09/02/2026
It is with sadness and rejoicing that we announce the homegoing of Dr. Ronald Cooke (1933-2026), President of our college and a faithful servant of Christ.
His passing, though he had been ill, came sooner than many of us expected. Yet even in announcing his death, there is something we must remember about the man himself: Dr. Cooke did not want attention drawn to himself.
He was very intentional about this.
When teaching his students, Dr. Cooke would tell of the Scottish missionary who had gone to the New Hebrides to preach the Gospel. When people gathered around him, they wanted to hear his stories—his adventures, his dangers, his experiences, and all that he had seen and accomplished on the mission field.
But the missionary did not tell them about himself.
He preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
When they pressed him again to tell them about his personal adventures, he responded with amazement that they would want to hear about a man who had come from the New Hebrides when the only name that truly mattered was Jesus.
That illustration was more than a lesson Dr. Cooke taught. It was a principle by which he lived.
He was a man from Ulster who was given the privilege of serving Christ, teaching students, preparing men and women for ministry, writing books, and proclaiming the Gospel. But he never wanted the story to end with Ronald Cooke.
He wanted it to end with Jesus.
So today, even as we mourn the loss of a beloved president, professor, mentor, and servant of God, we will honor his wishes. We will not make much of the servant.
We will make much of the Savior.
And if we could say what we believe he would want us to say today, it would simply be this:
Remember the Gospel.
Remember Christ.
Remember that Jesus is the only name that matters.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”— 1 Corinthians 2:2
