Moody Bible Institute announced that Dr. Junias Venugopal accepted the position of Provost and Dean of Education. He will officially assume this role on July 1, 2010. Since 2008, Junias has been serving as Vice President for Educational Affairs at Columbia International University in Columbia, S.C. He received his B.E. from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India, M.B.A. from Cornell University, Th.M. in Bible Exposition from Dallas Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. in Education Studies from Trinity International University.
“We are blessed that God has graciously allowed us to secure a person of Junias’ experience and character,” said Dr. Paul Nyquist, Moody’s President. “We conducted an extensive search for this position and dedicated many hours of prayer to our decision. It became clear that Junias possesses the diversity of experience, heart for students and love for the Lord required to successfully lead our Education Division according to God’s will.”
Venugopal comes to Moody having served in a variety of leadership positions, including Pastor of the Delhi Bible Fellowship, Missionary with Help for Christian Nationals, Inc., faculty at The International School of Theology–Asia and Dean of the Asia Graduate School of Theology–Philippines. In this role, he will be responsible for the development of all short- and long-term educational planning and administration; the continuous evaluation of all academic programs, policies and standards; the supervision of admissions and enrollment management; the recruitment, selection, and supervision of undergraduate and seminary faculty, and the leadership of all other academic administrative functions and operations.
“I am honored and humbled to join an institution as highly esteemed as Moody,” said Venugopal. “I support Moody’s mission to educate and equip students to proclaim the gospel to the nations. It is my goal to submit to the will of the Lord as I work with the faculty to guide and serve our students. I also look forward to working with Dr. Nyquist, Ed Cannon and many others as we move forward with the strategic planning process and prepare Moody for future success.”
Venugopal is replacing Dr. Charles Dyer, who has served as Moody’s Provost and Dean of Education since 2000. Dyer will continue with Moody as Professor-at-Large of Bible and Host of a weekly Moody Radio program. He will also lead Moody donor trips to Israel, teach modular and online classes, represent Moody as a conference speaker and continue to write for Moody Publishers.
“For the past decade, Charlie has helped move Moody’s education program forward in many ways, and we have seen our undergraduate and seminary student body grow significantly,” said Dr. Nyquist. “He has been an exemplary leader and valued colleague in that he continually sought the Lord and everyday strived to live out the gospel. His wisdom, good humor and devotion to education will be missed, but we pray for a special blessing on him as he transitions into a new role at Moody.”