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MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Oct. 25, 2024) – Dr. Stephen Waers was inaugurated as Milligan University’s 16th president during a formal installation service on Friday in Milligan’s Mary B. Martin Auditorium inside Seeger Memorial Chapel.
Waers’ inaugural address offered enthusiastic support for a Christian liberal arts education, emphasizing the fact that Milligan’s longstanding mission is as vital now as it has ever been.
“I am here, put plainly, because the Christian liberal arts changed my life,” Waers said during his inaugural address. “I have experienced first-hand the transformative power of a Christian liberal arts education. When I reflect on my own experience through the lens of Scripture, I see common themes that are also deeply embedded in Milligan’s mission of honoring God by educating men and women to be servant-leaders.”
His address leaned on two passages from scripture that illustrate the process of seeing, becoming and doing. Through that process, students witness Milligan’s close-knit community, strong faith and academic excellence, join that community to grow their faith while increasing their knowledge and depart to go out into the world and advance God’s work as servant-leaders.
“The Christian liberal arts are the unifying glue that holds everything we do together,” Waers said. “The Christian liberal arts are the bedrock, the foundation, the context of hope for each of the academic areas at Milligan.”
Waers was named Milligan’s 16th president on Jan. 9, 2024. He assumed office on Aug. 1, 2024, upon the retirement of Milligan’s 15th president, Dr. Bill Greer, who is now serving as Milligan’s president emeritus and chancellor.
Waers most recently served as chief academic officer and chief information officer at Point University in West Point, Ga. He earned his Master of Divinity from Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan and is an ordained minister in the Independent Christian Churches.
Friday’s ceremony drew hundreds of members of the Milligan community, including faculty, students, staff, board members, alumni and supporters. Delegates from more than 25 educational institutions and associations from across the nation were on hand as well.
Those in attendance joined in singing the hymn Fide et Amore: Go with God in Faith and Love, which was written by Milligan alum and retired professor Dr. Lee Magness for the occasion of Greer’s inauguration in 2011. Additional music was provided by Milligan organist Rebecca T. McClain, the Milligan orchestra under the direction of Kellie Brown, and the Milligan concert choir under the direction of Noah DeLong.
President Waers, Milligan First Lady Katie Waers, and their daughters, Vivian and Ellie, will greet the Milligan community during Homecoming at a reception inside the Gregory Center at 3 p.m. on Saturday.