Outstanding Faculty Award Presented To Dr. Ivan Filby

Published: April 13, 2021

Greenville College is pleased to present the 2010 W. Richard Stephens Outstanding Faculty Award to Dr. Ivan Filby . Ivan is professor of management , chair of the management department, faculty assembly moderator, and serves as the sponsor of the annual Agapefest music festival .

Students nominated professors for the W. Richard Stephens Outstanding Faculty award by writing essays about the most influential professor they had at GC. There were several nominations. Greenville College has an outstanding faculty , so the board had a difficult time selecting just one person for the award. In the end, they selected Dr. Filby for great reasons.

Five years ago, Ivan Filby left Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland to join the GC faculty as the chairperson of the Management Department. In his five years, he has twice been elected by his peers to serve as Moderator of the Faculty. He has worked to create a new master's degree in management that will begin in the fall 2010. Filby has led students to national competitions, where they have taken first place , and he volunteers to help coordinate AgapeFest , a Christian music festival that attracts thousands to Greenville each spring. Filby is an energetic and gifted man.

Ivan uprooted his family from Ireland because he felt called by God to shape the lives of Christian college students. Students thrive in his classes and below describe their experience, all in their own words:

"Dr. Filby expects the best from his students and he does so by building relationships with them."

"Dr. Filby makes it a point to find out what each student's passion is.He then gives advice accordingly to better serve students in their respective fields. He makes it very clear that he thinks it's foolish not to give your absolute best in class."

"He is intentional with his relationships.[He has] a strong desire to pour [himself] into those around him. At the same time, he isn't a push over. He grades it like he sees it."

"There are so many times in his classes that he will give suggestions on how to be a child of God in a cut-throat business world, advice that is invaluable in today's world."

"He devotes himself to making sure that all of the students achieve their highest. You will note that in recent years, several of our students have won national awards. I believe it is due to Dr. Filby instilling his personal work ethic and attitude in his students."

"Dr. Filby goes way out of his way to help with AgapeFest. He is always willing to help out even if it is on his own personal time. The festival is growing because of his leadership and advice."

"He has strongly urged me to shoot for the stars."

"He is a man after God's own heart and he is full of passion to instill his students with that same desire."

Dr. Filby is transforming lives and earned the W. Richard Stephens Outstanding Faculty Award through his considerable gifts and abilities, his love of students, and love of Christ.