[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/highlights\/faulkner-university-announces-new-president\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/highlights\/faulkner-university-announces-new-president\/","headline":"Faulkner University Announces New President","name":"Faulkner University Announces New President","description":"President Mike Williams congratulates President-elect Mitch Henry following the announcement of Henry’s selection as Faulkner’s 9th president. MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner University is pleased to announce Dennis Mitchell Henry, J.D. as the University\u2019s newest president. Faulkner\u2019s Board of Trustees Chair Dale Kirkland, Chancellor…","datePublished":"2022-03-09","dateModified":"2022-06-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Announcement15-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Announcement15-scaled.jpg","height":1318,"width":2560},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/highlights\/faulkner-university-announces-new-president\/","about":["Highlights","News"],"wordCount":834,"articleBody":"President Mike Williams congratulates President-elect Mitch Henry following the announcement of Henry’s selection as Faulkner’s 9th president. MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner University is pleased to announce Dennis Mitchell Henry, J.D. as the University\u2019s newest president. Faulkner\u2019s Board of Trustees Chair Dale Kirkland, Chancellor Billy Hilyer and President Mike Williams made the announcement on the Montgomery campus on March 9, 2022.Henry is Faulkner\u2019s 9th president in its 80 year history.Out of 26 candidates, Henry was unanimously accepted as president-elect by the university\u2019s Board of Trustees on March 8, 2022.Currently serving as an Associate Professor at Faulkner University, Henry teaches law to undergraduate and graduate students. He has also taught dispute resolution as an adjunct law professor at Faulkner\u2019s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law and thus knows the Faulkner community and the university\u2019s mission well. In addition, Henry serves as Professor of Practice in Auburn University\u2019s College of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture Economics and Rural Sociology, teaching agriculture law. While teaching, Henry maintained his law practice, is a 29-year practicing attorney, and a founding member of Webster, Henry, Bradwell, Cohan, Speagle, and DeShazo, P.C. His practice has specialized in insurance defense, business litigation, estate planning, and agriculture law. He\u2019s also previously worked closely with Faulkner University\u2019s legal counsel.Faulkner University Board of Trustee members, Mike Williams, his wife Lisa Williams lay hands on President-elect Mitch Henry and his wife Cindy in prayer following the announcement of Henry’s selection as Faulkner’s next president. \u201cWhen we invite individuals to become a part of this Faulkner family we are looking for those who not only have the ability to perform well the tasks by which they are assigned,\u201d Hilyer said. \u201cBut more importantly we are looking for those who have character and desire, the heart and the passion to help us accomplish this mission to glorify God. In light of this mission, they must be individuals who love God, His word and who endeavor to walk with Him each day.\u201dPrior to the announcement, Henry and his wife Cindy had prayed for a way to become more involved in ministry. Henry views Faulkner as his mission field.\u201cWhat does education look like at Faulkner University if developing moral character is the supreme end of education?\u201d Henry asked. \u201cWhat does that truly look like in this place? We teach, we train, we launch, and we support ministers. Not just preaching ministers, but ministers who are vocational ministers, who minister in their work. We develop Christian nurses. We develop Christian businessmen and women. We develop Christian physical therapists. We develop Christian physician assistants. Christian teachers. We develop Christian folks that work in every possible occupation, and along the way, we do develop Christian ministers who preach. If that\u2019s not enough to impress you, we develop Christian attorneys. So, how do we teach trade and launch these folks to be ministers in their vocations?\u201d\u201cFirst, at Faulkner, we encourage young people to identify careers where they can serve the greater good, where they can share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We develop young people looking for careers and encourage them in ways that are truly intangible, things you can\u2019t teach in a book,\u201d Henry added.Mitch Henry stands on stage with his students, Quanterio Stokes, Jonathan Villa and Travis Pate.Toward the end of the announcement, Faulkner President Mike Williams, who will be stepping down on May 6, 2022, passed a gold-colored baton to his successor.\u201cAs I view academic presidency, it\u2019s not a marathon, it\u2019s not a sprint, it\u2019s a relay race,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWhen you assume the presidency of Faulkner University, Mitch I\u2019m glad you understand this, is that you cannot take the presidency of Faulkner University and not feel deeply committed to ten individuals who met on April 13, 1942 at the Panama Street Church of Christ when they decided to launch the Montgomery Bible College. And it\u2019s not just a linkage backward, it\u2019s a linkage forward. The baton reminds me that the decisions made in this moment is not just about today, but it has deep implications for the future.\u201dOn October 27, 2021, Faulkner began the search for a new president following President Mike Williams\u2019 announcement to step down as president of Faulkner University at the end of the spring semester to start his new role as Harding University\u2019s president in June.Henry, who will begin his new role in May, is a former Elder of the Vaughn Park Church of Christ where he continues to teach Bible and serve.  Henry and his wife Cindy have three children, Mitchell – wife Rebecca Mann Henry, Lauren – fianc\u00e9 Chase Thigpen, and Ashby. Mitch and Cindy reside on Prairie Oak, their family farm located in Hope Hull, Alabama.President Mike Williams passes a gold-colored baton to President-elect Mitch Henry following the announcement of Henry’s selection as Faulkner’s 9th president. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Highlights","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/\/highlights\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Faulkner University Announces New President","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/highlights\/faulkner-university-announces-new-president\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]