Dr. Bradford Fipps 2010 Alumnus of the Year Pictured are Dr. Brad Fipps (center) with Joy Bryant (left), executive director of alumni relations and Dr. David J. Spittal (right), Southern Wesleyan University president

Dr. Brad Fipps has been known by many as a soldier – an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves, mobilized for Operation Desert Storm and serving stateside as a chaplain. Twenty years ago, Dr. Fipps put his doctoral dissertation on hold to serve his country in wartime.

Today he’s still a soldier, awarded five Army commendation medals and two meritorious service medals, and he currently holds the rank of full-bird colonel. He is stationed at Fort McPherson, Ga., working at Forces Command, sometimes called “Pentagon South.”

Now mobilized once again, this time for the continuing war on terror, his teaching career is on hold while he plays a vital role in the welfare of the defenders of this nation and their families. Dr. Fipps authored a Greek grammar textbook in 1996 currently being used in his absences from the classroom.

Dr. Fipps came to what was then Central Wesleyan College as a veteran of three years of active duty in the U.S. Army, including a tour in Korea. He wanted to teach, but when God called him to the ministry Dr. Fipps thought the door to the classroom was being closed. However, under the tutelage of professors Marling Elliott and Herbert Dongell, he fell in love with the New Testament Greek and realized that his calling was to teach future ministers the skills they would need to divide the word of truth. Dr. Fipps graduated first in his class at Central with a degree in Greek and English Bible. He completed one of the first two major honors projects ever done at SWU. A master’s degree in divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary was next, followed by experience at the seminary as a teaching fellow in Greek. He then earned a master’s
degree in biblical studies and a doctorate in New Testament interpretation from Drew University.

He invested more than a decade in academic preparation, and at every level he graduated with honors. He and his wife Pam have two children.