Pence to Serve as Visiting Fellow for Grove City College Faith Center

GROVE CITY, Pa. – Grove City College is establishing the Center for Faith & Public Life to explore and support the presence of Christian faith in public institutions.

To help launch the initiative, former Vice President Mike Pence will serve as the Distinguished Visiting Fellow for Faith & Public Life.

“The appropriate role of faith in the public square is a major issue in this moment of our American life,” Paul J. McNulty, Grove City College president, said in a news release. “The Founders envisioned a free society sustained by a self-governing citizenry and strengthened by virtues rooted in religious belief. At the core of Christian faith is the call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. The center will examine how and why Christians have sought to put their faith into action for the common good.”

According to the release, the Center for Faith & Public Life will expand awareness of the historic relationship between religious belief and public life; explore ways to integrate faith in public policy and service; and strengthen opportunities for Christian engagement in public life. 

The center will examine a range of issues encompassing business, education, media and other sectors that impact the social fabric, the release states.

As the Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Pence will play a key role in the center’s work, McNulty said.

“Mike Pence is the perfect choice for the center’s first fellowship,” McNulty said. “No one has pursued this calling more sincerely than the former vice president. He is an extraordinary role model for what it looks like to lead with wisdom and winsomeness in public life, and he will be a leading source of thought leadership and an impactful voice of the center.”

Pence, who was on campus Thursday to address the annual conference held by The Institute for Faith & Freedom, offered his thoughts on joining the center and its mission.

“It is my great honor to serve as a visiting fellow to Grove City College’s new Center for Faith & Public Life,” Pence said. “Faith and engaging in public life are not mutually exclusive, nor should they ever be. History shows that Christians steadily working toward the common good have changed the world, and Grove City College opening a center shows they are committed to continuing this work.”

In addition to providing thought leadership through speaking and writing, Pence will participate in events, interact with students and teach a course with McNulty next year.

“Grove City College has been a pivotal institution in helping students grow in their faith and in understanding God’s calling for their life through a rigorous education and a faith-based community,” Pence said. “Grove City works to send out young men and women into the world to be beacons of light and truth in a world that needs leaders of integrity and principle.”

Pictured at top: Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at The Institute for Faith & Freedom at Grove City College’s annual conference Thursday.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.