Mission University: Shaping Christian Leaders - A Legacy of Notable Alumni
Mission University (MU), a private Baptist Bible college nestled in Springfield, Missouri, has a rich history of equipping students to become effective Christian leaders. Since its founding in 1950, MU has been dedicated to providing a faith-based education that prepares graduates for diverse roles in ministry and professional fields. This article explores the university's origins, its academic focus, and highlights some of its notable alumni who have made significant contributions in various sectors.
A Foundation Built on Faith
Mission University's story began in May 1950, when a group of Baptist ministers convened at the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, with a vision to establish a Bible college. That summer, a 5-acre city park at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Kearney Street in Springfield, Missouri, was acquired and transformed into dormitories. On September 5, 1950, the doors of Baptist Bible College opened, marking the beginning of an institution that would shape the lives of countless students over the decades.
W. E. Dowell Sr., then the executive vice president of Vick, served as the college's first president for eight years. Over the years, several leaders have guided the institution, including A. V. Henderson (1983-1986), Leland Kennedy (1986-2001), Mike Randall (2002-2008), and Jim Edge (2008-2011). In 2001, the college received probationary accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, a milestone achieved through the efforts of President Mike Randall and Academic Dean Russell Dell. The institution gained full accreditation in 2005.
In 2016, the school faced probation by its regional accreditor and a decline in enrollment. Baptist Bible College has seen increased enrollment since 2013. In January 2024, Baptist Bible College transition to Mission University.
Academic Excellence and Accreditation
Mission University specializes in ministry and professional studies degrees, offering accredited programs at the associate, bachelor's, and master's levels. The university holds regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and national accreditation from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), ensuring that its programs meet rigorous standards and are well-respected in churches, ministries, nonprofit organizations, schools, and businesses.
Read also: A Look at Old Mission's Internship
The faculty at Mission University comprises dedicated professors who bring extensive knowledge, passion, and a strong commitment to their students' spiritual and intellectual growth. They foster an environment of excellence in education and faith-based guidance. The G.B. Vick Memorial Library supports student learning by providing a combination of resources, services, and physical space designed to facilitate learning through curriculum support and assistance for learning outside of the classroom.
A Hub of Activity in Springfield, Missouri
Mission University is located in Springfield, Missouri, a city known for its attractions, historical treasures, sports, and culture. The university is near downtown Springfield, where one can find coffee shops, restaurants, and boutiques. Springfield also offers the Springfield Cardinals game in Hammon’s Stadium and the home of Bass Pro Shops.
Notable Alumni: Making a Difference in the World
Mission University has produced graduates who have gone on to make significant contributions in various fields. Here are some notable alumni:
Joseph Alioto (1940): Former Attorney, Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice. Alioto had an extensive legal career in the antitrust law field. He worked for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Board of Economic Warfare.
The Honorable Charlene Barshefsky (1975): Ambassador, United States Trade Representative. Barshefsky served as the country's top trade negotiator, 1997 to 2001.
Read also: The Story of Universal Bakery
John G. Carberry: Previously served as President of Charles River Mortgage Company; as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of a private FHA-approved mortgage firm; and as a program specialist at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (1966-1973), where he was recognized with HUD’s Sustained Superior Performance Award.
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey Jr. (1988): Senior United States Senator, Pennsylvania. Casey previously served as Pennsylvania Treasurer and Pennsylvania Auditor General.
The Honorable Edward J. Damich (1976): Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims.
Ernest W. DuBester: Chairman, Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). Nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to all three terms, Member DuBester has served as an FLRA Member since August 2009. He was designated Chairman by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Christine Luchok Fallon (1977): Former Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States. Fallon is the first woman to hold the position of Reporter of Decisions, which she held from 2011 to 2020.
Read also: Understanding College Calendars
Nessa Feddis (1983): Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, Consumer Protection and Payments, American Bankers Association's Center for Regulatory Compliance.
Suellen M. Ferguson (1977): Member, Board of Visitors; Partner, Council Baradel Attorneys at Law. Council Baradel is the largest law firm in Anne Arundel County since 1982. Ferguson’s main practice is municipal practice.
Alice S. Fisher (1992): Member, Board of Visitors; Partner, Latham & Watkins, LLP. Fisher's practice focuses mainly on white-collar criminal investigations and internal investigations. From 2005 to 2008, she served as assistant attorney general of the Criminal Division at the United States Department of Justice.
Larry P. Grassini (1970): Founder, Grassini & Wrinkle; Founder, Grassini Family Vineyards. Grassini was twice recognized as "Trial Lawyer of the Year" by the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association. In 2009, he was the ninth person inducted into the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association's Hall of Fame. In 2011, he became only the third plaintiffs' lawyer to be inducted into the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel's Hall of Fame.
Thomas R. Harkin (1972): Former United States Senator, Iowa. Harkin previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985. He also served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions from 2009 to 2015.
John P. “Jack” Heekin (2011): General Counsel, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). Prior to serving as General Counsel for Senator Scott, Heekin was Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Scott. He was also a former Governor Chief Deputy General Counsel working on criminal justice/clemency issues and the selection of Florida judges.
Kathy (Courtney) Hochul (1983): Governor, New York. Hochul is the 57th and first female governor of New York State. House of Representatives for New York’s 26th District from 2011 to 2013.
The Honorable Ronald H. Jarashow (1975): Partner, Gromley, Jarashow, and Bowman; Former Judge, Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. Jarashow has also taught business law and was an advisor with the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County economic development office.
Mary D. Kane (1999): Former Secretary of State, Maryland. Kane was the first Republican woman to serve as Maryland’s Secretary of State. She also ran as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland in 2010.
Julie M. Kearney (1998): Chief, Space Bureau, Federal Communications Commission. Kearney is the first Chief of the FCC’s Space Bureau. Previously, she held senior roles at Loon (an Alphabet company), Twilio, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), NPR, MCI, and in private legal practice.
Colonel Mary Lou Keener, USAF (Ret.) (1982): Former General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2000, Colonel Keener served with the Department of Defense as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Force Management and Personnel). She is now retired and serves as an Outside Board Member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation.
John M. Kneuer (1994): Founder, JKC Consulting; Senior Advisor, American Continental Group. Previously, Kneuer served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. In this capacity, Kneuer was the principal advisor to the President of the United States on telecommunications policy and the Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Charles Douglas Langford (1953): Civil Rights Attorney. Langford was a civil rights attorney in Montgomery, Alabama. Langford was part of the legal team that represented Rosa Parks who was arrested in 1955 for her refusal to give up her seat. Langford also represented Arlam Carr Jr. to desegregate Montgomery's public schools and black legislators seeking to end the flying of the Confederate flag over the Alabama state capital.
The Honorable Milton C. Lee (1985): Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Judge Lee was appointed Associate Judge to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in 2010. He was previously appointed Magistrate Judge of the Court in 1998. Judge Lee also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at UDC School of Law and Georgetown Law. He has also taught in the Harvard Trial Advocacy Program.
The Honorable Joseph F. Leeson Jr. (1980): United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to judicial service, Judge Leeson was a founding partner in an eastern Pennsylvania-based law firm where his practice was focused primarily on civil trial and appellate litigation.
Daniel T. Lennon (1990): Member, Board of Visitors; Partner, Latham & Watkins, LLP. Lennon was recognized as one of the top private equity lawyers in Legal 500 US from 2011 to 2016 and in 2019. He also represented the Carlyle Group in billion-dollar transactions.
Roberta "Bobbi" Liebenberg (1975): Senior Partner, Fine Kaplan and Black. Liebenberg focuses her practice on class actions, antitrust and complex commercial litigation, and white-collar criminal defense.
Don Lyster (2001): Chief of Staff, National Immigration Forum; Former Chief of Staff and DC Director, National Immigration Law Center; Former Chief of Staff, Rep. Hilda L.
Stephen L. R. McNichols (1939): Former Governor, Colorado; Former Field Officer, Federal Bureau of Investigation. McNichols served as Colorado's 35th Governor (1957-1963) and was a former FBI Field Officer in Baltimore and Boston. Attorney General's anti-trust division in Denver.
Veryl Victoria Miles (1980): Professor of Law and Former Dean, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. Miles is a professor of law at Catholic Law and served as the dean of the Law School from 2005 to 2012.
Jeffrey R. is the non-profit umbrella organization for the network of more than 1,700 individual Oxford Houses, self-run, self-supported recovery homes for individuals recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction.
John E. Murray Jr. (1958): Former Chancellor and Professor of Law, Duquesne University. Murray was also a former dean of the University of Pittsburgh School Of Law and the Villanova University School of Law, as well as a former president of Duquesne University.
The Honorable William J. Nealon (1951): Senior Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Judge Nealon also served as Chief Judge from 1976 to 1989. President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the post in 1962, and he is the longest-serving district judge in the history of the Third Circuit. The William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse, located in Scranton, is named in his honor.
The Honorable William T. Newman, Jr. (1977): Member, Board of Visitors; Chief Judge, Arlington Circuit Court. Judge Newman was appointed in 1993 and became Chief Judge in 2003. He was elected to the Arlington County Board in 1987. Named one of the Best Trial Judges in D.C. by Washingtonian magazine.
Eileen O’Connor (1978): Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman; former Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, United States Department of Justice; Former Member, President's Corporate Fraud Task Force.
Brigadier General (Ret.) Coral Wong Pietsch (1974): Judge, United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Judge Pietsch was the first Asian American woman to reach the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army. Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims since June 2012.
Christopher Pilkerton (1999): Acting Administrator and General Counsel, Small Business Administration; Former Associate Director of the Law and Public Policy Program, Catholic Law; Former Compliance Director, Asset Management and Corporate Functions, J.P.
The Honorable William D. Quarles Jr. (1979): Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. From 1979 to 1982, Quarles was a law clerk to Judge Joseph C. District Court for the District of Maryland. Attorney's Office in Baltimore, where he served as an Assistant United States Attorney until 1986. He reentered private practice at Venable LLP in 1986 and remained with the firm until he became an Associate Circuit Judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in 1996. On January 7, 2003, Quarles was named to the federal bench by President George W. Bush. Quarles was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12, 2003, and received his commission on March 14, 2003.
The Honorable Peggy A. Quince (1975): Former Justice, Florida Supreme Court. Justice Quince served on the Florida State Supreme Court from 1999 to 2019 and was Chief Justice from 2008 to 2010. She was the first African American woman to head any branch of the Florida government.
Ralph J. Rohner (1963): Former Dean, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. Rohner was Dean of the Law School from 1987 to 1995 and was also a professor of law. He held the James Whiteford Chair of Common Law at Catholic University. Rohner was a founding member and past president of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers.
Thomas A. Scully (1986): Member, Board of Visitors; General Partner, WCAS. Scully was formerly President and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals and Former Associate Director of OMB under President GHW Bush (1989-1993). He has practiced law at Alston and Bird; Patton Boggs; and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld.
John S. Army Air Corps.
Jenell Trigg (1997): Chair, Intellectual Property & New Media Technology Practice Group, Lerman Senter PLLC. Formerly, Trigg was assistant chief counsel for telecommunications for the Office of Advocacy for Small Business Administration and was recognized in 2013 as one of the inaugural "Top 25 Inspirational and Engaged Leaders" by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Kenneth M. Trombly (1973): Partner, Trombly & Singer PLLC. Trombly was named the 2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. In 2018 and 2019, he was recognized by "Super Lawyers” as among its “Top 100” D.C.-area attorneys, by virtue of its proprietary rating system. He was ranked “AV Preeminent” (the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards) by Martindale Hubbell.
James P. Ulwick (1977): Partner, Kramon & Graham. Was awarded the prestigious John Adams Award on behalf of 84 members of the Criminal Justice Act Panel.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul E. Coast Guard Academy from 1993 to 1997 and serving as Chief Judge Advocate from 1995 to 1997.
tags: #Mission #University #notable #alumni
