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Emir Caner elected president at Truett-McConnellBy Joe Westbury, Managing EditorPublished August 14, 2008
Joe Westbury Emir Caner, founding dean of The College at Southwestern in Fort Worth, Texas, was elected president of Truett-McConnell College Aug. 8. CLEVELAND — Emir Caner, founding dean of The College at Southwestern in Fort Worth, Texas, was elected eighth president of Truett-McConnell College on Aug. 8. In so doing, the small North Georgia college became the first Southern Baptist educational institution to hire a former Muslim as president. Caner, who will turn 38 Aug. 25, will be the youngest president of the four-year college affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention. He will begin his new duties Aug. 18 and will be full time on campus beginning Aug. 31. In an interview with The Index, Caner said his vision is to build the college of 475 students into “a nationally recognized college that is based on the Word of God.” While affirming the institution’s liberal arts foundation, he said the goal of TMC must be to “thoroughly equip students to engage the culture with a distinctively Christian and Baptist worldview. Being Christian is important, but we need to build on those Baptist distinctives that make us unique.” He added that in time, and in line with accreditation approval, the college will be offering more Bible classes and other curriculum “that equip students to engage the culture with a dynamic witness that changes the world by changing lives.” Citing the escalating costs of Christian higher education – which in many instances can be double that of state-subsidized colleges and universities – Caner said institutions like Truett-McConnell play a valuable role in shaping society. When asked why a parent should choose a much more expensive education for their child, the Ohio native quickly responded that the two products are vastly different and that consumers get what they pay for. “A parent should choose a Christian higher education for their child because of the investment in the student’s mind. When they send their child to a Christian liberal arts college like Truett-McConnell, they are doing it for two primary reasons. First, they are sending their child to an institution that guards the mind from the destruction that can come from a secular education, and second, that prepares their child not just for a profession but also for how to live a life of character.”
Joe Westbury/Index TMC President-elect Emir Caner, who will assume his duties at the North Georgia college on Aug. 18, fields questions from media at the press conference held in Nix Hall. Caner said his vision is to build Truett-McConnell “into a nationally recognized college that is based on the Word of God.” He would like to see the school grow from its current enrollment of nearly 500 students to as many as 2,000 within 10 years. Caner’s first public speaking engagement in Georgia will be August 31, when he speaks at Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins. Solid Baptist principles “A Christian cannot be defined by what he or she does but by their character,” he added. “That character, in turn, is formed by the investment of professors and staff who pour themselves into a student who will gain a thoroughly Christian worldview.” While Caner enjoyed his role on the campus of Southwestern Seminary, he said what called him to Cleveland was the opportunity to help grow a college based on solid Baptist principles. “We need to have a solid biblical curriculum for our students on this campus. We are going to pour our lives into missions, Christian studies, and related areas. There will be a wonderful blend of students graduating from TMC and walking into the secular world and into ministry positions, both equipped with a solid Christian worldview.” In discussing the future, Caner said one of the joys in his life is sharing Christ “with my Muslim friends around the world. I hope Truett-McConnell will be instrumental in playing a small role in reaching some of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims, many who now call the United States their home.” He said he would not be adverse, later in his administration, to the creation of an Islamic Study Center at TMC, complete with mission trips to experience Islamic culture firsthand. In discussing the concept of the Christian worldview model in higher education, he briefly referred to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 whose anniversary will be observed in less than a month. “If there is anything good that came out of 9/11, it is that Americans have become more open to discussing religion and matters of faith,” he explained. Caner said his dream is for Truett-McConnell students to leverage that openness as they move into the marketplace with their degrees. “We at Truett-McConnell hope to produce students who can move into this new culture with a dynamic faith that will change lives. I want to be sure that students walk out of here, regardless of their profession, who have a passion for the Lord and for sharing Him with others.” Caner has authored or contributed to 16 books, including “Unveiling Islam,” which won the Gold Medallion Award by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and “More Than a Prophet,” a finalist for Book of the Year in Evangelism by Outreach magazine. His books have sold more than 300,000 copies and been translated into eight languages. While Caner becomes the first former Muslim to be elected as president of a Southern Baptist college or university, his brother, Ergun, was the first former Muslim to be elected president of a seminary – Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Va.
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