Tribute to Dan Chamberlain

By Shirley A. Mullen, President Emerita

Dr. Shirley A. Mullen, a graduate of the Houghton University Class of 1976, served as Houghton’s 5th president from 2006-2021.

Dr. Daniel Chamberlain took office as Houghton’s fourth president in 1976 just as the entire country and the Houghton community were ready for a fresh start. America had just celebrated its bicentennial. It was ready to put behind the memories of Watergate, Viet Nam, and the unrest of the 1960’s. Houghton too, was ready to move on from its own version of that turbulent decade.

This was the Golden Age of Christian Higher Education. In 1976, the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities was founded with its headquarters in Washington, D.C., bringing visibility and organizational focus to the growing national movement of evangelical educational institutions across the country. George Gallop of The Gallop Poll declared 1976 “The Year of the Evangelical.” There were plenty of students to go around, facilitating cooperation and collaboration among the Christian colleges in the form of student exchanges and overseas programs. There was anticipation of even greater partnership in the form of faculty exchanges and perhaps even the founding of a Christian University. Finally, in these early days of Title IX (1972) and a separate Department of Education (founded in 1979), government regulation was at a minimum.

Houghton was poised to benefit from these circumstances. As the oldest fully accredited institution of Christian higher education in New York State, and an early member of the Christian College Consortium, out of which the CCCU had been born, Houghton was already well known for its high-quality liberal arts curriculum with a stellar reputation in choral music and the sciences, especially pre-medical training. The new science building, along with the growing partnership between the inventor-entrepreneur Wilson Greatbatch and the Houghton chemistry faculty as they sought to perfect the pace-maker enhanced Houghton’s status even further as a center of excellence and innovation.

President Chamberlain brought his own rich connections to capitalize on this moment in Houghton’s history. Having worked closely with Dr. Ernest Boyer, nationally renowned educational leader, at the State University of New York, and as the Academic Dean at Messiah College, he was already well known and respected in both the world of Christian higher education and the world of New York State education.

Dr. Chamberlain presided over an unprecedented season of expanded programming and overall extension of Houghton’s mission that included the development of global programs in Australia, London, and Tanzania, as well as the Star Lake program in the Adirondacks; outreach to new student populations through the adult-degree completion programs and prison education; an innovative partnership with Alfred University, Geneva College and SUNY – Buffalo State University to offer a graduate program in Student Life; expansion of Houghton’s presence in West Seneca into the City of Buffalo through the work of Dr. Charles Massey; the overall growth of Student Life programming commensurate with Houghton’s academic reputation—including the development of facilities for a tiered residential housing program in dormitories, town-houses, and apartments; and the growing presence of Houghton College as an agent of economic development in Allegany County. It seemed to the Houghton community as if this growth and expansion could continue in perpetuity.

As President Chamberlain entered his third decade, he saw—earlier than most—that this season of bounty would not, in fact, go on forever. In the 1990’s, he encouraged faculty to develop the London Honors program, and began the practice of discounting tuition, as hedges on the reality of increasing competition in enrollment. He witnessed the growing impact of state and federal regulation, specifically in changing regulations around the ready availability of government funding for capital projects for faith-based institutions. During his final term, he brought in a national consultant to review Houghton’s position in the marketplace and to advise on how Houghton might more intentionally and urgently prepare for the changing context for higher education in general, and private Christian higher education in particular. Some of the results were difficult for the community to hear.

Over the past two decades, Houghton has worked diligently to come to terms with the realities of a new landscape for American higher education—the realities that Dr. Chamberlain saw on the horizon back in the early years of the 21st century. Thanks to President Chamberlain’s foresight, and the continued effort of the Board, administration, faculty, staff, and the generous support of alumni and friends, Houghton is now positioned for a new season of innovation in the world of Christian higher education under the leadership of President Wayne Lewis.

May God prosper the work of Houghton University in this 21st century as it remains faithful to the mission of its founder, Willard J. Houghton, to “fix up the world,” in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.