Christ Kona?

World News & Perspectives
■■NORTH AMERICA
Alex Bryan, Walla Walla University
Church Pastor, to Lead Kettering
College of Medical Arts
Ends four-year ministry in Pacific Northwest
By WALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY, with Adventist Review staff
Pacific Press photo
NEW PRESIDENT: Alex Bryan,
senior pastor at the Walla
Walla University church, has
been named president of
Kettering College of Medical
Arts in Kettering, Ohio.
Alex Bryan, senior pastor at the Walla
Walla University church, was recently
named president of Kettering College of
Medical Arts in Kettering, Ohio. Bryan
will become the sixth president in the
college’s 45-year history. The college
serves as the educational component of
Kettering Medical Center, conducting
instruction in the arts, sciences, and
allied health professions. Kettering is
part of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church’s health system.
“We are delighted to have the Bryan
family join our community,” said Roy
Chew, chair of the Kettering
College board of
directors and president
of Kettering Medical Center,
which owns and
operates the school.
“Alex has a passion for
education, learning, and
leadership. He will work
with the Kettering College
faculty and staff to
continue to grow and
improve the already
excellent educational
opportunities, making
for an exciting future.”
“It is an honor to join
such a wonderful team of educators and
health-care professionals,” said Bryan. “I
am passionate about learning institutions
like Kettering College, which trains
its students in both professional excellence
and meaningful Christian service. I
look forward to contributing to a rich
spirit of innovation as Kettering College
pursues its unique and important mission
in the days ahead. Adventist higher
education has a long history of preparing
men and women to make a rich,
Christ-centered difference in the world. I
am thrilled to be a part of this work.”
Bryan, the son of a pediatrician and a
nurse, has served as senior pastor of the
Walla Walla University church since
2009, where he expanded ministry programs
and launched successful renewal
projects to commemorate the church’s
fiftieth anniversary. He also strengthened
the church’s connection with the
university, championing initiatives to
help prepare students for mission and
ministry around the world.
Bryan’s contributions
to the university have
extended well beyond the
pulpit. A popular professor,
he has taught classes
for the university’s honors
program and Schools
of Business and Theology.
Since 2009 he has served
on the president’s cabinet,
and recently was named
advisor to the president
for vision and strategy,
where he has played a
leading role in shaping a
dynamic 10-year vision
for the university.
“Alex has been a superb leader for
church and campus, always urging us
toward a better-informed and more passionate
faith and toward Christ-inspired
ministry,” said John McVay, Walla Walla
University president. “He has preached
the gospel with verve and creativity, and
we are stronger in our Seventh-day Adventist
faith because of the way he has
drawn on the treasure trove of that faith
to address contemporary issues.”
“As our business ethics professor,
Alex brought to our program a fresh
energy and an innovative perspective
that will not be replaced easily,” said
Josefer Montes, dean of the Walla Walla
University (WWU) School of Business.
“Personally, I’m very excited for him,
but professionally I’m saddened to see
him leave WWU.”
“It has been a privilege to work with
Alex these past four years,” said Carl
Cosaert, professor of Biblical Studies at
the university. “Few people are as
gifted—he is a masterful preacher, a
skilled teacher, and a keen administrator.
Most of all, he is a loving pastor whose
ministry on this campus and at the university
church will be greatly missed.”
Bryan’s wife, Nicole, a WWU alumna,
has also been an important part of the
university family. She has taught for the
School of Social Work and Sociology,
serves as a mentor for the Freshman
Success Program, and leads the university’s
social committee.
“From the moment Alex and Nicole
arrived, I fell under the conviction that
God had provisioned Walla Walla University
with two very special people,”
McVay said. “Both Alex and Nicole have
engaged unstintingly with our campus
family, bringing the partnership
between campus and church to new
heights. We are grateful for their work
among us and wish them well in their
new endeavors.”
Bryan graduated from Southern Adventist
University in 1993 with majors
in history and religion. He then earned
his Master of Divinity from Andrews
University in 1996 and his doctoral
degree in ministry from George Fox
University in 2009. He serves as cochair
and presenter for the One Project, a
movement celebrating the supremacy of
Jesus Christ in the Seventh-day Adventist
Church. He is author of The
Green Cord Dream, which explores the
purpose and possibility for Adventist
Christianity in the twenty-first century.
He and Nicole have two children,
Audrey and William. n
12 (428)
| www.AdventistReview.org | May 16, 2013