Presidents of the Past—Henry L. Smith (2006-2013)
Onwards and Upwards
By Malachi Nutter
Henry L. Smith grew up in Frankfort, Indiana as the oldest of eight siblings. Both of Henry’s parents were ordained in the Wesleyan Church, with his father serving for over fifty years as the pastor of Victory Chapel Wesleyan Church. Smith later described them as “what I call ultra-conservative. We never had a television in the home. My mother never wore rings or cut her hair. She was the old-fashioned Wesleyan Pilgrim Holiness… Although my father to his dying day never left the Wesleyan Church, my parents really did not like the way the denomination was going. To be honest, they did not like the way Marion College was going either.”
While going to college was always the plan for Henry, attending Marion College was never an option, in large part due to his parents’ negative view of the school. Instead, Smith went to God’s Bible School in Cincinnati during his junior and senior years of high school and all four years of college. Because he was the oldest child in the family, Smiths’ parents believed he should become a pastor, and as such that was what he earned his degree in at God’s Bible School, pastoring a small church during his final two years of college. Henry, however, was not certain he was called to this role, and after listening to God, he found Christian higher education was his true calling.
After this he attended University of Cincinnati for a second bachelor’s degree in education and his master’s program, before concluding at Ohio State University for his doctorate in communication. Following his parents' wishes, Smith did not get married until after college, marrying his wife Teresa later. One of Smith’s first notable jobs was as a team chair and member for the Accreditation Review Council for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In this role, Smith reviewed accreditation for several universities, giving him useful background for his later role as president of IWU. While accreditation was a struggle, decades earlier, Smith’s experiences meant this was never a concern during his presidency.
During his doctoral program he began attending a Nazarene Church in Columbus where he began to build connections in the denomination. Not long after, he began to work at Mount Vernon Nazarene, in the fall of 1979.
Before long, the district superintendent of the Wesleyan Church called Smith and told him he should teach at Marion College instead, but Smith was becoming comfortable in the Nazarene higher education sphere, and so he spent the next twenty-five years as a professor and administrator—at Mount Vernon for nine years, Olivet University for nine, and then Mount Vernon for seven more. Smith was serving as the provost at Mount Vernon by the time he finally felt called to work at Marion College–now Indiana Wesleyan University. Even so, the decision to return to the Wesleyan Church was one which took time.
“We had just built a new home in Ohio, and there was uncertainty of what it would mean to come to IWU as the executive VP with the possibility of becoming the president. I always had thought if I did that and then didn’t become the president I couldn’t stay. So I would be giving up my job I loved, when I was just starting to hit my stride after six years as provost. So I said no twice. I was not trying to be hard to get, but it was just one of those situations where I thought IWU wasn’t right for me,” Smith later explained. Eventually, however, he chose to apply to the position of Executive Vice President and was invited to visit, staying in the guest room of Barnes’ house.
“I woke up early in the morning and started writing a bulleted list on a small notepad of things I wanted to ask Jim Barnes. I was on about page five of my list, and I looked at the bottom of the page of stationary, and there was a Scripture verse… Proverbs 3:5-6, ‘Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.’ That just struck my heart and tears started coming to my eyes.” Feeling convicted, Smith put away his list and went to the Williams Prayer Chapel to meditate on the verse and listen for what God was calling him to.
On July 1, 2004, Smith became Executive Vice President, after being the Board of Trustees’ unanimous choice for the position for a while. Because IWU was missing a Vice President for Academic Affairs, he also served in this role until someone could fill it. The following year, he was named as Barnes’ successor, and two years after arriving he took office on July 1, 2006. Over the course of the previous two years, Smith was given the chance to become acclimated to IWU’s culture, community, and challenges, and was mentored by Barnes. “To have a two-year apprenticeship with a master president is such a wonderful thing,” Smith later said.
While Smith was taking on the presidency after a beloved president, he took to the role with confidence and skill. During his initial inauguration, Smith said, “It was here on Saturday morning, May 1, 2004… I received my assurance during prayer that I should accept the call and come to Indiana Wesleyan University… This morning, I want to bear witness to God’s faithfulness and to profess to the world that I am a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, and I am committed to His leading. I owe a debt of gratitude to any who have made today a reality.”
The official inauguration occurred in October, as part of Homecoming weekend activities. When choosing the verses for the 2006-2007 academic year, Proverbs 3:5-6 was the obvious choice.
In his first President’s Report he stated, “As I become President of Indiana Wesleyan University, my primary goal and responsibility is to guard the mission of this great University. The heart and soul of that mission is to protect the spiritual heritage. I commit myself to use all of the presidential influence with which God has gifted me to prevent Indiana Wesleyan University from ever drifting from its primary purpose and losing its spiritual moorings.”
One of the first aspects of his tenure Smith made clear was a desire not to change the campus just to put his mark on the university. “I didn’t want to be stiff necked and say, well Jim Barnes did that, so I’m not going to go that way,” he stated. “I often said, jokingly but seriously, the message to me from the board was that we are handing you this wonderful gem that has been so successful. Here it is for you to lead, just don’t mess it up.” As a result, much of Smith’s early presidency was spent focusing on continuing and strengthening projects already proving successful during Barnes’ presidency.
By the end of the year, Smith settled into his new position well and was enjoying it a great deal, writing, “As I reflect on my first year as Indiana Wesleyan University’s president, my activities and involvement with our students has been the most rewarding of all that call for my attention. Don’t misunderstand me, I am stimulated by and enjoy working with faculty, staff, alumni, the Board, and a myriad of local, regional, and national constituencies. In fact, one of the defining aspects of being president is the diversity of activities and experiences. But students remind me of why we exist… As Indiana Wesleyan University continues to gain national prominence as a premier Christian university in the Wesleyan tradition, all of us who wear IWU sweatshirts, display IWU license plates and proudly tell others we are from IWU, we must remember that our first allegiance is to Christ. And, more than representing the school we love–we represent Him!”
The second year of Smith’s presidency was marked as “The Year of Planning,” with the intention of taking the context of the previous year (as well as the two before it) and using it to develop a plan for initiating change in the areas which truly needed it. This resulted in the creation of the Strategic Planning Council—a gathering of faculty, administrators, students, community leaders, and board members who met once a month throughout the 2007-2008 academic year, creating five strategies to guide the school throughout the following three academic years.
The first strategy emphasized the school’s commitment to the Wesleyan tradition and the university’s spiritual vitality, the second focused on maintaining and raising standards of scholarship, the third addressed culture and celebrated the richness of the university’s diverse community, the fourth dealt with increased global engagement, and the fifth was focused on securing and deploying new resources for the university’s future. The overall purpose of the plan was to help IWU continue to develop into a premier university which changes the world for Christ.
Speaking about it with The Triangle, Smith said, “We must continually ask key questions: ‘Are we the best in class? What do we mean by excellence? What does it mean to be premier?’... A group of faculty leaders asked me to meet with them, and they wanted to know, ‘What does it mean to be a premier university?’ My response was, ‘You tell me. Inform this institution what it means to be premier in your area of influence. What does it mean to have a premier communication program or a premier business program or to be premier in the sciences? Do we need more labs? Do we need faculty with more and stronger academic credentials?’ I said to the group, ‘If you agree that we want to be a premier university, help determine and discover what we need to do to make it happen!’”
The university was enjoying over twenty years of consistent growth, and the traditional undergraduate program was expected to grow throughout the 2008-2009 academic year. Smith also wanted to lean further into the potential opportunities found in online education and was “excited for the possibilities for the worldwide reach of online education.” This was also the year Elder Hall and Martin Hall were named and opened, with Smith leading Marjorie Elder arm-in-arm into the newly unveiled building named in her honor.
By the end of his second full year, the April 2009 commencement saw a record 2,100 graduating students, with Smith shaking each of their hands and giving them their diplomas as they walked across the stage. Another important change which occurred later this year was the start of Wesley Seminary’s arrival. Although President Barnes wanted to start a seminary over a decade prior, it was not until now one was approved, in many ways serving as the culmination of a dream which began with Barnes and was reaching fruition through his successor.
Due to economic troubles, combined with IWU’s continual prosperity, the 2009-2010 academic year saw annual tuition rates increase much less than past years, while many schools across the country were raising them increasingly higher. In addition, Smith chose to begin construction on additional townhouses which would provide housing for over one hundred new students, as well as another larger residence hall–South Hall–which would finish construction by fall of 2010 and stand across from its sister building, North Hall. Five off-campus adult education locations were also added, plus a new 3,600-seat chapel building which featured a set of five bells cast and crafted in France. Renovations also occurred on the Noggle Christian Ministries Center, the athletic facilities, and the president’s residence–for the purpose of providing a more inviting atmosphere for students.
“Part of what I was trying to do was to complete the legacy of the campus. And, of course, I really wanted to start football and authorized an in-depth study of its impact on IWU, but the timing just wasn’t right,” Smith later said. During this period Smith also increased faculty scholarship opportunities, hired the university’s first diversity officer, and appointed both the first woman and the first African American cabinet members. He also helped to bring IWU alumnus Dr. David Wright back to Marion as IWU’s first provost–the same role Smith served at previous institutions. Wright proved the perfect person for this position, providing much-needed assistance in areas which Smith and others either lacked the time or skills to deal with.
While this period brought a great deal of continued prosperity and success to the school, tragedy struck in August of 2010, when IWU alumna Cheryl Beckett was murdered while serving in the medical and mission fields. “The entire Indiana Wesleyan University family is shocked and saddened to learn of the brutal death of this courageous young woman,” President Smith wrote, soon after. “Those of us at IWU who are privileged to work with students such as Cheryl Beckett are overwhelmed and humbled by their desire to make our world a better place to live, whatever the personal cost may be.”
Although the World Changer award was established during Barnes’ presidency to acknowledge the contributions and successes of Christians changing culture, Beckett’s tragic passing spurred Smith and his administration to establish the Alumni World Changer Award, with Beckett posthumously made the first individual honored by it. North Hall was also renamed to Beckett Hall in her honor, as its mirror opposite finished construction. While this was a heavy time of mourning and grief, the ways in which the school and various individuals sought to honor and acknowledge the legacy of Beckett and the work Christ did through her were as varied as they were impactful. The 2010-2011 academic year passed as one which continued the projects already underway, but which also stood as a quieter year, overall.
By the fall of 2011, the school was blessed to operate with no debt, full accreditation, continued enrollment growth in all areas, and a $2,500,000 gift for construction of the Wesley Seminary. By 2012, both the seminary and Ott Hall of Sciences and Nursing began construction, the latter made to house the new School of Nursing and School of Health Sciences as IWU’s nursing program reached its full potential at last. In addition, enrollment grew to a record 15,953 students, making IWU the largest independent university in Indiana and the largest institution in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Over the course of the 2011-2012 academic year, the school continued to develop in positive ways, but for Smith there was a growing sense of tiredness. While he loved IWU a great deal and was proud of all he achieved and witnessed throughout his presidency, he also sensed the well of contributions he could make was running dry.
That fall, Smith wrote, “Over the past several months, after much prayer and contemplation, I have reached the assurance that after seven years the time has come for me to retire as Indiana Wesleyan University’s eighth president. At the end of this fiscal year on June 30, 2013, I will conclude my presidency. I know in my heart that the time is now. Presidents often stay too long—I do not want to be one of them. The demands of the presidency call for a commitment that cannot be measured in the hours, days, and years of service. It requires total engagement every hour of every day, which exacts a heavy mental and physical toll on the leader. Frankly, I am ready for a time of rest and renewal. I need a season of reflection as I seek the next step in God’s plan for my life. The IWU Board of Trustees has granted me the wonderful gift of a sabbatical beginning second semester in January of 2013. Also, I have accepted the opportunity to become Chancellor with an anticipation of a significant focus on international Wesleyan higher education. This new role will be for two and one-half years beginning on July 1, 2013, concluding shortly after my 65th birthday on December 31, 2015. I am grateful to the IWU Board of Trustees for entrusting the leadership of this great University to me. These past nearly nine years of service at IWU, as the first executive vice president, then as president-elect, and as president, have been the most rewarding, fulfilling, exhilarating, and challenging years of my professional life. The privilege of leading this institution forward has been an honor I will always cherish. The IWU presidency has required total devotion and commitment from both Teresa, your ‘First Lady’ and from me. More than anything, we want to follow God’s leading. As we leave, we passionately desire to do so in a way marked with gratitude and acceptance of the need for change. Pray for us in the days ahead as we regroup, establish new identities, and prepare to leave the University–especially the students both current and alumni–we love so very, very much.”
On April 18, 2013, IWU dedicated time to celebrating Henry and Teresa Smith, their contributions to the university, and the beginning of Henry’s time as IWU’s next Chancellor. The following day, faculty and staff gathered in the piazza for a reception to wish the president well. Finally, on April 27, the Governor of Indiana awarded President Smith with the Sagamore of the Wabash–Indiana’s highest award.
When Smith took office, IWU’s campus consisted of 165 acres, twelve adult education centers, and an endowment of $40,000,000. By the time he departed, it consisted of 231 acres, seventeen adult education centers, and an endowment of $120,000,000. Smith once stated he believed there were five main criteria for success as a university president–passion, faith, scholarship, mentorship, and a sense of humor. Throughout his presidency, he embodied all these criteria with perfection, leaving a legacy different and distinct from his predecessor’s, but no less admirable. As he prepared to leave the presidency and step into a new role, Smith stated, “We just want to say thanks for the opportunity to serve here on this campus and be part of your lives. It’s been a privilege more than we can ever express.” For the next two-and-a-half years, Dr. Henry L. Smith served as IWU’s Chancellor, before retiring in 2015.
