Ted Boykin named Vice President for Student Development

With 28 years of experience, Boykin is the longest serving resident director on campus. He estimates that somewhere between 800 and 1,000 guys have come through his hall over the past 28 years. He has also influenced CSU students who have sat in his classes or across the desk in his office. With degrees in both ministry and counseling, his knowledge and experience have equipped him to teach, train and counsel students in many capacities.

“Ted Boykin has mentored more guys than anyone else around CSU,” explained Dr. Jim Lytle, CSU president. “He has personified discipleship. He continually assists students to grow spiritually. Since CSU is all about ‘Christ-Centered, Career-Ready,’ Ted has already demonstrated his commitment to our mission hundreds of times over 30 years.”

Boykin earned his Master of Christian Counseling degree from what is now Cairn University and his Master of Divinity from Baptist Bible Seminary. Over the years, he has served as assistant men’s basketball coach, assistant director of Teen Leadership Conference, associate professor, campus counselor, associate dean of men and associate dean of students. Now, in his role as vice president and member of CSU’s Cabinet, Boykin said he is grateful for the opportunity.

“I have a unique perspective,” Boykin admitted. “I’ve been a student. I’ve been a faculty member. I’ve been an RD. It does give me an understanding as I work with different departments at the school…I want to work together to give students the best experience and best training possible.”

Referencing Boykin’s professional degrees and extensive experience, Lytle said, “This is a powerful combination for the sort of student development that CSU needs in the years ahead.”

Beyond these qualifications, Boykin has demonstrated a commitment to discipling students. “College students are deciding who they are going to be,” Boykin said. “It’s an exciting thing to be a part of the day-to-day lives of students and do life with them. But the most important and exciting thing is to see my discipleship ministry reproduced in students. Many have gone on to do some amazing things for the Lord.” Many of his former students have stayed in touch with Boykin, and he counts them his friends.

Lytle noted, “When I visit churches or attend alumni meetings, I know that I will be asked questions about Ted. Alumni spontaneously testify about his ministry in their Christ-centered development.”

That privilege is not lost on Boykin; he said, “It’s a significant thing that not only has God used me in their lives, but He has used them in mine. Now they are making a difference in other’s lives…I can’t take the credit for it. I’m just glad I was a part of it.”

Boykin is excited about the future of CSU and believes in the school’s mission to continue to train and develop students who are career-ready and Christ-centered. He loves discipling students who will serve the Lord and minister to others wherever God calls them.

Boykin said, “God put me in students’ lives at strategic points…to be used by God in their lives at those moments and then watch them grow into the people God would have them to be is the most rewarding aspect of what I do.”

Getting to Know Ted Boykin

Theodore “Ted” Boykin faced crisis but also transformation and growth in his most formative years as a teenager and college student. After serving at St. John’s Baptist Church and Evangel Baptist Church in New York City during his undergraduate years, Boykin arrived on campus in 1984 to attend Baptist Bible Seminary. Two years later, Boykin was in a serious car accident and broke his neck. “It was a set back and slowed me down a bit,” Boykin said. “I did actually finish the semester, but no one knows how exactly, including me. Somehow, by the grace of God, I was able to get through.”

Boykin was in the first group of seminary students to do an internship with BBS in 1988. His internship at Riverdale Baptist Church in Flint, Michigan, with Pastor Glenn Stuart was a valuable experience. “They gave me experiences in ministry that I hadn’t had,” Boykin said. “During that time, several men urged me to consider teaching.”

Boykin earned his Master of Divinity degree in 1989 and started work on a Master of Theology degree. That year, he began teaching part time at CSU. “I discovered that whatever else I was doing in ministry, I kept finding myself working with high schoolers and college students,” Boykin said. “God knew.”

In 1993, he began teaching at CSU full time. The year Lytle left for the mission field, Boykin stepped in to teach his classes. “I taught Bible and theology classes, and I’ve been there ever since,” Boykin said. Since his part-time years of teaching count as a half year, Boykin will reach 30 full years of teaching at CSU this year.

1993 was a pivotal year for Boykin. He not only started teaching full time but became resident director of Christen Hall. He was a “dorm dad” for seven years before marrying his wife Sherry in 2000, who quickly and lovingly became known as “Mama B.” In 2002, the Boykins moved to Loescher Hall to serve as the newly built hall’s resident director. Their daughter, Katherine was born in 2005.

Most recently, he has taught Bible classes while serving as associate dean of students before filling the role of interim dean of students and then accepting the vice president position. “At this time in our school, with the years of experience Ted brings, he will be able to shape our student development program powerfully,” said Lytle.

by Julie Jeffery Manwarren