William Whitney, PhD, was named executive director of Azusa Pacific University’s new Institute for Faith, Leadership, and Service (IFLS). Launched this fall, the IFLS is designed to prepare the APU community and ministry partners to live out their faith and transform people and organizations through Christian education, theological reflection, leadership development, community engagement, and service.
The IFLS is funded by more than $9 million in grants including a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through the Cornerstones Project, which focuses on the development of leaders through service. The funds will support APU faculty, staff, and student development, student leadership programing, research partnerships, and subgrants for Christian schools, churches, and parachurch organizations. The IFLS is a reflection of APU’s identity as a Christ-centered university. Combining spiritual formation, leadership, and service to educate the next generation of Christian leaders, the IFLS acts as a bridge between academic formation and ministry practice.
“This role combines the core areas of my calling: student formation, interdisciplinary learning, and leadership development,” Whitney said. “I’m excited to build something lasting—an institute that can shape lives and serve the university and the church for years to come.”
As executive director, Whitney will oversee the vision, strategy, and implementation of the IFLS. He will grow and lead the institute’s team of dedicated staff, manage grant-funded programs and budgets, support faculty and staff development through theological reflection, and build partnerships within the community. Whitney’s background in psychology has had a meaningful impact on his approach to the new role.
“I’m interested in the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of people, so now I’m looking at how we can help people and create a ripple effect by investing in high schools, churches, nonprofits, and the development of leaders,” he said.
Whitney views the creation of the institute as a culmination of projects and initiatives that will serve as a long term investment in educating the next generations of leaders for the church. “I’m passionate about helping students and ministry leaders discover who they are in Christ and how they’re called to serve the world,” he said. “My hope is that the institute becomes a place where people find clarity of purpose, resilience in leadership, and courage to follow God’s call, wherever it may lead.”
Whitney holds a PhD in Theology from Fuller Seminary, a Master’s in Theology from Oxford University, and is currently completing his PhD in Developmental Psychology at Claremont Graduate University. He is also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with his MFT degree from Fuller’s School of Psychology. His research and teaching explore the intersections of positive psychology, Christian theology, human development, and culture. He is the co-author of The Integration Journey (IVP, 2024) and Theology for Psychology and Counseling (Baker Academic, 2022). His research has received funding from the Lilly Endowment, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Louisville Institute. Whitney has spent more than a decade as an associate psychology professor at APU with a background in faith integration research and scholarship experience focused on purpose, faith, spiritual development, virtue formation, and the emotional well-being of leaders and clergy.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
Since 1899, Azusa Pacific University, a top Christian higher education institution in the nation, has helped students discover their higher calling to impact the world for Christ. Featuring world-class faculty, an APU education leads to lifelong transformation and eternal impact. APU offers 59 bachelor’s degrees, 34 master’s degrees, 35 certificates and credentials, and 7 doctoral programs to more than 7,000 students at the university’s main campus in Azusa, several regional locations across Southern California, and online. Learn more at apu.edu.