Evangel University

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Spring enrollment is at a record level at Evangel University.  2,006 students are taking class on the Springfield campus.  The previous record was last spring with just over 1,900 students.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Flags are flying at half-staff in honor of an Evangel University student killed in Afghanistan.  Army 1st Lt. David Johnson was killed by a roadside bomb while he was on a foot patrol on Wednesday. Johnson graduated from Evangel University in 2010, where he was a leader in the school's ROTC program. "Our entire community joins David's family in mourning the loss of this outstanding young man who distinguished himself as a student and as a campus leader," said President Robert Spence.

SPRINGFIELD Mo. -- Evangel University will host legendary singer/songwriters Bill and Gloria Gaither as part of a two-day lecture series on gospel music and worship heritage. The lecture series, Tuesday and Thursday, Feb. 12 and 14, will also feature former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. The Gaithers have written more than 700 gospel songs, earning them hundreds of awards and honors, including the ASCAP “Songwriters of the Century Award.”  They are members of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Evangel University is starting a new major for students who want to work for charities. The Non-profit Business & Social Enterprise program will get underway this fall. Students will take six courses that focus on the ways non-profits are run compared to for-profit businesses. The University put a group together a year ago of nonprofit managers and promoters from around the Springfield community to help them design the courses. The program will be a 4 year bachelor's degree at first, with the possibility of becoming a graduate degree if it is successful.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Elizabeth “Betty” Adelle Chase, Evangel University’s longest-serving employee, passed away last Sunday evening. She was 84. Chase had 56 years of affiliation with Evangel, dating back to before there was an Evangel College. She was well-known as Evangel’s director of media relations and editor of Vision magazine for three decades, prior to being asked to establish the University’s archives in 1988. She also has the unique distinction of being the only person to have taken classes at Evangel in every decade from the 1950s to the 1990s.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Students and faculty members at Evangel University gathered Thursday morning to remember one of their own.  Army 1st Lt. David Johnson, 24, was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday by a roadside bomb while he was on foot patrol. Campus leaders coordinated a memorial service.  Campus Pastor John Plake spoke of the 2010 Evangel graudate as a leader.  "It was kind of his dream job to be in the Army and be a platoon commander," said Plake. Johnson was in Afghanistan for about one month before he was killed.  University leaders lowered flags on campus to half staff after learning about his death.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The next president of Assemblies of God-owned Evangel University could be a woman who is now president of another Assemblies of God university in Costa Mesa, Calif. It it comes to pass, Carol Taylor would be the first woman to lead a university in Springfield. Vanguard University announced in a news release on its website on Thursday that Taylor will leave her post in June to become president-elect of Evangel.  Evangel's president, Robert Spence , announced in 2010 that he plans to retire in April 2014 after 40 years in that position.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Over the decades, Central Bible College and Evangel Unviersity have grown up together. “Like siblings, there is a fun rivalry that takes place,” joked Dr. Jim Vigil, Vice President for Student Advancement at CBC. The institutions are located miles apart.  But there’s very little distance between the two schools’ values and goals. “I think that when we go down to the core, there are some very fundamental things we will both fight for, and care for and champion for each other,” said Vigil.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) has notified the presidents of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Central Bible College, and Evangel University that their application to consolidate the three institutions is approved. “I am thrilled and thankful that the journey we began over two years ago has culminated in this moment,” said George Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God and chairman of the Transitional Board of Trustees for the consolidation.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Smoke forced Evangel University students and faculty to empty out of Riggs Hall on Tuesday afternoon.  Fire alarms sounded throughout the building after smoke filled the first floor of a mechanical room just before noon.  Firefighters found the smoke coming from a large electric motor used to ventilate the restrooms inside the building.  Firefighters ventilated the building quickly. Six units from the Springfield Fire Department responded to the campus on North Glenstone Avenue.  Firefighters found smoke filling the first floor mechanical room.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The next president of Assemblies of God-owned Evangel University could be a woman who is now president of another Assemblies of God university in Costa Mesa, Calif. It it comes to pass, Carol Taylor would be the first woman to lead a university in Springfield. Vanguard University announced in a news release on its website on Thursday that Taylor will leave her post in June to become president-elect of Evangel.  Evangel's president, Robert Spence , announced in 2010 that he plans to retire in April 2014 after 40 years in that position.

SPRINGFIELD Mo. -- Evangel University will host legendary singer/songwriters Bill and Gloria Gaither as part of a two-day lecture series on gospel music and worship heritage. The lecture series, Tuesday and Thursday, Feb. 12 and 14, will also feature former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. The Gaithers have written more than 700 gospel songs, earning them hundreds of awards and honors, including the ASCAP “Songwriters of the Century Award.”  They are members of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem among teens. Many times, they get the drugs from their parents or grandparents medicine cabinets. Local law enforcement agencies are once again taking part in "National Drug Take-back day" on Saturday. It's your chance to turn in unwanted or unused prescription drugs for free, no questions asked. The event kicks off at 10am, and runs until 2pm. In Springfield, you can drop off the medications at Dan's Discount Drug Mart on Kansas Expressway, Evangel University in the North parking lot, Family Pharmacy on South Campbell and several other places across the Ozarks.

   Springfield, Mo. -- The Evangel University Department of Business will receive a $500,000 donation to create and endowed chair from Dr. Raymond and Barbara Schmidgall of Lansing, MI.  Details on the gift are laid out in a news release from Evangel.   Evangel Alumni Create Endowed Chair for EU's Business Department SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Dr. Raymond and Barbara Schmidgall of Lansing, Mich., recently agreed to create a $500,000 endowed chair for the Evangel University Department of Business.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Evangel University is starting a new major for students who want to work for charities. The Non-profit Business & Social Enterprise program will get underway this fall. Students will take six courses that focus on the ways non-profits are run compared to for-profit businesses. The University put a group together a year ago of nonprofit managers and promoters from around the Springfield community to help them design the courses. The program will be a 4 year bachelor's degree at first, with the possibility of becoming a graduate degree if it is successful.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Unused or expired medications are a public safety issue leading to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. Medication take-back events provide a means for safe disposal of prescription and over- the-counter medications. As part of a nationwide campaign by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Community Partnership of the Ozarks is hosting six medication take-back events on Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 10am-2pm, in collaboration with the Springfield Police Department, City of Springfield, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, and the locations listed below.