1985 The first days of the presidency of Jim Bond

The trustees again undertook the task of selecting a president, choosing ultimately Jim Bond. The campus was pleased. As Special Assistant to President Draper, and then as Interim President, Bond had built a good reputation among students and faculty. He brought a deep spirituality and personal self-confidence. Bond was offered both football and basketball scholarships at prestigious universities, but came to Pasadena College in the 1950s and was a star basketball player. His career included mission service in Brazil, pastor of College Church in Nampa, and college chaplain at the Nazarene Bible College. Draper brought him to Point Loma as the college liaison with Nazarene churches. The trustees felt secure with the new president and trustees Benefiel and Cantrell retired and Scott was appointed to a high denominational office in Kansas City.

The tasks before Bond were formidable, but Bond brought important qualities. Like Purkiser, he was a deeply humble and spiritual person. He was also self-confident and unafraid of people above or below him. And he was a transparent person, completely open and honest in his dealings. "What you see is what you get," commented Art Shingler. He also seemed to know instinctively what he ought to do.

The fall workshop [immediately after Dr. Draper's death] opened with the normal friendly greetings among colleagues, but the friendliness was as much a mask over their sadness and detachment as it was genuine. In due course President Bond was introduced to bring his address. Bond came forward and noted that it was hot in the room, and suggested faculty take off their sport coats as he took off his. It was a unique moment, as emphasis on hierarchy was discarded with Bond's coat. He then said he was not afraid of the faculty and that together we needed to find Christian means of dealing with conflict. It was an unexpected and welcomed moment of starting over.

Bond gave an inaugural address that was a strong affirmation of liberal arts education. "Many young people come to college with a dogmatic certainty about many facts, theories, and principles. Most of their opinions have been inherited from their families and friends, or their pastors and teachers. Seldom," he continued, "have their thoughts been tested or critically examined. To do that can be unsettling," he said, but "trafficking in ideas is 'part and parcel' of the liberal arts," and one "must submit beliefs and opinions to scrutiny if he/she is to develop a solid foundation on which to build a life." Christian liberal arts colleges "are at home among the world's artists, writers, historians, and scientists," for truth is "ultimately unified in and derives from God."

Besides engaging students in a process of examining ideas and attitudes, the liberal arts should prepare students to impact society. Short of calling on students to become involved in social reform, Bond did note that Christian liberal arts colleges have too long "been content to exist in splendid spiritual isolation-an island of intellectual piety surrounded by an ocean of human need. Such mentality is not only unchristian, it is unthinkable and almost criminal." Christians, he said, must accept "responsibility for humanity" and "the common good."

There was a common good for the college also. That common good is the belief that this is a common enterprise and all must work together to make it work well. In a college, working together means committee work-making decisions by discussion and agreement. Bond was unique in that he not only accepted the committee process of making decisions, but as Val Christensen put it, "he actually seems to enjoy it." That commitment to working together for the common good brought a great sense of security to the campus. "What can we do for you?" one of the new district superintendents asked a faculty member at a basketball game. Now that the trustees had the public affirmations of denominational control, the new trustees became open to improving the institution. Bond told the trustees that they must finally complete the four-year salary plan that was begun ten years earlier. They took up the challenge and did so in the next two years. The frustrating backlog of decisions on tenure was broken and an orderly process of taking recommendations on tenure to the trustees for approval resolved that issue over the next couple of years. One by one the issues that had divided the faculty and administration were resolved through a new working relationship. While not the "band of brothers" that existed with Brown in the late 1960s, there was a new atmosphere of mutual respect and dignity and trust that allowed a new openness to God's grace.

From Promise and Destiny: Grace in the History of Point Loma Nazarene University, by Ron Kirkemo 2001


Back to Centennial Celebration Home