SBU President Rick Melson Leaving for Moody
Rick Melson will leave Southwest Baptist University (SBU) after nearly five years to become president of Moody Bible Institute, prompting leadership changes at two evangelical institutions in Missouri and Chicago.
Moody’s trustees elected Melson as the institute’s 11th president, effective Aug. 17. He succeeds Mark Jobe, a Chicago pastor who stepped down June 30 after seven years in the position. Provost Tim Sisk is serving as interim president until Melson arrives.
Melson has led Southwest Baptist, located in Bolivar, Mo., since September 2021. He will remain at the university until the week of Aug. 10.
SBU trustees have named Jonathon Woodyard, vice president of student development and dean of chapel, to serve as interim president. The university said details about the search for a permanent successor will be announced later.
“While we will certainly miss his leadership, we celebrate God’s calling on his life and the influence he will have through one of the world’s most respected evangelical ministries,” SBU Board of Trustees Chairman Joe Brand said.
The move will place Melson over an organization with a broader reach than a traditional college. In addition to its undergraduate and graduate programs, Moody operates a publishing house, a network of radio stations and other media ministries. It also offers missionary aviation training at its campus in Spokane, Wash.
Melson previously held leadership positions at Cedarville University in Ohio and Houghton College in New York. His career has included work in fundraising, enrollment and Christian ministry. He earned degrees from Murray State University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dallas Baptist University.
“Serving as president of Southwest Baptist University has been one of the greatest privileges of my life,” Melson said in SBU’s announcement. “Tammy and I will forever cherish the relationships we have built and the extraordinary people who make this university so special.”
Melson said leaving Bolivar would not be easy, but he and his wife believe the move to Moody is the assignment to which God has called them.
–Dwight Widaman
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