(BEAVER FALLS, Pa.) – Geneva College announces the death of President emeritus, John H. “Jack” White, DMin, on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Dr. White faithfully served the college as its 18th President from 1992-2004 and as Dean of Religious Services and a professor of Biblical Studies beginning in 1970.
Dr. White served on the Geneva College Board of Corporators, 1964-1970, and Board of Trustees, 1967-1970. He played a key role in drafting and approving the college’s Foundational Concepts of Christian Education, a treatise adopted in 1967 that still guides Geneva’s ministry of education today. In 1978, the college named Dr. White as Director of Church Relations and in 1985 as Associate Vice President for Religious Services, a post he held until his appointment as college President.
President of Geneva College Calvin L. Troup, PhD, says, “Jack went to his eternal reward yesterday, a great loss to us. Yet, for Jack, who so faithfully testified and taught the Kingdom Gospel of Jesus Christ as pastor, professor and president, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We will miss him.”
Dr. White was born in Newburgh, New York in June 1936 to John and Ethel Perry White. He graduated from Geneva College in 1958 with a degree in history and from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1961. He completed his M.A. in History at the University of Pittsburgh in 1962. He served as pastor of the College Hill Reformed Presbyterian Church in Beaver Falls from 1962-1970 and earned a doctoral degree in Ministry from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1977.
Dr. White was known for his involvement in numerous evangelical Christian organizations, including the National Association for Evangelicals, in which he served as President from 1988 to 1990, and the boards of World Relief Corporation and Westminster Theological Seminary, where he served as Vice Chair. He helped develop the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC), the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO), the National Coalition Against Pornography (NCAP), the Center for Urban Biblical Ministries (CUBM), now associated with Geneva College Pittsburgh Campus, and the Beaver County Christian School. He was named publisher of the Christian Scholars’ Review in 1991 and published his writing in “Christianity Today,” “Decision,” “Eternity” and “Table Talk.” Among his published books are The Book of Books (Crown & Covenant) and Slavery to Servanthood (Great Commission Publications).
His first wife, Norma (Woods ’59), preceded him in death in 2012 after more than 50 years of marriage. Dr. White leaves his wife, Mary, as well as two daughters, Natalie ’92 (Austin) and Stephanie, to his marriage with Norma, and grandchildren, Asa, Aiden, Matthew and Max Austin; Steven, Jennifer and Janelle White.
Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva’s programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva has one of the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).
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