by Daniel Webster | Sep 12, 2022
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College recently received notification that it ranks 17th among “Best Regional Colleges—South” in the 2023 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges, according to President Matt Pinson. The Regional Colleges—South category comprises 105 other colleges and universities in the South.
“We’re so glad to have Welch’s academic quality recognized by U.S. News,” President Pinson said. “This is another reminder to students and parents that Welch College is a top-quality institution of higher learning that delivers its educational promise.”
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. This year, thirteen colleges and universities were added to this category, moving from last year’s total of 93 to 106 total schools.
“Colleges go up and down in these rankings each year,” Pinson said. “When we first entered the rankings twelve years ago, we were ranked 52nd. Then four years ago we got up to 26th, after which we’ve consistently been in the top 20. Our ranking at 17th is exciting.”
“To be ranked in the top 16% of all colleges and universities in our category is remarkable,” Provost Matthew McAffee said. “Our faculty and staff strive diligently to give our students an excellent Christian educational experience, and this ranking is a testament to their determination and hard work.”
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 ten institutions ranked directly above and below us have an average enrollment three times higher than Welch’s and an average endowment eight times higher than Welch’s. We are good stewards of the resources God has given us.”
Welch received especially high marks in three strategic areas, ranking as follows:
- 1st in student-faculty ratio (tied)
- 3rd in graduation rate
- 3rd in classes under 20 students
- 6th in ACT/SAT scores
- 7th in alumni giving
For more information about Welch, email gotowelch@welch.edu or visit www.welch.edu.
by Daniel Webster | Sep 8, 2022
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Mrs. Davida Black recently joined Welch College as Office Manager for the Institutional Advancement department, according to Todd Parrish, Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
Black is a Robertson County native with over thirty-three years of experience as an office manager with communications and financial services corporations and a local Christian school. Her new role will combine her skills as office manager and administrative assistant and enable her to become an integral part of the IA team.
Tim Owen, Director of the Welch Fund, stated, “Already Mrs. Black has been a joy to work with. The knowledge and experience she brings to the office is exceptional and will provide positive traction as the Advancement office continues forward.”
Parrish said, “Exciting things are happening in the Advancement department as we develop new strategies and initiatives. Mrs. Black’s experience and skillset will only add to that excitement and make her an invaluable part of the Advancement team.”
Black and her husband Ron have three grown children and four grandchildren.
by Daniel Webster | Jul 1, 2022
GALLATIN, TN—Todd Parrish assumes a new role as Vice President for Institutional Advancement on July 1 after the retirement of David Williford, according to President Matt Pinson.
Parrish came to Welch in January 2018 as Director of Church Relations and Major Gifts Officer before transitioning to the role of Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement in May 2021. In his new role, he will engage in the overall administration of fundraising and external relations at Welch, working with Tim Owen, Director of the Welch Fund. Williford will continue in a part-time fundraising role.
“Todd Parrish is tailor-made for this position,” Pinson said. “No one loves Welch more than Todd. He combines a deep knowledge of our alumni base and denomination with a singular penchant for ‘friend raising’ and has distinguished himself as an excellent fundraiser in his five years at Welch. He’s known for his hard work and can-do attitude. I’m so glad to have him in this new role.”
Before coming to Welch in 2018, Parrish served as Senior Pastor of First Free Will Baptist Church, Washington, North Carolina. A North Carolina native who ministered in churches in North and South Carolina for 26 years, Parrish has served in a number of denominational roles, including Director of the South Carolina Free Will Baptist Children’s Home, Assistant Moderator of the North Carolina State Association of Free Will Baptists, and (currently) Vice President of the Welch College Alumni Association.
Parrish was ordained under the ministry of Dr. Malcolm C. Fry. A 1989 Welch graduate in Bible and church music, he engaged in graduate study in music at Middle Tennessee State University and obtained his M.A. in mental health counseling from Webster University in 2010 and his M.A. in theology and ministry from Welch in 2018. He is nearing the completion of his doctorate in educational ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is writing his doctoral thesis on the advancement and fundraising function of Welch College.
Parrish and his wife, Merinda, Welch’s Clinical Coordinator for Teacher Education, have two married daughters, Emily Vickery (Zach) and Ellen Stox (Kevin), both Welch graduates, and two grandchildren, Lucy and Jack.
by Daniel Webster | Jun 4, 2022
GALLATIN, TN—The Welch College Rejoice! Ministry Team announces that their summer tour will begin Sunday, June 5, according to David Williford, Welch’s Vice President for Advancement.
The team will hold services in eighteen churches in ten states during their eight-week tour. The team will also attend Free Will Baptist State Meetings in North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, and Ohio and the Annual Session of the National Association of Free Will Baptists in Birmingham, Alabama.
The summer tour’s program will feature hymns, gospel songs, and modern worship arrangements designed to evangelize and encourage. The members of the 2022 Rejoice! Ministry Team are Benjamin Barcroft, Nicolas Cruz, Emily Edgmon, Erin Goucher, Sarah Lovett, Mason McClure Matthew Pinson, Samuel Rodriguez, and Stephen Yerby.
“What a blessing it is to share the power of the gospel through songs, hymns, and spiritual songs,” Williford said. “It is our prayer that this team will lead our Free Will Baptist people to worship the Lord and that God will give them grace as they minister around our denomination.”
The tour schedule is as follows:
June 5 AM – First Free Will Baptist Church, Bristol, VA
June 6–7 – North Carolina Free Will Baptist State Meeting, Greensboro, NC
June 8 PM – Garner Free Will Baptist Church, Garner, NC
June 10 – 11 – West Virginia Free Will Baptist State Meeting, Inwood, WV
June 12 AM – Parkway Free Will Baptist Church, Woodbridge, VA
June 14 PM – Harrisonburg Free Will Baptist Church, Harrisonburg, VA
June 15 PM – Free Will Baptist Church of Roanoke, Roanoke, VA
June 16–17 – Virginia Free Will Baptist State Meeting, Forest, VA
June 19 AM – Canaan Free Will Baptist Church, Creston, OH
June 22 PM – Sandhill Free Will Baptist Church, Sandusky, OH
June 24–25 – Ohio Free Will Baptist State Meeting, Columbus, OH
June 26 AM – Flagship Free Will Baptist Church, Erie, PA
June 26 PM – Northpoint Free Will Baptist Church, Buffalo, NY
June 30 PM – Beacon Free Will Baptist Church, Exeter, RI
July 1 PM – Iglesia Christiana Bautista Youth Service, Yonkers, NY
July 3 AM/PM – Iglesia Christiana Bautista, Yonkers, NY
July 6 PM – White Oak Hill Free Will Baptist Church, Bailey, NC
July 7 PM – Temple Free Will Baptist Church, Greenville, NC
July 10 AM – Horse Branch Free Will Baptist Church, Turbeville, SC
July 10 PM – Peace Free Will Baptist Church, Florence, SC
July 12 PM – Madison Heights FWB, Lexington, NC
July 13 PM – Peace Free Will Baptist Church, Morristown, TN
July 17 AM – Liberty Free Will Baptist Church, Millington, TN
July 19 PM – New Pleasant Grove Free Will Baptist Church, Savannah, TN
July 21 PM – Heads FWB, Cedar Hill, TN
July 23–27 – Annual Session, NAFWB, Birmingham, AL
July 24 AM – Cultivate FWB, Athens, AL
by Daniel Webster | Jun 1, 2022
GALLATIN—This summer the inaugural class of the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Humanities will begin their studies at Welch College, according to Dr. Matthew McAffee, Welch’s Provost.
The 33-semester-hour graduate degree is designed to prepare college graduates who desire additional education in the humanities. It is especially suitable for those who wish to continue to a Ph.D. in one of the humanities fields (e.g., English, history, philosophy, politics, the arts, law, and theology) or obtain a credential as a community college teacher in the humanities.
Coursework for the interdisciplinary degree will integrate the classical disciplines of the humanities, such as the arts, culture, hermeneutics, history, law, literature, philosophy, and theology. Graduates of the program should be able to demonstrate the following objectives:
- A sound grasp of the philosophical issues undergirding the disciplines of the humanities
- Knowledge of the major writings in literature of the great tradition, including a knowledge of the underlying issues present in the interpretation of works more generally
- Critical analysis of culture and its artifacts
- Competency in original research
“We’re excited about this new degree program,” McAffee said. “We have a lineup of exceptionally qualified faculty who will help prepare students for Ph.D. work and teaching in the humanities fields. This kind of preparation is important in our day. The university departments in the humanities are most influential in shaping the ideas that drive our culture. We desire to help produce bright, young Christian thinkers who can affect their culture with a Christian worldview, and this program is carefully designed to do just that.”
McAffee continued, “The program is also great for community college teachers and students who are interested in the humanities but don’t know exactly what career they want to pursue. What’s more, it’s very affordable. We encourage students who might be interested in the program to contact program coordinator Matt Bracey at mbracey@welch.edu.”
The two primary faculty for the degree will be Matthew Steven Bracey, who will also serve as coordinator for the degree program, and Tyler Flatt. Other faculty from the humanities areas at Welch will also teach in the program.
Matthew Steven Bracey, a native of Ashland City, Tennessee, has taught at Welch for nine years and serves as Vice Provost for Academic Administration and Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture. A graduate of Welch College, he holds the M.T.S. degree from Beeson Divinity School and the Juris Doctor degree from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Christian ethics and public policy with a minor in philosophy at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writing his dissertation on the moral imagination in the thought of Edmund Burke. He is founding co-editor of the popular website the Helwys Society Forum (TheHSF.com) and is a prolific writer and editor, having co-edited and contributed to two books, Sexuality, Gender, and the Church (Welch College Press) and The Promise of Arminian Theology: Essays in Honor of F. Leroy Forlines (Randall House Academic). Bracey has written for numerous publications, including ONE Magazine, the Journal of Biblical Higher Education, Christian Academia, and the Evangelical Quarterly. He also serves as managing editor of Welch College Press. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening and coaching Welch’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams. He is married to Sarah, who heads the psychology program at Welch.
Dr. Tyler Flatt will serve as adjunct instructor for the new program, teaching summer courses in great texts of the Western tradition. He serves full-time as Assistant Professor of Humanities and Co-Director of the Augustine Honors Collegium at Boyce College of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Flatt holds a Ph.D. in Classics from Harvard University, having earned his B.A. from the University of Waterloo and his M.A. from the University of Toronto. Flatt is dedicated to the conservation and ongoing interpretation of the Western intellectual and cultural tradition and enthusiastically supports the current revival of interest in classical education in North America. Flatt’s work has appeared in The Classical Journal, Classical World, The Classical Review, The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, and Vigiliae Christianae. Current projects include an edition and translation of Erasmus’s Annotations on the Gospel of John for the Collected Works of Erasmus (University of Toronto Press). He also hosts Daily Dose of Latin, a video series devoted to short explanations of passages from the Vulgate, the Latin Bible of medieval Europe. He is married to his best friend Liz, and when he is not reading or writing, he likes to fish. The first course, Great Books: Ancient and Medieval, will be taught this summer by Dr. Flatt, consisting of online instruction beginning in early July and a week-long, on-campus intensive the first week of August. For more information on the M.A. in Humanities at Welch, email program coordinator Matthew Bracey at mbracey@welch.edu. For general information on Welch, visit www.welch.edu.
by Daniel Webster | May 13, 2022
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College conferred degrees on 41 students, according to Provost Matthew McAffee. Commencement exercises were held in the Student Activities Center. The gymnasium space was converted into a 700-plus seating auditorium for the Baccalaureate service on Thursday evening, May 5, and the Commencement ceremony on Friday morning, May 6. The college awarded degrees in multiple programs, including associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, the Master of Arts degree in Theology and Ministry, and the Master of Arts in Teaching degree.
Dr. Paul Harrison, pastor of Madison Free Will Baptist Church in Madison, Alabama, delivered the Commencement address. Harrison urged graduates to wage war with the weapons of God—seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. Rev. Steve Lindsay, pastor of Red Bay Free Will Baptist Church in Red Bay, Alabama, delivered the Baccalaureate sermon, providing a character study on the life of John the Baptist and urging graduates to follow in his example of living lives that make an impact for Christ.
President Matt Pinson recognized retiree David Williford on his retirement for his twenty years of faithful service as Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Welch College. His work in this role spanned across the college’s constituencies in building relationships with churches and individual donors and was vital in the funding of the Building on the Legacy campaign. Dr. Jeff Crabtree, chairmen of the college’s Board of Trustees, recognized President Pinson and his wife Melinda, honoring their twenty years of service in the role of college president. Dr. Sarah Bracey, Program Coordinator of Psychology and Campus Counselor, was named Academic Advisor of the Year.
The college congratulates the 2022 graduating class and commends them to the service of Christ’s kingdom.
Associate of Science Degrees
Macey Elyse Bowman
Tullahoma, Tennessee
Biology
Charles Buford Elam, Jr.
La Vergne, Tennessee
Ministry
Adam Anthony McKinnis†
Birchwood, Tennessee
Ministry
Joshua Bennett Simpson
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Biology
Samesha Chantel Thomas
Gallatin, Tennessee
Ministry
Associate of Arts Degree
Tiphany Renee Smith
Bethpage, Tennessee
Bachelor of Science Degrees
Emelia Grace Barnett***
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Child Development and Learning
Licensure K-5
Lauren Elizabeth Batey**
Cross Plains, Tennessee
Business Administration
Abby Grace Bragg***
Senoia, Georgia
Child Development and Learning
Licensure K-5
Sara Jean Carman***
Hartsville, Tennessee
English
Licensure 6-12
Luke Robert Charlton
Nashville, Tennessee
Business Administration
Hannah Eve Dyson
Greenville, North Carolina
Business Administration
Bryson Andrew Foulks***†
Chuckey, Tennessee
Exercise Science
Alexandrea Katherine Foust**
Gallatin, Tennessee
General Christian Ministry
Michael Joseph Fulcher
Ormonsville, North Carolina
Mathematics Education
Licensure 6-12
Jorden Brice Hoffman
Ashland City, Tennessee
Youth and Family Ministry
Cheyenne Meagan Johnson*
Cedar Hill, Tennessee
Child Development and Learning
Licensure K-5
Krista Janae Lindsay**
Red Bay, Alabama
Business Administration
Jonathan Peter Lisbona
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Exercise Science
Meredith Anne Locklear***
Gastonia, North Carolina
Mathematics Education
Licensure 6-12
Music Education
Licensure K-12
Victoria Rose Masters**
Ahoskie, North Carolina
Business Administration
James Ben Miller III
New Boston, Michigan
Pastoral Ministry
Jonathan Garrett Pelleaux*
Smyrna, Tennessee
Business Administration
Abigail Renee Scott**
Raleigh, North Carolina
Biology Education
Licensure 6-12
Devan Luke Sexton**†
Owasso, Oklahoma
General Christian Ministry
Spencer Ryan Smith†
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Business Administration
Sydney Shae Walker**
Washington, North Carolina
Business Administration
Zealtiel Zuñiga Anaya***
Springdale, Arkansas
Music Performance
Bachelor of Arts Degrees
Benjamin Andrew Barcroft***
Jacksonville, Illinois
Intercultural Studies
Sarah Elizabeth Benton*
Trenton, North Carolina
History
Micah Quentin Borck***
Lebanon, Tennessee
History
Karah Nicole Delgado*
Cottontown, Tennessee
Intercultural Studies
Psychology
Alexander Ray Johnson***
Alpedrete, Spain
Intercultural Studies
Worship Ministry
Ryan Thomas Payne***
Ina, Illinois
Biblical Studies
Anna Elizabeth Pinson***
Gallatin, Tennessee
English
Brooklyn Paige Strickland
Jacksonville, North Carolina
Humanities and Arts
Ashten Leigh Winter
Decatur, Illinois
Intercultural Studies
Master of Arts Degree
Gregory Allen Eaton†
Waynesboro, Tennessee
Theology and Ministry
Thesis: History of the Tennessee River Free Will Baptist Association
Master of Arts in Teaching Degrees
John William Lancaster†
Nashville, Tennessee
Teaching
Thesis: Effectiveness of WIDA English Language Development Standards in Moving English Learners Toward Proficiency
Andrea Michelle Mefford
Kinston, North Carolina
Special Education
Authentic Learning Experience Compendium: Special Education Services within the Christian School Environment
Morgan Blake Riffey
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Teaching
Thesis: A Proposal for Restorative Justice Implementation in High School Education
*** Summa Cum Laude – 3.75
** Magna Cum Laude – 3.50
* Cum Laude – 3.25
† Not Present
