Brian Hartley retires after 29 years with GU
Published: August 24, 2022
Eighteen-year-old Brian Hartley arrived on the campus of Greenville College for the first time in the mid-70s with a pair of drumsticks in his back pocket.
“I think I was the first person to move a drum set on campus,” Hartley says with a smile.
In July 2022, Hartley stepped off campus to transition to retirement with something else in his back pocket– plans to stay involved with the institution that he faithfully served for 29 years.
Professionally, Hartley served in various roles on campus including theology professor, chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, dean of the chapel, dean of arts and sciences, associate vice president for academic affairs, and chief academic officer. He did far more on campus, though, that doesn’t fall under a job title. He is known for his handwritten notes and letters, his love of words, his gift of storytelling, his genuine care for both current students and alumni, and his dedication to God and ministry.
“Brian Hartley is a man of integrity, grit, and great character,” says Kaylee Staton, former executive assistant for academic affairs, who worked with Hartley for several years. “I watched firsthand as he dealt with ridiculous odds in higher education, financial turmoil, and great relational struggles. Brian handled each situation with grace and strength that could have only been attributed to his relationship with Jesus Christ.”
She adds, “Through our shared office wall, I could hear Brian loudly singing Earth, Wind, and Fire songs or Gregorian chants. Truly there's no one like Brian Hartley, and Greenville University was blessed beyond measure to have such a faithful man in leadership for as long as we did.”
The student years
Hartley originally planned on pursuing pre-med, but God had a different calling in mind. During his senior year of high school, he realized his deep love for English literature and history; he also began to feel a growing call to ministry. As a GU student, Hartley majored in English (with Elva McAllaster ’44 as faculty advisor), played drums in several bands, and participated in student government, serving as student body president from 1977-78. Also, during that academic year, he served as a student representative on the presidential search committee and introduced W. Richard Stephens to the Greenville community as president.
“I look back on that opportunity in student government as my first chance to experience and experiment with leadership,” Hartley says.
The first band Brian Hartley (pictured far left) was a part of in 1975 called HIS. This group in their matching silk polyester shirts performed at churches, the Free Methodist Youth Conference, and camps.
Hartley’s top three
Hartley says Greenville University gave him three immeasurable gifts over the years. One, he found a sense of calling and life vocation through classes and friendships. Two after moving frequently during his childhood, he gained a sense of place and is looking forward to spending retirement in the Greenville community. And three, he gained a partner in life when he met his wife Darlene (Davis ’78) on campus.
“It’s an old canard – “the ring by spring.” I would not have been able to do the things I have without my spouse,” Hartley says. “Darlene really complements me.”
Darlene and Brian’s two daughters, Emily Hager ’04 and Evangeline Orr ’07, both graduated from GU.
Darlene and Brian in Burritt Hall ready for the Junior/Senior Banquet in spring 1977.
The path back to Greenville
After graduating from GU in 1979, Hartley was ordained in the Free Methodist Church in 1980 and served 10 years as a pastor in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, before coming back to Greenville. Also during those years away from Greenville, he earned a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, completed a preaching fellowship at the American Church in London, and served as a teaching associate in English composition and literature at Oklahoma State University.
Hartley returned to campus during the summer of 1993 when the University needed someone to step in at a late date when religion professor Jim Reinhard suffered a second heart attack.
The teaching and administration years
Hartley says he loved the classroom, working with students on projects, and seeing them grow and develop. He also enjoyed organizing some of the same class trips he participated in as a student, including the Chicago trip and trips to St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana.
“Those were powerful experiences for me as a student, so it was a great opportunity to be able to lead other students on that journey,” Hartley says.
Hartley was known in the classroom for his passion and love of early mornings. Some of the classes he taught included Foundations of Christian Doctrine and GU Chaplain Keli Pennington’s favorite Hartley class, Introduction to Worship.
“There was something unique about the way Dr. Hartley taught that class, it was theological and theoretical, but also practical,” Pennington, a 2016 graduate, says. “Beginning my role as chaplain this year, Dr. Hartley is one of the key pastoral voices in my life and few people have formed my pastoral sensibilities as much as he has.”
Hartley gradually moved from teaching to administration roles but in everything continued to serve with the heart of a teacher and a pastor.
Kathryn Taylor ’89 has been named to fill the role of GU’s chief academic officer, Eric Watterson ’91 will serve as assistant chief academic officer, and Mark Thomas as dean of faculty.
The retirement years
“I’m not going to sit back in the rocking chair I was given,” Hartley says of retirement and the gift his grateful colleagues presented him at the conclusion of his last semester. “If the Lord grants me another 10 or 20 years, I’d like to use that productively and contribute to the ongoing life of the institution in some way.”
Hartley looks forward to traveling more in retirement and spending time with his five grandchildren. He also plans to continue working on various tasks at GU after retirement. He will serve as a GU historian and archivist and will assist the president in grant writing and other projects as needed. He’ll also author the Wilson T. Hogue newsletter, a communication for the group of GU alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago.
