Indiana Wesleyan University, founded in 1920, has named Dr. Jerry Pattengale its first University Professor. The title of University Professor is conferred by the president, voted by faculty, and is reserved to “honor exceptional individuals whose scholarship and service transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries and are celebrated in the global academy.”
“The breadth of his scholarly contributions is remarkable,” said Dr. Don Sprowl, executive vice president of academic affairs, “touching on topics from ancient history and Biblical antiquities to student success and Christian higher education.”
In 2012, Pattengale received the IWU World Changing Faculty Award, only the second ever awarded. USC’s National Resource Center presented him the National Student Advocate Award in 2000, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) a fellowship to Greece, and Azusa Pacific University two faculty-of-the-year awards. In addition to his books, filmed series and other scholarly work, he has published uplifting humor in Buck Creek: True Stories to Tickle Your Mind, selections from his newsprint series. His writings have also appeared in various leading venues, such as Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, Inside Higher Ed, Books & Culture and Chicago Tribune, and he serves on the national board for the Religion News Service.
“Always an encourager, Dr. Pattengale is a tireless supporter of the scholarly aspirations and work of students and colleagues, obtaining substantial external funding,” said Sprowl.
Pattengale recently served as assistant provost for public engagement at IWU, leading the National Conversations through which IWU has gathered national and international leaders to engage the pressing public policy issues of our day. In Pattengale’s major current assignment he serves as executive director of the Green Scholars Initiative, an international collaboration of scholars to study the documents and artifacts of the Green Collection, the world’s largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts, and he oversees an international curriculum project.
Pattengale also serves as distinguished senior fellow in Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, honorary senior research associate with Tyndale House-Cambridge, research scholar with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, senior fellow of the Sagamore Institute and associate publisher of Christian Scholar’s Review.
“During my close collaboration with Dr. Pattengale it has been a pleasure to see his devotion to education, care for students, wide knowledge, and outstanding organizational skills,” said Dr. Peter J. Williams, warden and CEO, Tyndale House, Cambridge, UK. “As a leader of an institution dedicated to technical biblical research, I have also been quietly mentored by Dr. Pattengale and have learned much from his godliness. It’s a delight therefore to see him receive the honour of being University Professor at IWU.”
Pattengale graduated from Marion College in 1979 and returned to Indiana Wesleyan University as a faculty member and administrator in 1997. He and his wife, Cindy, have four adult sons and reside in Marion, Indiana.
