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Editor’s Note: Dean Collins has been a longtime editorial contributor for the Valley Times-News. 

Point University announced on Wednesday that the President, Dean Collins will be retiring at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. Collins has been serving in the role for almost 20 years. 

“I’ve certainly enjoyed the journey. But I’ve got nine grandkids now, and I want to spend some more time with family,” Collins said. “Every president and every person has strengths…this one has played to many of my strengths, but I’m ready to kind of stay in my strengths and focus on more strategic things, partnerships, externally, being a good ambassador for the university, doing more, speaking and writing.”

In 2006, Collins was appointed interim president of Atlanta Christian College, the predecessor to Point. He was named president in 2009. He was involved with the University before 2006, serving as an advisor to the school, an adjunct faculty member and interim vice president of student development. 

“It’s just time for the next generation, you know, we need new leadership and I think sometimes organizations just, need a new spark, you know. And so this gives Point a chance to have that happen,” Collins said.

As president, he oversaw the transition to West Point from Atlanta and the name change of the college to Point University.

Point and ACC have been as big a part of Collins’s life as he has the University’s life. He was a 1979 graduate of the University, after which he earned a master’s degree in counseling education from Auburn University. For a time, Collins did graduate work in counseling and psychology and later corporate human resources. He has long been involved in campus ministry.  

“I can’t count the ways that having gone here to this institution has has shaped me, but it’s significant,” he said. 

Collins said his experiences going to and working at Point, has made him a proponent for smaller universities. 

“I think being at a small school gave me leadership opportunities that I would have never had in a larger institution, and in being in smaller schools it gives students access to professors and to administrators that you just can’t have in in big institutions, and those relationships shape inform you,” Collins said. 

“There is no denying the positive impact that Dean Collins has had at Point University. He has led the university through some of its best and most difficult times,” said André Kennebrew, chair of the University’s board of trustees in a school press release. “Because of the work that Dean has done over the last 20 years, Point University is set up for a very bright future.”

In the release, the University complied some of the highlights of Collins’ tenure:

• Relocation of the historic campus from East Point, Georgia, to West Point, Georgia, along with a name change to Point University.
• Growth in enrollment from approximately 400 students in 2006 to more than 2,800 in 2024.
• Graduation of 5,211 students with associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
• Launch of multiple athletic programs and the transition to NAIA-level competition.
• Expansion to multiple off-site locations, with the first in Peachtree City, Georgia, in 2009.
• Increased diversity among the student body, welcoming students from a variety of geographic locations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and age groups.
• Creation of the adult degree completion program, which transitioned to today’s fully online degree programs.
• Development of the Elevate program, a subscription-based model that allows employers to provide their employees with a debt-free college education.
• Approval of the University’s first graduate programs in 2017.
• Expansion of the West Point campus to include 15 campus facilities and seven shared facilities serving residential students.

Collins said he is especially proud of the increased diversity the school has seen and the development of the Elevate program.

“[Elevate] is why we’re growing and that feels like a really important piece, giving access to people who would otherwise not be able to afford to go to college,” said Collins. “We’ve been very intentional about diversity…I’m very proud, that we’re reaching all people.”

The University’s board of trustees has already appointed a search committee to begin the process of selecting Point’s eighth president. The Presidential Search Committee will head the job in partnership with FaithSearch Partners, an executive search firm in Christian higher education, according to the press release. 

“The best part of the job is seeing the transformation of students lives, and for me, that includes the spiritual formation and transformation of a student, not just the intellectual and physical changes that they all go through, but as a Christian university, you know, we want our students to reflect the kingdom of God,” Collins said.  

Collins will remain in office through June 2025. After a brief sabbatical, he will serve part-time in the role of chancellor.

“As long as I can be useful, I’m willing to stay engaged at the school and in the community,” he said. “My wife and I have really come to love and appreciate Troup County and Chambers County and the surrounding areas. This has been our home since 2011.”

The role of the president of a university is not for the faint of heart, said Collins. Over his almost 20 years he said the role has gotten harder. Higher education has been contending with the birth decline in the country, impacting enrollment. He added that competing with employers has gotten more difficult. 

“You have a devaluation of education in many circles, you know, and the suggestion that you don’t really need that [college] and some of that’s driven by the talk about student debt…That’s why we created a program that gives a path to have no student debt,” Collins explained.

Despite the challenges, Collins was effusive in his love for the work. 

“This is hard work, but it’s also the most meaningful work that you can ever do in terms of how you impact students lives and change future generations,” he said. 

While Collins is grateful for the well wishers that have been out in full force this week, he said there is still work to be done before he ends his tenure. And he intends to enjoy it.