Carson-Newman College Names 22nd President

JEFFERSON CITY,Tenn.   July 8, 2008 – The appointment of J. Randall O’Brien as the 22nd president of Carson-Newman (C-N) College was announced today by David Ogle, chair of the presidential search committee and board of trustees. Dr. O’Brien, who currently serves as the executive vice president and provost, professor of religion and visiting law professor at Baylor University, will join Carson-Newman College effective January 1, 2009.  However, he will begin his transition into the presidency on August 1, 2008.

A native of McComb, Miss., O’Brien is a graduate of Yale Divinity School, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Mississippi College, the oldest Baptist affiliated college in Mississippi.  He has done additional studies at Harvard, and Oxford Universities.  He is also a licensed and ordained Baptist minister having served since January 2007 as interim pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.

“After a 15 month extensive national search I am pleased to report that the Board of Trustees today adopted the Presidential Search Committee’s recommendation, and we are absolutely thrilled and excited to have Dr. O’Brien coming to C-N as president. Both the Search Committee and the Trustees are convinced that God has blessed us with the right individual to lead Carson-Newman College into a great new era that achieves our vision of becoming a premier Christian liberal arts college with a world-wide impact.” said Ogle.  

“Dr. O’Brien’s experience in Christian ministry and higher education covers a broad spectrum of work, starting as a college instructor, then moving to assistant, associate and full professor of religion. Administratively, he’s been a Dean and Provost. It quickly became apparent to the committee that Dr. O’Brien’s reputation in Baptist higher education was national in scope. He brings a breadth and depth of education, experience and understanding for the roles, challenges and opportunities required to ensure quality faculty and instruction, vibrant student life, and visionary leadership. Further, he is also nationally recognized by Baptists as an outstanding pastor, religious scholar, author and speaker. I look forward to seeing Dr. O’Brien in Baptist pulpits across this nation as Carson Newman’s chief ambassador.”

O’Brien went to Baylor in 1991 as an associate professor of religion after serving for three years as senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark. At Baylor, he has served as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, professor and chair of the department of religion, acting dean of the George W. Truett Theological Seminary and executive assistant to the president of the university before assuming his current post as executive vice president and provost. From 1980-1987 he held a tenured faculty appointment in Old Testament and Hebrew at Ouachita Baptist University, also in Arkansas.

“Kay and I are honored to be invited to join the Carson-Newman family as I enthusiastically and prayerfully accept the servant-leadership role of President,” said O’Brien.  “This is, indeed, a sacred calling upon our lives, which humbles us and inspires us. Along with our new Carson-Newman family, Kay and I celebrate all that God has done, is doing, and is going to do through Carson-Newman College as, together, we continue to build a Christ-centered college to impact the world.”

“I am also pleased to report that while Interim President Joe Bill Sloan will be returning to the classroom full-time, which is his first love, he has graciously agreed to informally advise me as I make the transition into the presidency over the next several months. Kay and I want to thank the Presidential Search Committee, the Board of Trustees, the Faculty and Staff, Tennessee Baptists, and the alumni of Carson-Newman College for the privilege of serving our Lord in this place. We ask for the prayers of all for the College and for us as, together, we embark upon an exciting new era.”

O’Brien has received numerous teaching awards by Baylor students, including Mortar Board’s Circle of Achievement Award on three occasions, the Carr P. Collins Outstanding Professor Award presented annually by the graduating class, the Outstanding Professor Award given by Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, and the Outstanding Faculty Member Award presented by the student congress.

He has also served as pastor or interim pastor of 19 churches in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. O’Brien regularly preaches in revivals and conferences in churches, conventions, and universities across the United States and abroad.

O’Brien has published four books and more than 70 articles in journals such as “Christian Ethics Today,” “The Theological Educator,” “The Biblical Illustrator,” “Christian Reflection,” “Perspectives in Religious Studies,” and multiple Bible encyclopedias, including the Eerdmans, Mercer, Holman, and Anchor Bible dictionaries. His books include, “Set Free by Forgiveness: The Way to Peace and Healing,” I Feel Better All Over Than I Do Anywhere Else (And Other Stories to Tickle Your Soul),” “Who Is Jesus?,” and “The Progression of the Mosaic Motif to the Johannine Concept of Messiah.”  He is currently writing a historical novel on the civil-rights movement in the South in the 1960s, after which he plans to write a volume on the Book of Job, dealing with issues of innocent suffering, doubt, and faith.

O’Brien is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Religion, Who’s Who in Humanities in Higher Education, and is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. He recently completed a term as president of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, Southwest Region; and presently sits on the executive board of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities.

O’Brien is a decorated military veteran, having served with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam where he received, among other decorations, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the United States Air Medal, The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and the Bronze Star.

Randall and his wife, Kay, have two daughters, Elise who is married to Nathan Syer, and Shannon who is married to Eric Evans.  Both couples are currently preparing to serve as international missionaries.  They have one son, Chris, a college freshman.  Mrs. O’Brien has had an extensive professional career as a licensed social worker in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. She has worked in both clinical and teaching settings, while having taught in the Baylor University School of Social Work since 1997. The O’Brien’s look forward to moving to Jefferson City in the coming year, and to becoming active in the East Tennessee communities served by Carson-Newman.