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During their tenure, thousands have arrived at Azusa Pacific as college students, and left as Kingdom builders, educated in mind and nurtured in spirit. As these men retire and leave the day-to-day operations of the university, they will be seen less frequently, but their contributions will remain as a foundation upon which the university can continue to grow. APU Life: What brought you to Azusa Pacific? What has kept you here, Cliff, since 1952, and Hank, since 1965? Hank: I attended an alumni banquet with my wife, Sherri, a graduate of Azusa College, in 1962. I met Dr. C.P. Haggard, and his first question to me was, "What do you do?" I hadn't talked to him for five minutes before he offered me a job. I told him I was not interested. And his response to me was, "Well, won't you at least pray about it?" You know, that really was like a jab. "My goodness," I thought, "What have I done? I've made a decision and I haven't even included the Lord in it." I was doing very well, had my own accounting business, lived in Chino. Why should I consider coming to Azusa? But I made a commitment to Dr. Haggard to pray, and the more I prayed about it, the more I felt like I needed to come. So I came to Azusa because the Lord directed me to, and I think that had a great deal to do with my staying. When Dr. Haggard suddenly died 10 years later, things were really rugged around here. We struggled financially, and for a time donations decreased. So I began to say to myself, "Well, I'm only 39 years old, and I've got to take care of my family. Maybe it's time for me to go." I thought about my reputation and how it would be affected if the school did not survive. And as I was thinking that way, all at once, the Lord spoke to me and said, "What about My reputation?" It doesn't make any difference where you work, there will be some difficulties. Many times, it is the difficulties that cause you to grow. You learn to hang in there, exercise your trust in the Lord's direction, and be more flexible than maybe you were. And so that's the reason I'm still here. There were times when I struggled and wanted to go, but I'm sure glad I didn't. I've had the joy of experiencing what has taken place here in the last 35 years, and it's incredible. It's a story of miracles. Cliff: While at Azusa, I studied theology and education, preparing to be a youth pastor. Drs. Haggard and [Malcolm] Robertson came to me and asked me not to decide what to do after graduation until they could put something together. After I interviewed with three different churches, they said, "We'd like for you to stay, and here's what we can do: We can pay you $300 a month for nine months." I knew that at Pacific Bible College I would have the opportunity to affect people who would affect even more people, because they were being trained to do just that. It was on that basis that I came, not ever thinking that I would be here for 45 more years. |
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APU Life: How did you handle the transitions, and what did you feel was important to contribute during those significant times? Hank: For 34 years I have been a part of the administration. This is what I had to learn—that when a new president arrives, every administrator's job is really on the line—you're going to be evaluated not only on your work competencies, but also on how compatible you are with the new president. The chief financial officer's job is to give feet to the president's vision, and in the early days, with limited resources, it was a real challenge. Cliff: I believe transition keeps an institution on its toes. Transition has kept us from getting stale, even though at times we don't understand the process entirely. During those times it is important to look toward your strengths and hold on to your convictions. Chapel is an important part of who we are and our development. The same would be true of service. The Bible has always been a significant part of the curriculum, and I remember the fierce letters that we got from some people when we changed from Pacific Bible College to Azusa College. "You took the Bible out of the name! You're no longer Christian!" But that had nothing to do with what we were doing. One of the most important things over the years has been our hiring practices. Hank and I have been here a long time and have seen Occidental, Whittier, Redlands, La Verne, and Chapman universities turn from their Christian heritage. We have constantly said, "That's not what we want to be. That's not who we are." God First has always been a part of who we are, not only a theme or a slogan, but it's been what we've lived by. |
