Gregg Chenoweth

Born to Arlene (Milner) ’62 and Robert Chenoweth, a business owner and philanthropist to Olivet, Dr. Gregg Chenoweth grew up in Michigan with strong connections to Olivet. In 1990, he graduated from Olivet with a bachelor’s degree in communication. He then earned a master’s degree in organizational communication from Northern Illinois University in 1992, and a Ph.D. in organizational communication, particularly focusing on managing organizational change, from Wayne State University in 2003.

Dr. Chenoweth became president of Olivet Nazarene University in 2021, following eight years as president of Bethel University. Prior to serving as Bethel’s president, Dr. Chenoweth held various positions at Olivet including vice president for academic affairs, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a faculty member in the Department of Communication, and one of the founders of the University Honors Program.

His graduate study and professional work history is themed on managing organizational change. He has published works in nearly 30 media outlets including The Chicago Tribune, Christianity Today, and Inside Higher Ed; organized and edited of a book for a dozen Nazarene institutions, Telos: The Destination for Nazarene Higher Education; and released his first book, Everyday Discernment through The Foundry Press in 2021.

Dr. Chenoweth has visited 20 countries, served as a faculty member in Korea for a year; led teams to Nepal, Australia, Kenya and Israel; was invited to give a lecture at Oxford University (United Kingdom) at the 20th anniversary of the Oxford Roundtable; and was invited to speak in Istanbul by the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life. He effectively lobbied state and federal offices for religious liberty protections for Christian universities, and served on several denominational, athletic and arts boards.

He is married to Tammy (Salyer) Chenoweth, an elementary education major and enthusiastic 1989 graduate of Olivet. The Chenoweths have three adult children: Abbey (married to Mitch Friesen), Allison (married to Andrew Elffers), and Olivet alumni Aaron ’20 and Abigail (Merritt) Chenoweth ’20. The Chenoweths have three grandchildren.