GALLATIN, TN—The annual Strong and CourageousBanquet benefiting student scholarships at Welch College recently took place in Celorio Hall on Welch’s campus, according to Tim Owen, Director of the Welch Fund and coordinator of the event.
“The inspiration for the banquet comes from the charge given in Joshua 1:9 to be strong and very courageous as Joshua leads the children of Israel,” Owen said. “This year’s banquet continued this emphasis, encouraging and challenging guests to have this defining characteristic in all facets of life. The event’s generous sponsors and donors provided $60,000 in support of student scholarships at Welch.”
Event patrons enjoyed an opening reception hosted by President and Mrs. Matt Pinson in the Presidents Dining Room in Celorio Hall. Renowned Nashville eye surgeon Dr. Ming Wang performed several pieces on the Chinese violin (erhu) accompanied by Mr. Carlos Enrique. Elaine Park Pugh and Chris Davis offered refreshing testimonies about the impact that Welch College has made in their lives as students, and the Rejoice! Ministry Team provided inspirational music during the banquet.
Special recognitions included a Healthcare Excellence award and the naming of the 2021 Strong and Courageous recipient. Dr. Ming Wang was recognized as the recipient of a special healthcare award for his continued dedication to helping patients in the United States and countries worldwide with sight restoration surgeries.
The Strong and Courageous award is presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to their profession while advancing kingdom principles. This year’s award was presented to the event’s originator, Dr. Charles Lea. David Williford, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, underscored Dr. Lea’s faith and leadership, noting examples of Dr. Lea’s exemplary life as one who is strong and courageous. Dr. Lea recently retired from Welch as Special Assistant to the President.
A number of sponsors provided generous gifts to help students attend Welch. This year’s Platinum Sponsors ($10,000) included the Free Will Baptist Foundation and FirstBank, Goodlettsville. Gold sponsors ($5,000) included Goodall Homes, Sumner Regional Medical Center, and David and Diane Black. A number of Silver Sponsors ($2,500), Bronze Sponsors ($750), and other donors also contributed to the scholarship goal.
“Welch College is grateful for the support of the Sumner County community and the 2021 Strong and Courageous sponsors,” Owen noted. “Together, we are making a difference in students’ lives and impacting our county and communities.”
For more information on Welch, visit www.welch.edu. To support the mission of Welch College, visit
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College recently received notification that it ranks 8th among “Best Regional Colleges—South” in U.S. News & World Report’s2022 edition of America’s Best Colleges, according to President Matt Pinson. This also included a ranking of #1 for “Top Performers on Social Mobility” in the Regional Colleges—South category, which comprises 92 other colleges and universities in the South.
“We’re so pleased that Welch is moving up in the rankings,” President Pinson said. “We’d hoped to get into the top ten in our category in the next five to seven years. So this is welcome news. This respected national study confirms that the college’s academic programs are recognized not only by our supporters but also by the broader academic community. It’s also another reminder to prospective students and their parents that Welch College remains a top-quality institution of higher learning that delivers its educational promise.”
“We’re delighted that, for the first time, we were ranked #1 in ‘Top Performers on Social Mobility’ for our category,” Pinson continued. “This ranking measures how well colleges and universities do at graduating students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We are especially thankful for this distinction.”
The “Best Regional Colleges—South” category where Welch College is ranked includes institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts and in professional fields such as business, nursing, and education. Most of these institutions award fewer than fifty graduate degrees annually.
Provost Matthew McAffee said, “To be among the top ten institutions in our category is remarkable. This accomplishment is a testimony to the hard work of our faculty and staff over the years and its cumulative effect on our institutional success. Our rise to 8th place indicates measurable success. It demonstrates to our constituents that Welch College is increasingly being recognized by the broader educational community as a quality institution of higher learning.”
U.S. News rankings judge the relative quality of institutions based on widely-accepted indicators of excellence in higher education: what peer institutions think of the institution, how many freshmen return their sophomore year, how many of them go on to graduate, student-faculty ratio, faculty quality, financial resources, alumni giving, and more.
“To put our ranking in perspective,” Pinson said, “the other institutions in the top ten in our category have an average enrollment of 1,952—five times higher than Welch’s—and an average endowment of $77 million—17 times higher than Welch’s.”
U.S. News ranked the top-ten institutions in the Regional Colleges—South category as follows:
[1] High Point University (NC) [2] Ouachita Baptist University (AR) [3] Florida Polytechnic University [4] Flagler College (FL) [5] (tie) Maryville College (TN) [5] (tie) University of the Ozarks (AR) [7] Claflin University (SC) [8] (tie) Catawba College (NC) [8] (tie) Welch College (TN [10] LaGrange College (GA)
Welch received especially high marks in three strategic areas, ranking as follows:
1st in student-faculty ratio 1st in classes under 50 students (tied) 3rd in graduation rate 5th in classes under 20 students 8th in freshman-to-sophomore retention 8th in alumni giving
After much thought, prayer, and consideration, the Thigpen family has decided to postpone the memorial service for Dr. and Mrs. Charles A. Thigpen. “We are concerned about the number of COVID-19 cases and those who are coming from out of town, including our family and some who will be involved in the service that are hesitant to come,” they stated. “We do still want to have it if possible, perhaps after the first of the year, if all things related to COVID-19 are better.”
President Emeritus Thigpen served for more than five decades as a professor, dean, and president of Welch College. Mrs. Laura “Lolly” Thigpen served as a professor of English and Speech and director of the Evangel Players. The college will provide information about a rescheduled service as plans are solidified.
Earlier this summer, Welch College President Matt Pinson, received official M.Div. implementation notification from Dr. Kevin Sightler, Director of Substantive Change for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The letter stated that the accreditor had “reviewed the materials seeking approval of the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree program” and had voted “to approve the program and include it in the scope of the current accreditation.”
Pinson said, “The offering of an M.Div., the first one offered by a Free Will Baptist institution, and the establishment of a divinity school attached to Welch College, is a dream come true for us. No longer will Free Will Baptists have to go outside our denomination for their M.Div. We have hoped and dreamt for an M.Div. program for many years.”
Partial funding for the conception and implementation of the program was provided by a generous grant of almost $500,000 from the Kern Family Foundation.
Welch College began offering the M.Div. this semester. The program will be offered in an accelerated B.A.-to-M.Div. five-year program. A high school graduate with at least 15 dual enrollment college credits can complete both a B.A. and an M.Div. degree in five years. The M.Div. will also be available to students who already have a bachelor’s degree.
Provost Matthew McAffee noted, “With this new program, it’s possible for students to begin at Welch and complete a B.A. and a regionally accredited M.Div. in five years—something that normally takes seven. But people who already have a bachelor’s degree, even if it’s not in a theological field, are eligible to study for and complete this M.Div. We’ve been hearing from more and more people in our denomination who feel the need for further ministry education in our increasingly secular society.”
The M.Div. degree is composed of 85 credit-hours and makes use of 25 hours of existing undergraduate ministry courses augmented to the graduate level. It will be a full on-campus program in a traditional format. The M.A. degree in Theology and Ministry will now be able to be earned on-campus or completely online.
Now that accreditor approval has been received, Welch College is currently processing admissions and enrolling students in the M.Div. program. Applications are being accepted for the next course for both the M.Div. and M.A., which begins in October.
For more information about the Master of Divinity program in either its accelerated BA-M.Div. or traditional framework, or the M.A., contact the Director of Administration for Welch Divinity School, Dr. Martin Sheldon at msheldon@welch.edu.
*SACSCOC is the primary accrediting body for colleges and universities in the Southeast. It provides the highest level of accreditation that an educational institution can receive. Welch College has been accredited by SACSCOC since 1994. To gain or maintain accreditation with the Commission on Colleges, an institution must comply with the standards contained in the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement and with the policies and procedures of the Commission on Colleges. The Commission on Colleges applies the requirements of its Principles to all applicant, candidate, and member institutions, regardless of type of institution (public, private for-profit, private not-for-profit).
Mrs. Debbie Mouser recently resigned from her post as Director of Recruitment and Senior Admissions Counselor at Welch College, according to David Williford, Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
“Debbie will certainly be missed. She has been a mainstay in the areas of admissions and recruitment for the past eleven years,” Williford said. “We could always rely on her professionalism, institutional knowledge, and enrollment wisdom.”
Mouser, a 1985 Welch graduate, has carved out a distinguished career in various customer service-related positions. Most recently, while on staff at Welch, she had an impact on hundreds of students and parents as Enrollment Office Manager (2010–2012), Director of Enrollment (2012–2016), and Director of Recruitment and Senior Admissions Counselor (2016–2021). Mouser also became a Certified Enrollment Professional with the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
“When I first joined the Enrollment Team in 2017, I was delighted to learn alongside Mrs. Debbie,” said Daniel Webster, Director of Enrollment Services. “She has always been a patient teacher and an encouraging coworker. Her knowledge of our recruitment and admissions management applications has been second to none. I will miss her knowledge of the field and her customer-first mentality.”
Mouser has expressed her desire to have more flexibility in her career so that she can spend more time visiting children and grandchildren.
“Debbie has never ceased to be a highly productive and exemplary employee,” Williford said. “We’re certainly going to miss her. The entire Welch community is indebted to her, and we wish her and Marvin God’s blessings and peace as they pursue this next chapter.”
