This summer the Board of Trustees of Shorter College approved a new four-year contract for Harold Newman as president. Recognizing the significance of the new contract, The Index interviewed Newman on his vision for the college and views on issues of interest to Georgia Baptists.

 

Index: Dr. Newman, congratulations on your new contract. How are things here on the hill in Rome and how is the enrollment looking for the fall semester?

Newman: All of the indicators show that we are going to have another record enrollment. Of course, you can never know until you actually count heads when all the students arrive. Our goal this year was to have 1,135 students on this campus, which actually maxes it out and strains our resources, but we need to do that in order to grow.

 

Index: What is your vision or what are your goals for the next four years?

Newman: There are several areas. One is enrollment. I would like to see us have 1,500 students on this campus. I have also said to everyone associated with our professional programs I would like to see us have a total of 3,000 students, which would mean we would need to have another 1,000 over the next four years in our professional programs. I also hope we can have a new building in Lawrenceville or that area at some point.

 

Index: How many separate locations do you have?

Newman: We have three in metro Atlanta – one in Lawrenceville, one on Powers Ferry Road in Marietta, and one in Riverdale. The Riverdale campus has the largest enrollment out of those three locations. We also bought some property across Shorter Avenue [in Rome] last year and renovated a building [where] most of the classes for our professional programs [will be held].

 

Index: What are some of your other goals for the college?

Newman: My ideas for spiritual development are just beginning to come together. It’s taken several months to find the leader. We have always had a good Baptist Campus Ministry program, but we are adding to that program by hiring someone to serve as dean of the chapel and college minister. Aaron Werner is his name. He received his Master’s of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Southern Seminary. His Ph.D. is in apologetics.

The Werners will mean a lot to our campus and student body. They are both young and energetic. He will be vital to the building of a spiritual development program. We are excited about that.

We have a good program of international studies here and a lot of opportunities for our students to study abroad and we would like to build into that more opportunities for our students to engage in missions abroad. That will be a part of Dr. Werner’s responsibilities. In fact, our new nursing program’s will include an international missions experience.

 

Index: What is the financial status of the college at this point? Is it strong?

Newman: It is! We are not rich by any means, but we have come out of a deficit spending record and we’ve been in the black for the last two years. We are having our audit done right now and we will be in the black again this year.

We have a wonderful academic record as a college as noted in the Princeton Review and U S. News and World Report. We are constantly rated as one of the top colleges in the Southeast, but we have a small endowment. The revenues we generate and gifts we receive from alumni and friends help us remain solvent.

 

Index: What is the endowment?

Newman: The endowment is $23 million, but I would like to double that in the next four years. If we could get that up to $50 million, I would feel good about that.

I have found someone to be the vice president for institutional advancement who can put it all together, but it is going to take time. Ken Fincher is in this position and he is helping us develop new friends who understand our mission and who support it.

I think Shorter is in the best position to be the Georgia Baptist university and I want to move the college in that direction. Here on the hill we have the College of Arts and Sciences. We have the College of Professional Studies.

Now, we’ve got the first piece that will go into a College of Applied Health – the nursing program. That gives us three different schools, which moves us toward a university status.

 

Index: Is your faculty and staff complete or do you have vacancies?

Newman: We have finished hiring for this current year. We have hired around twenty new faculty members.

 

Index: What are your criteria for hiring faculty?

Newman: Generally they must have a Ph.D. in their teaching area. Occasionally, we will make an exception for that, but not often. When they apply they have to submit a statement of faith and must be a professing Christian. They also have to understand the mission of Shorter College, understand that we are a school of Baptist heritage, and that we are an institution of the Georgia Baptist Convention. They must understand the environment in which they work and they must be loyal to that environment.

 

Index: Do you require your faculty to be evangelical Christians in particular or just a people who have a profession of faith?

Newman: Most of the people we hire have an evangelical background, but we do hire people from other Christian traditions.

 

Index: Do you ask faculty members about their worldview?

Newman: Yes, each prospective faculty member is required to write a statement of faith that reflects his or her worldview. During the interview process, the provost uses those statements of faith as a guide for a discussion about their faith. Many individuals remark that they have never taken the time to write out what they believe and that they find the process to be beneficial. The conversation also focuses on how their faith will relate to what they do in the classroom, which opens a clear discussion of the fact that Shorter is a Christian institution.

 

Index: How would you define or describe your own worldview?

Newman: It is difficult to sum up a lifetime of belief in a few words. I can say that the essentials of the Christian faith – God as Creator, Jesus as Savior – inform all that I do. The example of Christ guides me as I make decisions for the college and for myself and as I interact with others.

 

Index: What is your view concerning evolution versus intelligent design?

Newman: I believe the Bible clearly shows that God is Creator; as we look around, it is easy to see an intelligent designer behind that creation. Humanity is created in God’s image. He created us to have a relationship with Him, and He has entrusted us to care for the divine creation.

 

Index: Do you think there is absolute truth?

Newman: I believe that God is absolute, and therefore His truth is absolute.

 

Index: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Newman: Historically, Shorter has been thought of for her music program, but we are now developing a reputation for ourselves in athletics.

We have some wonderful people in our athletic program. Our head football coach, Phil Jones, is a fine Christian man. Those who are leading our athletic teams really know about their particular sport. Phil was an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. Our athletic director is Bill Peterson. Bill’s father was the head football coach at Florida State, so he grew up eating and breathing sports.

So, we have broadened our athletic program. I’ve added track and field as well as cross-country to our athletic program and our women’s softball is one of the most exciting things we have got going here at Shorter.

The women’s softball team has been conference winners two years in a row. The football team has been competitive and we have had good success with our track and field team on a national level.

I am also thrilled about our school partnering with the city and county to host the national NAIA football championship here on Dec. 20.

 

Index: One final question, Dr. Newman. What kind of graduate do you want Shorter to produce?

Newman: I want our students to be the best teachers, ready to go into the classrooms and teach. I want our students to be well equipped in all other fields and competitive in getting into graduate schools and professionals schools across the country.

We want our students to be top notch academically and have a strong faith and we want them to be able to carry their faith into their schools and communities.

We want them to have a sense of obligation about keeping themselves physically fit. We want them to be well-rounded persons of faith who can compete in today’s society and have a heart of service based on their faith.

 

Related story:  · Shorter, Truett-McConnell presidents speak on worldviews - Overview  · Shorter, Truett-McConnell presidents speak on worldviews    Truett-McConnell College, Cleveland