By Bria Isaacson, Copy Editor
Dr. Sandra Gray is not only Asbury University’s president but a champion of Asbury and its mission. “I am charged with moving the mission of Asbury forward,” Gray said. “We have a compelling mission: to make students ready to enter the waiting world.”
Gray’s work as president and “champion for who we are,” as she said, involves both internal and external work for the university.
Internally, Gray communicates with faculty, staff, students, the Board and her President’s Cabinet in order to determine Asbury policy, governance and structures.
“Part of my role is to build fences and boundaries,” Gray said, “to ensure that we don’t encounter mission drift. We don’t want to be like the Ivy League schools that used to be Christian; we need to maintain our mission…our compelling mission statement of Wesleyan Holiness. It’s only through the power of the Holy Spirit that our lives can be transformed for the better.”
Externally, Gray cares for our constituency, a population of 25,000 alumni worldwide, keeping them engaged with Asbury happenings and needs. She hosts guests and connects with resources for Asbury, including financial, spiritual and intellectual support for the university. She communicates with many different spheres—students, faculty, staff, alumni, the Board, parents, business leaders, spiritual leaders and policy makers.
“Our last name is Christian, and I want to represent our family,” Gray said. “We have a spiritual commitment and a commitment to academic preparation. I care for students and I care about the things they care about. I walk alongside them in heart and spirit.”
Gray prays regularly for many Asbury students, and she keeps a list of current student teachers on her desk in order to pray for them, among others, by name, as well as their Christian influence in local schools.
Gray’s own influence is far-reaching, as she is on the boards of Christianity Today and World Gospel Mission (WGM), and she travels worldwide.
Gray travels for about 40 percent of her job, often with Mark Troyer, vice president for institutional advancement and strategic partnerships, connecting with resources, as well as advocating for private Christian education. Twice or three times a year, she travels to Washington, D.C. to advocate for religious liberties.
She has visited 38 countries, including Mexico, Canada, Russia, China and Austria. Australia and Antarctica are the only continents she has never visited. Gray said she recently visited the Holy Land and had a very meaningful experience there. Despite this, she said, “All [of my travels] have been meaningful, but I have to say I love Kentucky.”
Kentucky has always been Gray’s home. She was born in Louisville, Ky., and grew up in Elizabethtown, Ky., affectionately called Etown by the locals. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in business and economics and then received her master’s degree in business administration and her PhD in public administration from the University of Kentucky.
Gray spent several years in the banking world and was a vice president of a bank before she came to Asbury, first as a business professor in 1989. After 16 years in this role, Gray served as provost of Asbury for a year and then became president in 2007. The 2018-2019 school year will be her 12th year as president of Asbury.
Gray is one of the few female university presidents of a college in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). Out of 150 CCCU schools, only 10 have a female president. Gray said, “Being female has never been an issue for me. I feel comfortable because I know God called me to this. I have never let it be an obstacle…. I tell people, ‘If you have a problem, then it’s your problem, because God’s called me.’ If God’s with us, who can be against us?”
Her husband Ken, an architect, has always supported her and his support has encouraged her also.
She and Ken met in high school and got married midway through their college careers. They both worked full-time to put themselves through school. Neither of them was a Christian during this time, and Gray said, “I was a prodigal in many ways.” She grew up in a Christian home, but “wanted to do life my way. I became a Christian out of crisis,” she said. “Realizing I wasn’t in control of my destiny allowed me to come back. The Lord showed that to me. The wooing of the Holy Spirit and prayers of family and friends for the hound of heaven to chase me down came through for me. I needed something bigger than myself.”
Her time at Asbury has deepened her trust in God. “I used to think that hard work, determination and commitment would do it all,” Gray said, “but now I depend on Him on a deeper level. There are days that are hard, but he tells me ‘You can do all things through me.’ It’s my insufficiency and His all-sufficiency.”
Being at Asbury for so long has also given Gray a deeper appreciation and love for students. She said, “I love every class that comes in, and I’m sad every year when seniors leave.” But to seniors, she said that Asbury will always be a second home.
“We want you to come back. This is your haven. It is the place that you can fly to as an eagle, and we will take you out of the storm. You will always find the voice of the Lord here, and you are always welcome. Come back, come often.”
Gray is all about hospitality. She and Ken love fellowship and having guests for dinner. They are even hospitable to pets, saying they have many “adopted pets” from around the neighborhood, but none of their own pets.
Gray loves nature, and this can be seen in all of her hobbies: hiking, sailing, gardening. She and Ken especially love walking through different countries; last summer, they walked 95 miles in Italy through sheep pastures, catching up and singing.
In addition, Gray loves to read and watch movies. Although she doesn’t have a favorite book or movie, she loves watching mystery, action and documentary movies. Old movies and movies on WWII history are particularly appealing to her.
Gray’s hobbies do not include doing her hair. She actually does not understand why Asbury is “so taken with it, because I’m not,” she said. “I’m like most women who struggle with their hair. I don’t get the appeal of my hair.”
Even in this, Gray sought understanding and asked questions, seeking to understand the student body she cares so much about. She has even worn the Eagle mascot head before for the students. She said she loves that the eagle is Asbury’s mascot, because it is the only bird that flies above the clouds during a storm. “This is why God calls us to be eagles in Isaiah. I need air under my wings to lift me above the storm. I am an eagle in my spirit.”
Gray is an eagle, a true Kentuckian and forever a champion of Asbury’s mission and God’s kingdom.
