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‘We moved,’ Iorg recaps to Gateway trustees

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ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) — Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, told trustees at their first meeting on the new Southern California campus that he debated delivering the shortest written report in the institution’s history.

“It would have simply said, ‘We moved. Any questions?'” Iorg said. “I think that pretty much sums up the last six months.”

Iorg then highlighted key aspects of the relocation process and also talked about the challenges of the move.

“The biggest challenge to the relocation effort was the delay in getting phone and internet service installed in the facility,” Iorg recounted in his Oct. 7 report. “We requested service in March and it was finally installed in early August.”

Iorg praised staff and faculty for their tenacity during the delay. For example, the enrollment staff set up tables in an apartment in student housing, had internet and phone service installed, set up their computers and went to work.

“They told me, ‘Let us know when we have phones and internet, and we’ll move back into the building. For now, we have work to do.'” The enrollment team ended the summer with 393 approved applications, including many applications finalized from the temporary location.

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Iorg also reported the library was ready to open two weeks ahead of schedule, which was accomplished by “a herculean effort by our employees who worked tirelessly to accomplish what many thought impossible.

“We were open on July 5, were operational by Aug. 10, and are fully operational in every way for the semester,” Iorg announced. He also indicated the new Fremont campus in the San Francisco area was nearing completion and would be finished in late November. The campus will open for classes in January 2017.

In routine business, the board approved a revised media relations policy to govern social media use during board committee meetings, accepted the 2015-16 audit, approved an additional $700,000 in transition funds if needed during this fiscal year, approved sabbaticals for four faculty members, and passed a resolution of appreciation for Fermin Whittaker, executive director of the California Southern Baptist Convention, who will retire in February.

The trustee meeting was held in conjunction with Oct. 5-8 dedication events for Gateway Seminary’s new campus in Ontario, Calif. (See related Baptist Press story [3]on Oct. 10.)