ACCOLADES

department of Biblical & Theological Studies, partnered with Faith Radio to write a study guide for the Book of Daniel. Emison also went on Bill Arnold’s show for the Bible Character series to talk about Daniel, and recorded 8 podcasts for Faith Radio’s new Reading the Bible Together.

Heather Hood, adjunct instructor of Music Ministry, conducted a piece from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci for Minnesota Chorale’s 50th Anniversary concert.

Dale Lemke, department chair of Christian Ministries, co-authored an article in the Journal of Religious Leadership entitled “Hardships, Growth, and Hope: The Experience of Black Pastoral Leaders During a Season of Social Unrest and COVID-19 Quarantine.” Lemke has also been invited to sit on a panel presentation entitled “How Can We Learn across Difference?: A Conversation about Ethical Research and Writing vis-a-vis Identity and Positionality” at the Academy of Religious Leadership gathering in April.

Matthew Miller, chair of the department of History & Related Fields and chair of the department of World Languages reviewed the book Spreading Protestant Modernity: Global Perspectives on the Social Work of the YMCA and YWCA, 1889-1970 which was published in Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. Miller also serves as book review editor for the East-West Church Report, a quarterly newsletter which explores Christian life in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe.

Jordan Monson, adjunct instructor in the school of Theology and Ministry, wrote a piece for Christianity Today titled “My Boss Is a Jewish Construction Worker,”which is one of the cover package articles.

Kirk Moss, dean of the College of Arts & Humanities and interim dean of the College of Behavioral & Natural Sciences’ arrangement of Anton Bruckner’s “Apocalyptic: Symphony No. 8 –Finale, for string orchestra with timpani” was named Editor’s Choice by JW Pepper Sheet Music. The work is published by Carl Fischer.

Timothy Sawyer, director of choral activities, presented a reading session on the music of Dan Forrest, Craig Courtney, and other composers represented by Beckenhorst Press at the Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians summer church music conference. Sawyer was resident guest conductor of the Annual Byzantine Choral Festival hosted by St. Constantine

Ukrainian Catholic Church in Minneapolis, conducting the UNW Choir in sacred choral music of Ukraine and Russia, and music of the Eastern Rite.

Ashley Stamperis, English instructor, is serving as a Virtual English Language Fellow for the U.S. Department of State’s English Language Programs. Stamperis is working with the regional University of Cariri in Brazil, teaching two writing courses and helping the faculty develop a writing center. Stamperis is also developing a podcast with students in Palestine.

Stephanie Trump, director of Amata Women’s Chorale, received the prestigious National Federation of State High School Association’s Outstanding Music Educator award. The outstanding educator award is given in recognition of music educators that excel with enthusiasm and purpose in educating students in the fine arts.

Corbin Hoornbeek, Ph.D., began his term as the ninth president of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul on Aug. 1, 2022. Hoornbeek has been a respected leader in Christian higher education and world missions for nearly 30 years, with previous long tenures at Azusa Pacific University in California and The Navigators, a global, interdenominational missions agency with over 7,000 internationally and ethnically diverse staff serving in 107 countries.

In his first months on campus, Dr. Hoornbeek’s schedule has been anything but mundane. In addition to the countless operational meetings that consume any university president’s calendar, Hoornbeek has immersed himself in Northwestern’s community and culture. He led a game on the campus green during new student orientation. He spoke in one of the first chapels in early September and welcomed alumni and families of current students at Homecoming and Family Weekend. He has spent countless hours engaging students in both formal and informal settings. To those who have interacted with Dr. Hoornbeek, his passion for both students and the Word of God is very evident.

After getting his feet wet, the Pilot staff sat down with Hoornbeek to learn more about the process that brought him to Northwestern and his perspective on the university’s impact going forward.

Pilot: What originally drew you to Northwestern as you heard of the presidential vacancy?

Corbin Hoornbeek: I was drawn to the university’s mission—to equip and prepare God-honoring leaders for the home, church, community, and world. That mission statement is something that many of our faculty and staff members can recite without much difficulty, but what really stopped me in my tracks were the words God-honoring leaders. I believe there is a dearth of leadership in our world today. If we really take that mission seriously, we have to hold ourselves to a higher level of accountability in the preparation of the next generation of Godhonoring leaders. We have to approach it by asking, “Who will carry that mission on?”

P: Looking back, was there a significant moment that validated your interest in the position?

CH: Truthfully, every single person that I met at Northwestern throughout the candidacy process validated my interest. The quality of people here, including faculty, staff, board members, alumni, donors, and friends of the university, has been unbelievable. In addition, the clarity and consistency of our mission is very prevalent. There is a collective desire to change the world at Northwestern. Each of these things deepened my interest in the role as I went through the process. After I had my first in-person meeting with the search committee (following several Zoom calls), I realized that I would be really disappointed if it didn’t come together—and I have would have accepted that as God’s will. As one of four or five finalists, I spent several hours with that group that was comprised of roughly 15 faculty, staff, and board members. As they were evaluating me, I was simultaneously evaluating Northwestern, and it occurred to me that I didn’t want to have a one-in-four or five chance of leading this organization. I wanted to be the one! Every successive ripple, if you will, from the search team outward to the entire organization, confirmed that this was the place God was calling Heather and I to be. I felt a personal alignment with my calling in Christian higher education and that of Northwestern in a unified desire to prepare the next generation of God-honoring leaders.

P: Tell us about your first impressions, having been in the role almost a full academic year.

CH: Everything at Northwestern is done with a high degree of quality and attention to detail. The campus is spectacular. I think that there is a sense of what I would call pride of place — a commitment to quality and excellence. Another impression I’ve had is that Northwestern is poised for an incredible next phase there is a potential—both tapped and untapped— to do great things, and I’m beginning to see it in the quality of leaders we have across campus.

P: What role do you see yourself playing in leading the mission of Northwestern?

CH: When I think of my role at Northwestern, three words come to mind: envision, expand, and explore. As we develop a vision for the future, it is with the Holy Spirit’s help that I take responsibility for leading that charge. In terms of expand, how do we take the things we do well and multiply them to expand our reach and impact? And then, finally, I see myself in a leadership role as we explore new opportunities. Where and how do new opportunities exist for us to extend our mission in new ways?

P: What excites you about Northwestern, its heritage, and students?

CH: If we think about recent history in the last 20 years, the world of higher education has been disrupted. This is especially true, not just because of COVID, but also due to the many options that students have to be able to earn a degree. As I have stepped into the presidency at Northwestern, I cannot overstate the exceptional job Dr. Cureton did to keep this organization strong and stable, both with the university and in Northwestern Media. That strength and stability has put Northwestern in position to be agile in a world where other colleges and universities are increasingly reacting to the circumstances and disruptions they have faced, grasping at all kinds of possibilities just to stay solid or afloat.

With that in mind, as I look at the history of this university, it really is a true privilege to be able to step into a role where there is strength and clarity of mission, and our finances and enrollment are stable. Those are not givens in today’s world. Historically, Northwestern has had a heart for the world and the global reach of the Gospel. I hope we never lose that.

P: What gives you hope about the next generation of students?

CH: I think that the world that we’re living in today has taught the current generation of students—known as Generation Z—not to believe anything beyond the

Hometown: Bellingham, Washington

Spouse: Heather

Children: Nathan (26), Caleb (23), Claire (20)

Favorite book: 1776 (D. McCullough)

Life verse: Colossians 1:28

Activities and hobbies: Classical music, running, the outdoors, and time with family

Education: thought that truth is relative, and I think there is a dissatisfaction with that. For young people today, they want to know what is true; they want to know what is good. They want to know how God is working in the world. By and large, Gen Z individuals are also incredibly entrepreneurial; they’re focused on solving problems. In response, when we think about the benefit of Christian higher education, the goal is not just to award the degree, but really to teach this generation how to think, solve problems, and develop critical thinking skills. The world is going to change many, many times over during their lifetime. They’ll have to continue to reinvent themselves throughout the course of their life. The problems in the world are complex. In response, it is important for our students to learn skills, but it is even more important for them to learn how to think and how to solve those problems.

• University of Michigan (B.A.)

• Covenant Theological Seminary (M.A.)

• Dallas Baptist University (Ph.D.)

P: What is the value of Christian higher education in the world today? Why is it still important for a place such as Northwestern to provide Christ-Centered leadership?

CH: God created every one of us, in His image, as a complex, integrated human being with a mind, body, soul, and spirit. God is infinitely complex in that sense. As members of the body of Christ, we’re connected to each other through a relationship. At Northwestern, the complexity of the human experience gives us the opportunity to shape and form the whole of a person. Today’s students have a countless list of educational institutions to attend to earn a degree. At Christian universities such as Northwestern, we focus on the formation of the whole person. We are different in that we pursue what the Apostle Paul instructed in Colossians 1:28: to present everyone fully mature in Christ so that they can be a vessel who is available and called by God to make a difference in the world.

P: How is Northwestern positioned to meet the evolving needs of tomorrow’s leaders in the home, church, community, and world?

CH: My thinking on this concept has really been shaped by Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, who taught a doctrine he called Sphere Sovereignty, in which he proposed that both people and the spheres of human and cultural activity need God’s saving, redeeming grace. In this vein, Christians are called and equipped by God to live out their faith and exercise their gifts in every sphere including the social structure of the family, the arts, sciences, healthcare, government, law, the marketplace, and in full-time vocational ministry. In this way, we fulfill Northwestern’s mission to prepare God-honoring leaders for the home, church, community, and the world.

The calling that we have at Northwestern through the mission of Christian higher education is to prepare and equip the next generation of leaders who are able to enter those spheres with a view toward being part of God’s redemptive work, both in terms of the individual lives of people they connect with, but equally the sphere of God’s activity in the world as well in each one of those areas. Our faculty are called and trained to mentor, disciple, and come alongside students; to help prepare them and give them the freedom to ask and answer some of the biggest questions in life. Not just “How am I designed?” but ultimately, “What difference does it make in the world?” and “What is my calling?” “What is my purpose?” As part of God’s redemptive work, our faculty provide both academic proficiency and spiritual mentorship to our students.