churches of Christ, reported the second-highest enrollment in its history with 2,038 students last fall.
In 2009, the West Texas university drew a majority of freshmen from outside Churches of Christ for the first time — mirroring a trend seen at a growing number of Christian universities within the fellowship.
“The majority of our students come from the area in and around Lubbock,” Brian Starr said in 2009. “The Church of Christ population is declining in many West Texas towns, and that decline changes our recruiting pool.”
Perrin’s full bio, via LCU:

Dean Perrin graduated from LCU in 1984 with a degree in history. He received his J.D. from the Texas Tech School of Law in 1987. Upon graduation from law school, he worked as an associate with the law firm Gary, Thomasson, Hall, & Marks, in Corpus Christi, practicing general civil litigation from 1987 to 1992. Dean Perrin began teaching at Pepperdine University in 1992. He served as associate provost from 2003 to 2007, at which time he was named vice dean of the law school. Tim is married to Lucy, also an LCU alumna, and they have three children: Hannah, Sam, and Will.

Like Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City is expected to name its news president this week.
Oklahoma Christian’s two finalists — John deSteiguer and Allison Garrett — were revealed late last year. The 2,200-student university’s board of trustees is expected to make its selection Saturday.
Mike O’Neal, Oklahoma Christian’s president since 2002, announced plans in 2010 to step down at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year.
Meanwhile, Harding University in Searcy, Ark., has launched a website to accept applications and recommendations for its next president.
Harding President David Burks plans to retire at the end of the 2012-13 academic year after 26 years at the helm.

• Feedback
  Congratulations to Lubbock Christian University and to the Perrin Family for embarking on what appears to be a successful presidential transition for students, faculty, staff and alumni of LCU. May His will be done and the school honored for continuing it’s fine tradition of training young people for service in the Kingdom.
  All the best,
  -Troy Stirman
  Dallas, TX.

  T.M. Stirman

  February, 3 2012

  An ancillary comment on a quote in the above article:
  �The Church of Christ population is declining in many West Texas towns, and that decline changes our recruiting pool.�
  This may be true from a formal relationship with the organizations of the Church of Christ.
  It does not mean that these individuals relationship with our God and Christ is diminishing.
  That relationship could be growing as that being a Christian is simple in nature and does not require formal membership with a Church of Christ.
  We all know what is required to become a Christian and so does God and Christ.

  Ken Kemp

  February, 3 2012

  Best wishes to LCU and Tim Perrin. It appears that they both have the West Texas Drive to make a successful school in spite of experiencing fewer Church of Christ students. Most Church of Christ schools are experiencing this without major attempts to reverse the trend. What IS happening to Churches of Christ in America?

  Mike

  February, 3 2012

  Ken Kemp…Sir:
  Being a Christian is to be associated in fellowship with other Christians of like mind and body.
  Those Christians in the old days and today who Hear the word of God, Repent and Confess of their Sins and are Baptized (immersed in the water) arose as Christ who Died and was resurrected did, were added daily to His Church.
  It might be simple as you stated but certainly does require a Christian to be in a place of Fellowship.
  All Christians in the Church of Christ are following the precepts outlined in the Bible to be Christians. Therefore we do KNOW what is required to become a Christian and live it daily.
  Also if you add to or take away from the scriptures you can be cut off from God!

  Don Sinquefield

  February, 3 2012

  Our college president offices used to be populated with preachers. Now we seem to favor accountants and lawyers. That probably means that our fundraising efforts are more successful. But I wonder what it means for the spiritual futures of our schools. May God guide all of our new leaders in higher ed.

  Chris Shrock

  February, 3 2012

  @Chris: Are there any data to support the assertion that church-related colleges are drawing their presidents less-and-less from the set of preachers? But even if that is the case, can we assume that the spiritual character of the institution will change one way or the other? A preacher may make a good mouth, but perhaps a lawyer has better ears or a bean-counter a better nose. What’s important is that this leader set a spiritually admirable example in keeping with the institution’s mission.
  The college is not the church, and the church is not the college. That has always been clear, for example, in the way that colleges have long had women serving in their administrations and on their boards.
  One must not place too much emphasis on the office of president. The president is just one individual in a team supposedly harnessed to an institutional mission. In higher education as a whole the president may not even be the highest-paid member. Rightly or wrongly, the percentage of people who can name the football coach at the University of Alabama is surely exponentially higher than the percentage who can do likewise with its president.
  “The mission of Lubbock Christian University is to educate students, imparting values for scholarship and for living. Through its baccalaureate and graduate programs, the university challenges students to think critically, to excel in their disciplines, and to model Christ.” (http://www.lcu.edu/about-lcu/message-from-the-chancellor/mission-statement.html)

  David Ramsey

  February, 3 2012

  Congratulations to LCU for having two outstanding finalist to choose from. Congratulations to Tim Perrin for the opportunity to return to his old school as President. This is a great honor. Tim has an outstanding 20 year history at Pepperdine in many different positions and he has been well prepared to assume this higher office. This is a great day for both LCU and the Perrin family!

  Tom Trimble,Pepperdine Regent

  February, 3 2012

  Congratulations!

  Akerigba Jacob

  February, 4 2012

  Congratulations to the Perrin family! Although my only history with Lubbock Christian stems from attending “Encounter” as a teenager in the ’70s, I appreciate the existence of the university and have had several friends in the years since who came from there(including Oklahoma State University’s women’s softball coach and his wife). Although I do not know Dr Perrin, I got to know a brother of his years ago, who married into a family who were close to my own family during my pre-adult years. One thing that I have noticed through the years is this: As long as siblings (such as Dr Perrin and his brother, David) are reared in the faith AND hold fast to it, they may travel down different life paths, but the Christian upbringing by the same two godly parents shows through in the similarities of character. My prayers will be with Dr Perrin and the university as a whole as they hold fast to what will be a bona fide beacon of light for the truth of the gospel, both through its faculty, its current students, and its alumni.

  Russ Sharp

  February, 6 2012

  Congratulations to the Perrin family!

  Don Sinquefield

  February, 6 2012