J. Richard Chase (1930–2010) was the sixth president of

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...

in California from 1970 to 1982 and the sixth president of Wheaton College in Illinois from 1982 to 1993.

Early life and education

J. Richard Chase grew up on a dairy farm in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

and attended the

Bible Institute of Los Angeles Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor ...

(later

). Biola president Samuel Sutherland mentored Chase, and Chase married Sutherland's daughter in 1950. He graduated from Biola in 1951 with a degree in theology, and then attended

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

on a basketball scholarship, where he received a bachelor's and master's degree. Chase graduated with a Ph.D. in speech from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1960.

Career

In the early 1960s Chase taught at Biola in the speech department while leading a church in Hollywood. He was named vice president of academic affairs in 1965 and was appointed president of the university in 1970. After serving as president of Biola for twelve years, Chase was appointed as president of Wheaton College in 1982 where he served in this role for eleven years, seeking to attract students from around the world and maintain the university's academic standards and biblical values. He retired in 1993, succeeded by

Duane Litfin A. Duane Litfin (born 1943) is an American academic administrator and evangelical minister. He was the seventh president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Early life and education Litfin was born on November 14, 1943. He holds an undergra ...

. Chase's tenure at Wheaton was notable for his fundraising successes but also for a censorship controversy in 1990 where several students were suspended or expelled for publishing an off-color underground newspaper. After leaving Wheaton's presidency, Chase taught courses at Tyndale Seminary in the Netherlands from 1993 to 2003.

Death

Chase died on August 20, 2010, in

Carol Stream, Illinois Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. It was incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after the daughter of its founder, Jay Stream. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,854. Hist ...

, after a long battle with dementia and pneumonia.

Personal life

Chase was married for 59 years to Mary (Sutherland) Chase, and had two children, Kenneth Chase and Jennifer Chase Barnard, and seven grandchildren. Chase was the great-great-nephew of American politician and jurist

Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, J. Richard Biola University alumni Cornell University alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) People from Oxnard, California Pepperdine University alumni Biola University faculty 1930 births 2010 deaths Historians from California