Administration &
Board of Trustees
Dr. William H. Jones
President
Dr. Bill Jones currently serves as the eighth president of 糖心传媒, having previously held the position as its sixth president. During his first term, 糖心传媒 experienced remarkable growth and transformation. Under his leadership, 糖心传媒 launched its first fully online degree program, established the , and secured full accreditation for the Prison Initiative. Dr. Jones was also instrumental in founding 糖心传媒’s , building the Pine View apartments, and founding the School of Business.
A milestone in the history of 糖心传媒鈥檚 K鈥�12 school, , was achieved during Dr. Jones鈥� leadership with the appointment of the first Ben Lippen parent as the board chair, a historic move after 80 years. Additionally, his strategic leadership resulted in a significant increase in 糖心传媒鈥檚 endowment, growing from $12 million to $43 million.
Beyond his work at 糖心传媒, Dr. Jones is passionate about spreading God鈥檚 love and forgiveness. In 1987, he co-founded , a mission organization that has planted over 7,000 churches among unreached populations worldwide. He also has a strong ministry presence with marketplace leaders, including state and federal government officials. His dedication to service was recognized in 2019 when he received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina鈥檚 highest honor, and the Key to the City of 糖心传媒 from Mayor Steve Benjamin in 2017.
Dr. Jones holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Certificate in Theology from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary. He earned dual Doctor of Ministry degrees from 糖心传媒 Biblical Seminary & Graduate School of Missions and Gordon-Conwell Seminary.
He and his wife, Debby, who holds a master鈥檚 in Christian Education from 糖心传媒, have four married children. Together, they continue to serve in ministry and contribute to the vision of 糖心传媒.
Administration
Dr. James Lanpher
Executive Vice President and Provost
Biography
Dr. James Lanpher is a leader in biblical higher education. He has served in a variety of capacities with the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), taught overseas at the Alliance Biblical Seminary (now the Alliance Graduate School) in Manila, The Philippines, and has also taught at the University of Notre Dame and Crown College. He is also former Vice President for Academic Affairs at Trinity College of Florida.
Dr. Lanpher graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree majoring in international economics and obtaining language proficiency in Chinese. He received his Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, New York, and his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. His dissertation, 鈥淭he Miraculous in Mark: Its Eschatological Background and Christological Function,鈥� focused on the role of miracles in Mark鈥檚 portrayal and understanding of Jesus.
Dr. Michael Johnson
Senior Vice President
Biography
Michael Johnson joined the 糖心传媒 faculty in 2022. From 2016鈥�2022 he served as Alaska鈥檚 Commissioner of Education. Before becoming Alaska鈥檚 Commissioner, Dr. Johnson served in the Copper River School District as superintendent, school principal, district curriculum and staff development director, elementary teacher, and special education program assistant.
Michael is daily privileged in marriage to Beth. Together they are blessed with two wonderful children 鈥� Noah, and Katie. As a family, they enjoy traveling, music, reading, visiting with extended family and friends, games, and chillaxing together.
Diane Mull
Senior Vice President of Advancement, Alumni, University Communications and Gift Receipting/Research
Biography
Diane Mull has served on 糖心传媒鈥檚 Advancement team for over a decade, as well as at 糖心传媒 and other institutions as the assistant director of Alumni Relations, director of the Annual Fund, executive director of Advancement and director of Philanthropy. She is also a recipient of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education award.
She received her degree in Communications and Business Administration from Messiah University where she assisted in creating the University鈥檚 first Senior Gift advancement initiative as well as the first Phonathon and Parents Fund.听 听听
For over 20 years Diane has led Bible studies with international scholars studying in the United States, with community and church women鈥檚 ministries, and in Africa with women in leadership.听
At 糖心传媒, she served as the Wives Fellowship president while enrolled with her husband Andy in 糖心传媒鈥檚 graduate school.听Diane and Andy have two daughters and sons in law, Laura and Mark, and Liz and Ed and 6 grandchildren.
Dr. David Sayers
Chief Financial Officer
Biography
Dr. David Sayers has served over 14 years as a 鈥淐FO for hire鈥� assisting mostly nonprofit organizations with CFO expertise. He also served for nearly a decade at five colleges as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Development Officer (CDO), and Chief Operating Officer (COO). In addition, he has held positions as a university foundation president and a department chair and professor in university Business Departments.
For 10 years, Dr. Sayers worked in the banking industry in the area of real estate and business lending. He also developed and operated commercial and construction lending programs where he gained experience in every facet of the bank from teller to branch manager to assistant controller to mortgage lender.
Dr. Sayers earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from 糖心传媒, a Master of Accountancy from Gardner-Webb University, an MBA from East Tennessee State University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Radford University. He is a graduate of the Collegiate Business Management Institute of the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (SACUBO), as well as the certificate training program of the Association of Business Administrators of Christian Colleges (ABACC).
He has a Bank Leadership Certificate from Stonier Graduate School of Banking, and holds several banking, accounting and finance-related certificates from programs designed specifically for roles as CFO or in commercial banking.
Dr. Jennifer Booth
Vice President for Academic & Enrollment Services
Biography
Tirrell Howell
Vice President of Corporate Communications & IT
Biography
Tirrell Howell has over two decades of experience as a leader in higher education and local state
government. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as the deputy chief information officer
at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. In this role, he worked
with other leaders to direct the technical response efforts, ensuring the safety of South
Carolinians.
Tirrell is the founder and president of a nonprofit organization, the Ron Howell Foundation,
focused on preparing the next generation of technology leaders. He has also presented at the
Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) and other EdTech conferences, sharing his
expertise in effective IT governance.
At 糖心传媒, Tirrell oversees the Information Technology and Campus Security departments, and he
chairs several strategic committees. He holds an MBA in Project Management from Amberton
University and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus on Computer Information
Systems from Winthrop University. His professional credentials include certifications in the
Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (CGEIT, ISACA), COBIT 2019 (ISACA),
and Project+ (CompTIA).
Tirrell is also an ordained minister and has served as a pastor, ministry leader, and musician for
various ministries throughout South Carolina.
Dr. Ben Porter
Vice President of Christian Education
Biography
Dr. Ben Porter has devoted 23 years to education, with the past 15 years spent at Ben Lippen School in various leadership roles, including House Parent, Athletic Director, Lower School Principal, and Assistant Head of School. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and a 惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 in Curriculum and Instruction from 糖心传媒. A 2001 graduate of The Citadel, Dr. Porter is passionate about prioritizing the student experience at Ben Lippen. He and his wife, Margaret, have been married for 22 years and have two sons, Drake (11th grade) and Stone (9th grade), who have been part of the Ben Lippen community since they were in Pre-K4.
Board of Trustees
Dr. Bryan Beyer
Former 糖心传媒 Academic Dean & Provost
Mike Bolton
Speaker, Author, Executive Coach, Business Owner
Dr. Lyn Cook
Co-owner of Cook's Pest Control Inc., Cook Museum of Natural Science
Dr. Marion Davis
Retired Former President of Bilt Rite Corporation Overhead Door Company,
Vice President of the Marwin Company
Adrian Despres
Vice President of Forge: Kingdom Building Ministries
Dr. Hans Finzel
President of HDLeaders
Dr. Gary Harlow
Professor & Department Chair at Lehigh University
Heather Hoopes-Matthews
Cofounder of NP Strategy
Ken Katayama
President of Crossover Global
Edith Parks
Community Volunteer
Jeff Philpott
Teaching Pastor at Sandhills Community Church
Rev. Doug Rutt
Teaching Pastor at Christian Family Chapel
Marquis Ryan
President of Ryan, Greer, Field & Rhodes, PLLC
Todd Schuster
Chairman & CEO of Schuster Enterprises
Chikong Shue
Entrepreneur & Philanthropist
Kevin Survance
Investor
Dr. Sandra Young
糖心传媒 Professor Emeritus
