Kettering College President Charles Scriven to Retire
Kettering, Ohio (Dec. 11) – Charles Scriven, Ph.D., president of Kettering College, has announced that he will retire at the end of the academic year in May 2013, after leading the college for more than 12 years.
The fifth president in the school’s 45-year history, Scriven came on board in the fall of 2000. Enrollment that year was 510, and under his leadership, that number reached an all-time high of 981 in the fall of 2012. During his tenure, the college’s physical plant has seen significant upgrades, including the 2006 addition of the Boonshoft Center for Medical Sciences, which was made possible by a successful $13 million capital fund campaign. That was the first major addition to the college since its opening in 1967.
During Scriven’s tenure, the college refocused its mission toward health care programs at the baccalaureate and graduate levels, bringing on a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology, BS in Nursing, BS in Diagnostic Medical Sonography and a Master of Physician Assistant Studies, which was the school’s first on-campus master’s degree offering. Also in the planning stages are a doctoral degree in occupational therapy and a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care. In addition, the college launched two online baccalaureate completion programs.
“All of these achievements do not fully capture the measure of Chuck’s leadership at the college,” said Roy Chew, president of Kettering Medical Center, which owns and operates Kettering College. “Dr. Scriven will be missed mostly for his good humor, humble spirit and the caring manner with which he daily interacts with faculty, staff, students and his administrative team.”
Chew, who also is chair of the college’s Board of Directors, stated that a board-led search committee is being formed to choose Scriven’s successor.
“I’ve been here for over 12 years. I still love the people I work with; I still love the mission we sweat for; I still love contributing — from a distance, unlike my colleagues who teach — to student success. Come May, I will leave here proud. Most of all, I will leave here grateful for everyone in the Kettering College family,” said Scriven.
Scriven studied at Walla Walla College, Andrews University and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., where he earned a doctorate in systematic theology and Christian social ethics.After completion of his Andrews seminary degree in 1968, he was briefly a pastoral intern in the Pacific Northwest.He then became one of the founding editors of Insight magazine in Washington, D.C.In 1973 he taught journalism for a year at Walla Walla College, then served as a pastoral intern for a year in Athena, Ore.
Following work on his doctorate in California, Scriven returned to Walla Walla as a member of the religion faculty. In 1985 he became senior pastor of the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church, and in 1992 he became president of Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University), prior to his tenure at Kettering.
An accomplished author, Scriven’s books include “The Demons Have Had It: A Theological ABC,” “The Transformation of Culture: Christian Social Ethics After H. Richard Niebuhr” and “The Promise of Peace: Dare to LIVE the Advent Hope.”He is chair of the board of the Adventist Forum, publisher of Spectrum (both a print and internet magazine) and facilitator of conversation and conferences on topics of interest to thoughtful Adventists.
About Kettering College
Kettering College, born out of Adventist faith, is a fully accredited college that offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in health science education. Upholding Christ, the college educates students to make service a life calling and to view health as harmony with God in body, mind, and spirit. A division of Kettering Medical Center, Kettering College is located on the KMC campus in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio.