Dr. David and Jane Higle left Kingswood University in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada, and are moving to Indianapolis, Indiana, to serve at The Wesleyan Church World Headquarters.
David has been named a director in the Education and Clergy Development Division. He will give primary attention to clergy development issues. Jane will work with archives at Wesleyan headquarters.
The Higles are not strangers to Indianapolis, as David served at Wesleyan headquarters from 1994-96 as theological editor for the Department of Local Church Education.
For the last eleven years, while at Kingswood University (former Bethany Bible College), David was Dean of Christian Formation and also served two years as interim Academic Dean. Jane has been Director of Library Services during those same years.
“The most valuable aspect of David’s leadership as the Dean of Christian formation is that he lived what he taught,” said Dr. David Smith, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “There was never a wall built between his ministry and personal life. Living a life of transparency and grace flows naturally from the confines of Dave's heart.”
A Houghton College and Asbury Seminary graduate, Dr. Higle’s passion for spiritual formation keeps him well read and up-to-date on all the current trends. He completed extensive research in the field while earning a Ph.D. (Spirituality in Higher Education) from Walden University of Maryland. With a wealth of research, he is well-prepared to focus on pastoral care. “While pastors look after everyone else,” he said, “who is looking after our pastors?” He has served as pastor in churches in New Brunswick and upstate New York.
While living in New Jersey, Mrs. Higle served as head librarian at Somerset Christian College and obtained a Master’s in Library Science at Rutgers University. Upon their return to Kingswood in 2001, she became the Director of Library Services.
Under Jane Higle’s direction, the Earle and Marion Trouten Library at Kingswood University has experienced the greatest increase in quality and expansion of service since the university began in 1945. Upgrades include the accumulation of a significant number of quality volumes, the initiation of on-line databases, the addition of computer services, and an upgrade in operating software. She has taken the library from an area of concern, according to the Association of Biblical Higher Education (the accrediting agency of the university), to an area of commendation, as noted in ABHE’s last evaluation. Mrs. Higle has skillfully guided the library through a physical expansion that more than doubled its space to fill the entirety of Nicholson Hall and completely refurbished its interior and exterior. This renovation, along with her caring service to our students, has made the library a favorite “hangout.”