Video Shows Apparent Affair Between Former President of Christian University Jimmy Epting and Woman Named 'Kelly'
When North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina, surprisingly announced that their beloved President Jimmy Epting would retire from his position earlier this year, they cited health concerns as the motive behind the decision.
A recently released video showing an apparent affair between Epting and a woman identified as "Kelly," however, suggests his sudden departure from the Christian liberal arts university was influenced by a little more than just his health.
The affair video made public last Thursday and first cited in a report from The Greenville News purportedly shows Epting and a female staff member being confronted by a third person inside a private home. It upended the previous narrative.
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North Greenville University leaders reportedly met behind closed doors for several hours on Thursday then released this statement from the school's board of trustees' chairwoman Beverly Hawkins.
"North Greenville University's leaders are expected to lead Christ-centered lives and abide by all campus policies and procedures," it said. "The administration and faculty on campus today reflect our legal, moral and ethical expectations. We take our responsibilities as leaders of a Christian institution seriously and hold each member of our community to the highest of standards."
The video opens with a man pointing the camera at himself and declaring, "Here we go. It might be a bad day."
He then unlocks a rear door then enters a home where he confronts Epting in a hallway.
"Oh, hey buddy," Epting says.
"What are you doing, Dad?" the man asks, pushing past Epting to confront a woman hiding in a bathroom.
She says nothing as the man asks "What are y'all doing? What are you doing, Kelly? Huh?"
The man ends the video with: "It's over, Dad. This is done."
The video, a copy of which was sent to The Greenville News, is datestamped Oct. 30, 2014, about three months before the university announced that Epting was stepping down. There was no mention of an affair.
"We are deeply grateful to Epting … and thankful for the miracles God has performed at the university under his leadership," said Beverly Hawkins, chairwoman of the university's board of trustees in a statement cited by The Baptist Courier on Jan. 6.
Epting, the school's president for 24 years, took sabbatical leave for the rest of the school's fiscal year then retired in May.
Randall J. Pannell, chief academic officer, said Epting's decision was "a little bit of a surprise" but said the former president had some health concerns which were not "life-threatening."
"This was a little bit of a surprise, but not a complete surprise," he said of Epting's decision to request a sabbatical. "The catalyst was the health issue."
In an interview on his departure from the school published in May, Epting even suggested that he would like to walk on water with Jesus if he got a chance to meet the Lord face to face.
"Let's go walk on the water together. I love reading about the crystal clear water in Heaven, and I'd like to have enough faith to walk on the water with Him," said Epting.
According to The Greenville News, Epting was largely credited with turning the Christian liberal arts university around from the time he took over as the school's seventh president in 1991.
When he took over the school was a two-year institution called North Greenville College. Enrollment had dropped to 329 students and it was facing closure. Since changing its name to North Greenville University and becoming a four-year school, however, enrollment has increased 18 consecutive years. The school had 2,632 undergraduate, graduate and online students last fall, according to the university.
A statue stands on the school's campus outside the Dannon Administration Building showing Epting kneeling in prayer.
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