President Mark Husbands
Leadership
John Henry Newman declared: “time is short, eternity is long.” These words help me to focus on things that will have lasting significance. As an evangelical theologian and University President, I find tremendous joy in working to advance the unique value and contribution of a Global Christian University. Central to this work, is the goal of providing unsurpassed opportunities for students to grow academically, spiritually, and socially in the context of a positive, supportive, and faithful community.”
— Mark Husbands
Christian learning is a remarkable gift and calling.
Christians see the world from the perspective of the person and work of Christ as set out in Scripture. Precisely because “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17), the liberal arts and professional studies are life-giving domains in which to learn, research, worship, and prepare for lives of meaningful service and impact.
However challenging current demographic and economic shifts may be, the mission and value of Christian Higher education is so very important to the life and witness of the Church that we need to all that we can to ensure its ongoing vitality.
Nathan Grace concludes his illuminating work, The Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Changes:
“With student-centred, mission-focused reform, institutions may emerge, not untouched by demographic change but reshaped into better, if sometimes leaner, versions of themselves, prepared to serve students for generations to come.”
With hope in the truth and grace of the Gospel, an abiding commitment to a biblical view of life, wisdom, worship, and renewal, Christian learning and scholarship can play a central role in the cultural witness and renewal of a world created, sustained and redeemed by God.
With a commitment to build, nurture, and leverage the gifts of faithful, innovative, and collaborative faculty, staff, and administrators, an agile, resilient, and entrepreneurial Christian University can make a dramatic contribution to the lives of the next generation of Christian leaders.
It is a privilege to serve as President of a global Christian University where I have the honour of working alongside an excellent group of colleagues. Together, we have helped guide Trinity Western University through a pandemic, and are tackling the challenges of demographic, economic, and cultural disruption, Soli Dei Gloria.
About
As President of a global Christian University, I have the extraordinary calling and privilege of sharing the wonderful story of God’s work in the lives of students, staff, and faculty at Canada’s largest private Christian liberal arts university. With a comprehensive enrolment of 6,000 students across all programs, and over 30,000 alumni in more than 90 countries around the world, Trinity Western strives to equip every graduate to think truthfully, act justly, and live faithfully for the good of the world and the glory of God.
Writing & Media
The purpose and joy that I experience as a Christian theologian and University President is beautifully captured by Karl Barth who writes:
"The theologian who labors without joy is not a theologian at all. Sulky faces, morose thoughts and boring ways of speaking are intolerable in this science. But we must know, of course, that it is only God who can keep us from it."
— Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics II/1, p. 656.
At Trinity Western, the discovery of knowledge and truth is marked by humility, wonder, joy, and praise. Open to the judgment and guidance of Christ, Christian scholars and students alike are called to seek understanding and meaning in light of the confession that Jesus is “before all things, and in him, all things hold together” (Col 1:17).
