Southwest Baptist University News Release
Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications
417-328-1803 / scsmith@sbuniv.edu
BOLIVAR, Mo. – On August 6 Steve Whisler, a Southwest Baptist University graduate of the class of ’71 and recipient of the Life Beautiful Award, will retire after a total of 26 years of service to his alma mater in order to become the new minister to senior adults at Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. Since 1989 he has served in nearly every area of University Relations and is presently the director of estate planning and church relations.
Previously he had been a member of the music faculty from 1976-1981, during which time he composed the current school song entitled “SBU, Our Alma Mater.” He has participated in every capital and endowment project undertaken by the University in the last 20 years, initiated the recently-approved “SBU Gift and Planned Giving Guidelines and Procedures,” and was directly involved in securing the largest known planned gift in the history of the University. “Steve has served SBU well in many different roles in University Relations during his 26-year tenure. I enjoy working with him and will miss working with him on a daily basis,” said Dr. Pat Taylor, president of SBU. “We wish him well in his work as minister to senior adults at Second Baptist Church of Springfield.”
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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one ofAmerica’s Best Christian Colleges® for 13 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 14 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions withAmerica’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past three years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
SBU’s Office of Marketing & Communications is available to news media 24/7 at 417-399-7918.
