First Chowan chancellor Chris White receives honorary doctorate from Seoul Cyber University

For Christopher White, the first chancellor of Chowan University, nearly five decades in higher education have been guided by a belief that education should create opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background or financial circumstances.

That philosophy took root during his childhood in a small town in the U.S. state of Georgia, where he grew up as the son of a small business owner and learned the importance of hard work, honesty, courtesy and respect for others.

“I was taught to think big and to pursue big dreams wherever they may take me,” White said, recalling how his family encouraged him to pursue higher education.

That encouragement set him on a career path that began as a professor of religion before taking him into university administration, where he eventually rose to senior leadership positions.

White holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University in Atlanta and served as vice president of Elon University, 10th president of Gardner-Webb University and 22nd president and first chancellor of Chowan University. He is now senior fellow for international partnerships at Anderson University.

On Thursday, White was recognized for his work in education with an honorary doctorate from Seoul Cyber University (SCU), with which he has also had ties for more than 30 years.

"I am so pleased with the university's growth from modest beginnings to an intellectual powerhouse," White said. "The receipt of the honorary doctorate is a significant event in my life, and I am both humbled and grateful. In many ways this is a culmination of friendship, encouragement and international understanding."

His relationship with SCU began in 1995, when a friend who was a university president introduced him to Lee Se-ung, the school’s honorary chairman. The two men had an almost instant rapport, bonding as devoted Christians who value family and heritage.

"We both want to provide opportunities for higher education to as many people as possible, especially those with modest finances. We both value international relationships. We both have big ideas along with the courage to make those dreams become reality," White said.

White added that he remains impressed by Lee’s vision of expanding the high school founded by Lee’s father into a companion university. “What great vision he continues to have and the courage to act to fulfill that vision.”

Relationships matter to White well beyond the one with Lee. University growth in numbers, quality and finances was important, but the most rewarding parts of his experience as university president involved relationships with people.

The most rewarding of those, White said, was the opportunity to provide a college education for more than two dozen Palestinian Christian students from the Holy Land, including Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah.

"These students were gifted but had no resources for education. Life for Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land is very difficult. They are now doctors, scientists, educators and the like all over the world."

But leadership was not always rewarding, White said. Though he never planned it, he has been thrust into such roles throughout his life.

"Being a leader comes with costs. I resonate with the three costs of leadership that I found from some forgotten source. First, you will have to make hard decisions that could negatively affect people that you care about. Second, you will be disliked despite your best efforts to do the best for the most. Third, you will be misunderstood and will not always have the opportunity to defend yourself."

Yet White has a simple message for the many SCU students who balance their studies with full-time jobs: Life is good and every day is a blessing.

"I have learned that life is never easy. It has its joys and successes, and it has heartbreak and disappointments. I just keep on keeping on and try to not let problems weigh me down. I prefer to see problems as opportunities."