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Biography of the President

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Dr. Keith Newman

Dr. Keith Newman was elected as the fifteenth President of Southern Nazarene University in March, 2017.  Before his election he served Indiana Wesleyan University as Chancellor, IWU-Marion. He previously served  as the Vice President for University Relations at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, Ohio and for seventeen years in pastoral ministry, including lead pastorates in Van Buren, Arkansas, Houston, Texas and San Diego, California.

Before entering pastoral ministry, he served nine years with the Houston Police Department.  During his law enforcement career, he was an Officer in the Radio Patrol and Juvenile Divisions and a Sergeant in the Homicide Division.

Keith graduated from Houston Baptist University (now Houston Christian University) with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double-majoring in History and Christianity, and earned a Master of Ministry from Southern Nazarene University.  His Doctorate of Education is from Spalding University with a concentration in Leadership.  Keith’s dissertation was an identification and examination of the leadership qualities and characteristics of Dr. J.B. Chapman, an evangelist, pastor, college president, denominational magazine editor, and General Superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.  Dr. Chapman was President of Arkansas Holiness College and Peniel University, contributing institutions to what is now Southern Nazarene University.

Keith met his wife, Carolyn, at the Houston Police Department, where she was also a Sergeant assigned to the Homicide Division.  After Carolyn typed a school paper for Keith when he got tied up on a case, and his dinner invitation began their courtship.  Their second date was to a middle school youth group event where Keith was serving as a volunteer youth pastor.  Married for 41 years, they have two children: Andy and Alana.  Andy is an environmental biologist and he and his wife reside in Houston, Texas.  Alana works for an education consulting firm and she and her husband live in Lakeway, Texas. Alana is a 2014 graduate of Southern Nazarene University.  Keith and Carolyn have three granddaughters, Avery, Jo, and Baylin.  They call Keith and Carolyn "Pop and GiGi," which have become their favorite titles!

Keith loves to read stories, hear stories, and tell stories, and he believes God is in the middle of all our stories. In 2018, his first book, LiveLast, was published. Filled with lots of stories, it is based on Jesus' words in Mark 9:35 and calls readers to a "putting others first" lifestyle. His second book, Call Home, a devotional study of the Lord’s Prayer, was published in 2023. UpWords, a devotional based on questions Jesus asked, is Keith's latest book and was published in 2025.

With all the opportunities and responsibilities of serving as a university president, spending time with students is at the top of his list of favorite moments each week.