The Board of Trustees and the Presidential Transition Team have assured us through countless e-mails and announcements Dr. Phil Schubert is qualified for the role of president. Students have been told he will bring “energy and enthusiasm” to the role as an “honest, trustworthy, Christ-centered leader; a person of integrity, approachable and personable, driven by a compelling sense of mission,” according to the Board of Trustees’ Message to the ACU Community found at www.acu.edu/news.
KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer Dr. Phil Schubert is named ACU president-elect.
But, would the Board of Trustees ever choose someone who didn’t embody these characteristics? Would the Presidential Transition Team select a lazy, dishonest, spiritually weak person who lacks integrity? Of course not. These descriptions do not tell us much about who our new president is, so students raised some questions of their own. And got some fairly candid answers.
If you were in the Olympics and you had to come up with a four-man bobsled team, who would the three other people be, and what country would you be from?
-Will Morgan, Sophomore accounting major from Longview
Chris Thomsen, the ACU head football coach. He puts God first in every aspect of his life, and he’s a guy I’d like to be more like in so many ways. And Dr. Gary McCaleb – he’s always been somebody who has been able to pull out of me things I didn’t know I had – and Coach Wally Bullington. That man has a competitive spirit in a Godly way, and with that combination we’d probably have a really good team. And we’d be from the United States of America.
Does your last name ever get confused with sherbert?
-Ben Fulfer, senior sociolgy major from Memphis, Tenn.
Absolutely, all the time. That was my nickname in elementary and middle school before ‘Shagnastic’ became popular. I had a full head of hair that was long and unkempt, and my middle school coach called me ‘Shagnastic,’ but it was shortened to ‘Shag.’ Between ‘Shag’ and ‘Sherbert,’ that’s what I went by in the early years
Who are you?
-Ben Fulfer
I’m a normal guy. I’m a dad of three kids, I’m a husband – a bad one at times, but I try to be the best one I can be to my wife, Jamie. I’m a guy who’s passionate about things that matter. I’m a guy who loves a challenge, who’s not afraid to fail and who falls often but gets back up and runs faster and harder. I’m a guy who wants to make a difference, and I love to be around people who are willing to put themselves out there. I don’t care much for mediocrity. I think we’re here for a reason, and that reason is to glorify God in all we do.
What made you want to be the next ACU president? Stradlyne Hallman, sophomore psychology and vocational missions major from Haiti
ACU represented a pretty significant place in my family’s life. It represented something I felt was important and had a special place in my life. I had what I would say was the best experience anyone could ever have here at ACU. Serving here and helping became a different aspect of my life, and I want that for my kids who are three, 11 and 13, and I want it for their kids and all the future generations.
Are there any experiences that stick out in your mind of being in college that would help you relate to students?
-Stradlyne Hallman
I was a Welcome Week program co-chair. I was in four years of Sing Song. I was in the Galaxy men’s social club. I did almost all the intramural sports. I worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters – every one of those were part of ACU for me and part of my student experience in ways that were affirmative, powerful and meaningful to me. I did all the dumb and crazy stuff that guys do in the dorm. I lived through Freshman Follies even though I had no talent whatsoever and people convince you that you can do something so they can see you stand up and make a fool of yourself. The dumb stuff, the fun stuff, all the things ACU has to offer – I took it all in as a wonderful experience for me, and those will help me remember what it’s like to be a student.
