The King's College Taps Apologist Dinesh D'Souza as President
A Christian liberal arts college that has been supported by Campus Crusade for Christ for over a decade has named renowned apologist Dinesh D'Souza as its new president, according to an announcement Monday.
With just two days before the 2010 fall semester was set to begin, The King's College in New York City announced its pick for the school's fifth president, capping an extensive nationwide search that commenced after the college's fourth president, J. Stanley Oakes, announced last December his intention to take a year-long sabbatical.
D'Souza, who immigrated to the United States from India in 1978, assumes his position immediately, receiving the reins from interim president Andy Mills.
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"We are thrilled to welcome D'Souza as the new president," said Mills.
A former policy analyst in the Reagan White House, D'Souza has been called one of the "top young public-policy makers in the country" by Investor's Business Daily, one of America's most influential conservative thinkers by the New York Times Magazine, and one of the country's most prominent Asian Americans by Newsweek.
For years now, D'Souza has spoken out on a slew of topics including human nature, social policy and affirmative action, multiculturalism and the greatness of America, feminism, atheism, Islam, church-state separation, and same-sex marriage. He has also authored a number of New York Times best selling books, including Illiberal Education and What's So Great About America, among others.
"D'Souza is well-equipped to lead, inspire and equip students to address the issues of the world with a confident, articulate voice," remarked Mills.
D'Souza's arrival to The King's College comes as the school transitions into becoming an independent entity after twelve years of support from Campus Crusade for Christ. The college was re-established in New York City in 1999 after going bankrupt in 1994 and has been paying off the institution's debts with the help of CCC. In 1997, the college's charter was amended to make CCC the sole member of the corporation.
Recently, The King's College's Board of Directors and Campus Crusade for Christ's Board of Directors voted to begin a process toward launching The King's College as an independent entity.
"With full ownership and new leadership, The King's College has the opportunity to focus exclusively on its mission of educating biblically-based thinkers poised to produce change throughout society," said CCC President Steve Douglass in Monday's announcement. "We're proud to be a part of the history of The King's College and to have played a role in helping it become what it is today."
For several years in a row, The King's College has experienced double-digit growth and expects more than 400 students this fall, including 215 new students enrolled for the fall of 2010.
For nearly seven decades, The King's College has existed "to challenge broadly-accepted ideas in higher education through a rigorous academic program – guided by Christian principles – that equips and empowers students to successfully assume significant leadership positions in society."
"Our goal at The King's College is to prepare intellectually-gifted students to transform society by preparing them for careers in which they help to shape and eventually to lead strategic public and private institutions," remarked D'Souza. "We love it when our graduates bring transformation to the key institutions of society-business, law, politics, academia and media."
Now that he stands at the school's helm, D'Souza says his hope is to be part of the solution to the problems in higher education, as they are discussed in his first book, Illiberal Education.
"[A]nd The King's College is an exciting part of that solution," he commented.
Presently, The King's College is listed by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute as one of the top 50 colleges for conservatives. Last year, the school was included in the list of top conservative colleges by the Young America's Foundation.
Located in the Empire State Building, The King's College educates students to bring competitive Christian ideas to positions of leadership in the institutions of government, civil society, media, law, education, business, the arts, and the church. The school is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
