Florida College Celebrates Inauguration of Dr. John B. Weaver
October 27, 2022
Florida College inaugurated Dr. John B. Weaver as the sixth president on October 6, 2022. During the ceremony, Craig Hodges, chair of the Board of Directors, officially invested Weaver with the Office of the President. The moment was signified by bestowing upon Weaver a gold medallion containing the college’s seal and motto. He then fully agreed and assumed the responsibilities and obligations given to him by the Board of Directors.
In his inaugural address, Weaver shared a theme he intends to uphold during his presidency, “Higher Education for Deeper Discipleship.”
“Jesus said this to his disciples in Matthew 16:24, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’ Jesus describes an education that imitates him to learn more self-governance and self-sacrifice in service to others. My thesis is that Florida College is higher education for this deeper discipleship that Jesus calls us to,” he stated.
He believes what makes the disciplines of higher education at Florida College truly distinctive are the focus on one very fundamental value: discipleship, learning from and living like Jesus in service to God and neighbor.
“The word discipleship transforms our academic disciplines at FC because following Jesus, learning, and living His wisdom, means we combine and hold together things that are often kept separate in the world,” he added.
Dr. Weaver’s has several initiatives he plans to implement including extending Florida College’s services deeper into the K-12 educational environment, supporting parents and students earlier in the formative teenage years, and pursuing additional degrees options in the technical trades and STEM disciplines. He also plans to reaffirm an evangelistic, service-learning orientation at the heart of an FC education, while maintaining daily chapel, daily Bible classes and daily interactions between students and Christian faculty.
“This is higher education that combines theory and practice, doctrine and application, not due to market forces or cultural fads, but because our higher education is for deeper discipleship – a discipleship which is by definition a doing, a serving, a profession that not only makes a living but deepens understanding of life,” said Weaver.
To view the full inauguration ceremony, click here.
