CIU Today Fall 2017

4 / 36

THE FIRST WORD
Perhaps the best part of my current position
is rubbing shoulders with, and befriending,
some of the greatest minds among
evangelicals, who are also some of the most
humble people I have known.
My 25th Anniversary at CIU
I said I would never work anywhere more than a few years.
I always wanted to be moving forward in my career, always
wanted to be one step ahead. Then I became employed by
Columbia International University. That was 1992. I’ve been
here ever since.
In April I was
recognized
for my quarter
century of service
at the annual
Recognition Day
Chapel. But the
honor has been
mine to remain
with such a great
ministry.
The first half of my
25 years was at
WMHK radio, the
station formerly
owned by CIU
where I was a
news anchor/reporter, and eventually, the news director. I was
credentialed with a front row seat to the world. What memories.
With South Carolina an early presidential primary state,
opportunities abounded for news coverage. So one morning
in 2000, live on the air, I peppered candidate George W. Bush
with questions including: “Would an openly-known homosexual
be a part of a Bush Administration?” These days we would say
my question, and his response (“I would not ask that question,
I would ask if you are a conservative.”), “went viral.” News
outlets such as Time magazine quoted from the interview.
But since 2005, I’ve had a front row seat to the higher education
side of CIU as the university’s communications manager. In
many ways, I’m still reporting the news.
On a Saturday morning in 2010, my mobile phone awakened
me at about 6:30. It was a CIU vice president informing me
there had been a fire in the CIU library and I needed to get
to campus ASAP to deal with the media. As I stumbled to the
closet, my wife asked me what was going on. “What do you
wear to a fire?” was my reply. I hurried down I-20 to meet a
sleepy-eyed TV news videographer already on the scene.
Perhaps the best part of my current position is rubbing
shoulders with, and befriending, some of the greatest minds
among evangelicals, who are also some of the most humble
people I have known. Many of them are now with the Lord.
Professor Dr. Bill Larkin lived in my neighborhood and I often
times gave him a ride to campus. In our conversations, my
brain could not keep up with his. In his days of semi-retirement,
Professor Dr. Terry Hulbert kept an office down the hall from
mine. I miss him showing up at my door and encouraging me
in my work. While I had known President Emeritus Robertson
McQuilkin since my days at WMHK, when I came over to the
higher education side, he enlightened me further on CIU’s
great heritage. What a privilege to have known him personally.
An historic figure in evangelicalism.
It has been a privilege to serve under presidents Dr. Johnny
Miller, Dr. George Murray and Dr. Bill Jones. I thank them
for their example of servant leadership and personal
encouragements over these 25 years.
I said I’d never stay more than a few years. It has been God’s
will for me to hang around and learn from people such as these.
And now it’s time to meet our new president, Dr. Mark Smith.
I hope you’ll read my article on page 16 and get to know the
“Bible-centered entrepreneur,” who God has brought to CIU as
we move toward the university’s 100th anniversary in just six years.
Stay tuned. More news to come.
Bob Holmes
CIU Today
Editor-in-Chief
Recognized for 25 years of service by Diane
Mull, director of Alumni and Development.
Letters to the Editor are welcome. Correspondence must include your
name, address and phone number. The editor reserves the right to
determine the suitability of letters for publication and to edit for clarity
and length. There is no guarantee your letter will be published, nor will
letters be returned. Write to:
CIU Today Editor
Columbia International University
7435 Monticello Road
Columbia, SC 29203
Or e-mail
4
THE FIRST WORD
CIU Today Fall 2017