Steve Pettit | |
---|---|
5th President of Bob Jones University | |
In office 2014–2023 | |
Preceded by | Stephen Jones |
Personal details | |
Born | Quitman,Georgia | November 27,1955
Spouse | Terry Elkins Pettit |
Children | Rebecca Pettit,Rachel Pettit Bercot,Stephen Pettit,Michael Pettit |
Parent(s) | Elinor Jones Pettit,William (Bill) Pettit |
Residence | Greenville,South Carolina |
Alma mater | The Citadel (BS) Bob Jones University (MA) |
Stephen Davis Pettit,Sr. (born November 27,1955) is an American Christian evangelist who served as the fifth president of Bob Jones University from 2014 to 2023.
Steve Pettit was born in Quitman,Georgia,but his parents,who had met in the United States Air Force,moved to Columbia,South Carolina,when he was three. Pettit spent his childhood in Columbia,performing in a workshop theater founded by his mother and playing the tuba in his high school band. He was the captain of the soccer team and was elected class president at his high school three years in a row. [1]
Pettit attended The Citadel,where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1978. [2] A teammate on The Citadel's soccer team,a devout Christian,witnessed to Pettit;and on Easter Sunday 1975,in response to a radio sermon,Pettit "called on the Lord,and He saved me by His grace.” [1]
Believing he was called to preach,Pettit enrolled in Bob Jones University Seminary and Graduate School of Religion,where he graduated with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies in 1980. [1]
He served as an assistant pastor at the First Baptist Church,Bridgeport,Michigan,from 1980 until 1985 and then formed his own Steve Pettit Evangelistic Association with headquarters in Pembine,Wisconsin. [3] He and his evangelistic teams of young people in their 20s conducted more than 800 evangelistic campaigns throughout the United States and in more than 21 countries. [1] Pettit also served as staff evangelist (1985–2002) and camp director (2002–2011) at Northland Camp and Conference Center in Dunbar,Wisconsin. In 2011,he became national director of Cross Impact Ministries. [4] Pettit has been featured in a number of recordings playing the mandolin,and he has written several devotional books. [5]
The BJU Board of Trustees named Pettit president on May 8,2014,after the resignation of Stephen Jones,great-grandson of the founder,Bob Jones,Sr. Pettit thus became the first president of the university not related to the Jones family. [6]
During Pettit's first seven years as BJU president,the University gained regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges,the University regained its tax exempt status,it launched a new School of Health Professions,and it added eight new intercollegiate sports and gained provisional membership in NCAA Division III. During the Covid pandemic,Pettit opted to open the University for in-person classes in the fall of 2020 and organized several task forces to make the necessary adjustments work successfully. [7]
On March 30,2023,Pettit announced his resignation effective May 5,citing his inability to work with John Lewis,the chairman of the Board of Trustees. [8] [9]
Pettit then reentered evangelism and traveled with a gospel bluegrass band. [10] In April 2024,the Palmetto Family Council named Pettit as its president. [11]
Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private university in Greenville,South Carolina,United States. It is known for its conservative and evangelical cultural and religious positions. The university,with approximately 3,000 students,is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. In 2017,the university estimated the number of its graduates at 40,184.
Robert Reynolds Jones Sr. was an American evangelist,pioneer religious broadcaster,and the founder and first president of Bob Jones University.
Robert Reynolds Jones Jr. was the second president and chancellor of Bob Jones University. Born in Montgomery,Alabama,Jones was the son of Bob Jones Sr.,the university's founder. He served as president from 1947 to 1971 and then as chancellor until his death.
Robert Reynolds Jones III is an American academic administrator and writer. The son of Bob Jones Jr. and grandson of Bob Jones Sr.,he served as the third president of Bob Jones University from 1971 to 2005.
Bob Jones University v. United States,461 U.S. 574 (1983),was a decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that the religion clauses of the First Amendment did not prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from revoking the tax exempt status of a religious university whose practices are contrary to a compelling government public policy,such as eradicating racial discrimination.
Stephen Benjamin Jones is a former president of Bob Jones University. Born on the university campus,he graduated from Bob Jones Academy. In 1992 he received a bachelor's degree in public speaking from BJU and in 1996,a Master of Divinity. On the day he became University president in 2005,Jones also received a Ph.D. in Liberal Arts Studies from BJU. Jones's wife,Erin Rodman Jones,who is the Director of the BJU Museum &Gallery,is also a BJU graduate. They have three children.
Robert Kirthwood "Lefty" Johnson was the pioneer financial officer of Bob Jones University and the first biographer of Bob Jones,Sr.
Dwight Leonard Gustafson was an American composer,conductor,and dean of the School of Fine Arts at Bob Jones University.
BJU Press is a publisher of textbooks for Christian schools and homeschools as well as trade and children's books.
John Monroe "Monk" Parker,was a Baptist evangelist,college president,and mission board director.
Ernest Dinwoodie Pickering was a fundamentalist Christian pastor,author,college administrator,and mission board representative.
Walter Gilbert Fremont,Jr. was dean of the School of Education,Bob Jones University (1953–1990) and “a seminal force in the inauguration and development of the Christian school movement.”
Eunice Hutto Morelock was a pioneer professor at Bob Jones College and possibly the first female chief academic officer of a coeducational college in the United States.
Geneva Reformed Seminary is a small theological school in Greenville,South Carolina,accredited by the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries and supported by the Free Presbyterian Church of North America. The seminary offers B.D. and M.Div. degrees. Initially called Whitefield College of the Bible after a companion school in Banbridge,Northern Ireland,the seminary was renamed in 2002 to avoid confusion in the United States where Bible schools and seminaries prepare students at different academic levels.
Robert Lee McKenzie was an entrepreneur,a real estate developer,a founder and first mayor of Panama City,Florida,and an instrumental figure in the early history of Bob Jones University.
Katherine Corne Stenholm was an American film director and the founding director of Unusual Films,the production company of Bob Jones University.
Evangelist Bob Jones Sr. founded Bob Jones University out of concern with the secularization of higher education. BJU has had five presidents:Bob Jones Sr. (1927–1947);Bob Jones Jr. (1947–1971);Bob Jones III (1971–2005);Stephen Jones (2005—2014);and Steve Pettit,. Its religious influence,its race relations,and its political influence have generated significant controversies.
Michael Amiridis is a Greek-American academic who serves as the 30th president of the University of South Carolina. Prior to this position,he served as chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago from 2015 to 2022.
Joshua Leigh Crockett is a Baptist pastor and the sixth president of Bob Jones University.