New President, New Century New President, New ... - Biola University

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D awn had just broken when the Campus Safety officer spotted the suspicious car coasting through Biola University’s deserted parking lot. ● At just after 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday – and on Independence Day 18 weekend, no less – the vehicle looked conspicuously out of place, especially when it headed toward a dead end and made a confused U-turn. So when it ran a stop sign, the officer decided to investigate. ● A puzzled Barry H. Corey saw the lights in his rearview mirror. Only after pulling into a parking stall did he learn about the missed sign. ● “I’m sorry, it’s my first full day on the job and I’m still learning my way around here,” Corey explained, careful not to reveal his identity to the officer. “I’ll try not to do it again.” ● With that, Corey got out of his car and quietly ascended the staircase to his new office – realizing then his prayer had been answered for a humble start to his tenure as the eighth president in Biola University’s 100-year history. BIOLA
After 25 years of leadership from former president Clyde Cook, who retired with fanfare in June, Corey is the youthful newcomer who has been chosen to usher in the University’s second century of impacting the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. A Massachusetts native, he comes to Biola with big dreams for what God has in store for the years ahead. But for now, he just wants to get to know the place a bit more. “My mantra, starting, is to hit the ground listening,” he told Biola Magazine. “I’m trying to meet as many people as I can, to be out of this office as much as I can. This first year, there will be decisions to make, there will be lots of centennial activities that take place, but I am bound and determined that I am going to listen like crazy during this first year to get to know as much as I can.” ‘A Whole-Life Commitment’ At 45, Corey is a man of diverse interests and talents. He’s a die-hard Red Sox fan who composes poetry in his free time. He’s an academic and fundraising professional who once blasted the trumpet in a ragtag church band. He’s a former pastor who has finished the Boston Marathon twice in the past three years. (Most recently a year ago, when he clocked in at an impressive 3:36:05.) Affable and well spoken, Corey is brimming with energy. Like his predecessor, he’s got a razor-sharp wit and the impeccable comedic timing to match. He’s also intensely organized – as his wife discovered when she first peeked into his closet while the two were dating. “His shirts were all two fingers apart,” Paula Corey told staff members during a campus visit in May. “I truly thought he had done that as a joke. I had never seen a young guy with a closet like that. Twenty years later, it’s still a reality.” Married for nearly 16 years, Corey is a family man who still puts his three children – Anders, 14, Ella, 12, and Samuel, 8 – to bed each night. One of the immediate perks of the Biola position, Corey said, was the prospect of a cross-country summer road trip with his teenage son, tailored to fit in as many major- and minor-league baseball games as possible. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip — eight days, 3,800 miles, baseball, local restaurants and quality time between a father and his 14-year-old son,” Corey said. Yet for all the traits and activities that make Corey who he is, nothing defines him more than his love for the Lord, friends and colleagues say. Corey and his wife have made it their discipline to rise early to dedicate each day to God in prayer. He journals extensively, chronicling his spiritual journey and cataloging his praises and petitions. His Bible – dog-eared and held together by tape – is a continual source of guidance and the ultimate authority over his life, he says. “I don’t cross my fingers, nuance or flinch when I say the Bible is inerrant,” he wrote in his application packet. “I love the Bible. The stuff about ‘a lamp unto my feet’ is real to me. What God has revealed in Scripture cannot be trumped by any other revelation or experience, word or wonder.” FALL ’07 19
Page 1: FALL 2007 New President, New Centur
Page 4 and 5: 04 EDITOR’S NOTE Outnumbered For
Page 6 and 7: 06 THE BIG PICTURE Field of Dreams
Page 8 and 9: Saving ‘SimMan’ 08 RED REPORT N
Page 10 and 11: Mystery Brothers Leave $1.6 Million
Page 12 and 13: Beauty and Brokenness Alumnae encou
Page 14 and 15: Talbot Receives Over $2 Million in
Page 16: New President, New Century Barry H.
Page 21 and 22: as a perfect opportunity. With the
Page 23 and 24: peppered him with questions: “Who
Page 25 and 26: George Deligiannides, friend —
Page 27 and 28: What does current research into bod
Page 29 and 30: Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective: A
Page 31 and 32: Alumni Files OK, Let’s Talk About
Page 33 and 34: Where Are They Now? Counseling Trou
Page 35 and 36: Biolans Up Close What’s It Like i
Page 37 and 38: Baby Biolans 01) Arabella Victor 02
Page 39 and 40: Rare Find Supports Book of Jeremiah

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