Nate Evans named 14th president of Gardner-Webb University
By GWU Staff
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb University Board of Trustees has voted to appoint Nate Evans as the 14th president of Gardner-Webb University, following the completion of the presidential search process. Evans has served as interim president since February 2025 and previously as vice president for Advancement.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to serve as the next president of Gardner-Webb University,” Evans affirmed. “I want to thank the Board of Trustees and the presidential search committee for their confidence, and our entire campus community for their hard work and dedication during this time of transition. Over the past eight months, I have witnessed the strength, faith, and resilience that define Gardner-Webb. This is a place where students discover their purpose, where faculty and staff live out their calling, and where our shared mission continues to change lives. As we look ahead, let’s build on our momentum, strengthen our foundation, expand our reach, and ensure that Gardner-Webb continues to thrive as a Christ-centered university of impact.”
Evans has provided steady, mission-centered leadership during a pivotal period of transition – strengthening Gardner-Webb’s financial health, uniting its community, and reaffirming its Christ-centered mission. Working closely with University Cabinet members, he has led efforts that resulted in positive enrollment momentum, improved campus morale, and the elimination of the University’s structural deficit.
Under Evans’ leadership, Gardner-Webb has enhanced operational discipline, increased donor confidence, and expanded strategic partnerships across the region. The University has secured major philanthropic commitments, including the largest single gift to Gardner-Webb in more than 25 years, while advancing initiatives that elevate the student experience, reinforce fiscal responsibility, and strengthen institutional excellence.
“President Evans has demonstrated faith-filled leadership, integrity, and a clear vision for Gardner-Webb’s future,” said Board Chair the Rev. Dr. Lamont Littlejohn Jr. “He has brought stability, unity, and momentum during a time of transition, and the Board has full confidence that he will continue leading this University forward with wisdom and purpose.”
Before being named interim president, Evans served as vice president for Advancement, where he led alumni relations, major gifts, the Bulldog Club, and the annual fund. Under his direction, Gardner-Webb raised more than $30 million in gifts and commitments, fueling capital improvements, scholarship funding, and academic initiatives. Prior to joining Gardner-Webb, he held senior advancement roles at East Carolina University, where he began his higher education career in admissions before transitioning into university advancement.
Hope behind bars: OBU prison graduates share Gospel, hope
By OBU Staff
SHAWNEE, Okla. – Graduates of Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) often go on to be leaders in their field of study.
From nurses to teachers, pastors to business executives, OBU grads are making a difference for Jesus in this state and beyond.
The same can be said of the recent graduates of the OBU Prison Divinity Program (PDP) at the Lexington Assessment & Reception Center (LARC).
Since 2021, OBU has offered a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Studies to inmates in an Oklahoma prison. The OBU PDP, launched in partnership with Oklahoma Baptists, provides incarcerated men with an accredited Christian liberal arts education. All PDP courses are taught face-to-face at the Lexington Center, and the program is led by OBU Professor PDP Director Bruce Perkins.
The program’s objective is to facilitate change in the culture of the prison system with greater respect for authority as well as their fellow man.
In May of 2025, OBU graduated its inaugural class in the program, with 30 graduates.
Upon completion of their degrees, these graduates were eligible to be commissioned as “field ministers” and deployed to other prisons across the state.
When graduates are commissioned as field ministers, they serve in correctional facilities across the state to provide pastoral care, mentorship and moral guidance to their fellow inmates.
Of OBU’s Class of 2025 graduates, 17 have become field ministers, recognized by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC), which partners with OBU in this program.
Five OBU Prison Divinity Program graduates who are now field ministers are Miguel, Aaron, Dean, Shayne and Tracey (Class of 2025). Not only are these men each walking with the Lord personally, they also are now sharing Jesus with everyone they can and making disciples. Each of these men are serving an extended prison sentence, yet God radically changed each of their lives.
Miguel, Dean and Aaron were transferred from Lexington to the Allen Gamble Correctional Center near Holdenville, a medium-security prison.
“At first, when I learned we were going to be transferred to another prison, I was apprehensive and hesitant,” said Aaron. “But once we got here, I could see the Lord was it in, and that He put us here for a purpose.”
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