William Bryan Adrian

William Bryan Adrian (Bill) was born November 23, 1937 in Altadena, California and grew up in Hollywood, attending Hollywood High. He died October 9, 2021 at the age of 83 in Tulsa, Oklahoma having lived in Bartlesville for 20 years. In life he loved his family, friends, traveling, music, reading and studying. One good friend said, ““He combined great intellect, wisdom, and talent with a truly humble heart and a spirit of pervasive kindness.” He took great joy in his work and his academic and career achievements were many, but they were always pursued with an interest in people—in talking to them and hearing their stories and in discussing ideas about education. He attended Abilene Christian College where he earned a B.S. in Mathematics in 1959 and an M.S. in Educational Administration in 1961. He later attended the University of Denver where he received a Ph.D. in Higher Education in 1967. While at ACC, he met his wife, Lorrie Jane Garrett. They married September 2, 1960 and lived 61 happy years together. The major focus in Bill’s career was assisting many types of universities in planning and development, and teaching and conducting research on university issues. His first international experience in higher education was in the 1970’s when he served as a consultant for the Brazilian Ministry of Education over a seven-year period advising on management and organizational structures for the new system of higher education mandated by the federal government. He advised and made presentations for the Council of Rectors (presidents) of Brazilian universities and worked for over a year with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre on planning and organizational issues. Also in the 1970’s, as Deputy Director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, he directed and managed a major statewide planning effort for higher education in the State, working with business, education and political leaders to study and make policy recommendations. In 1981, he returned to Brazil as a Fulbright scholar in university planning at the Federal University of Ceara in Fortaleza. He worked with the Rector and Vice-Rector and made presentations to administrative and faculty groups. In the summer of 1982, he served as an education consultant for the Ministry of Education in Amman, Jordan, providing support for ministry and college officials on issues ranging from curriculum evaluation to organizations development. Throughout his experiences in higher education, he maintained a role in teaching and research. As a full-time faculty member in higher education at Oklahoma State University from 1978 through 1983, he taught graduate courses and served as dissertation advisor to American and international graduate students, several of whom emerged as respected educational leaders in their countries. He twice received special merit commendations for excellence in teaching. Bill was awarded the Morlan Medal Award by his alma mater in 1983 for outstanding teaching and leadership in education. In 1983, he moved to Pepperdine University, initially as a Dean and then as Provost (chief academic officer), where his role changed from teaching and advising to leading and encouraging, yet he continued to maintain a role in the classroom. A major goal as Provost was to enhance and expand the international dimension of the University, and during his tenure it became increasingly international in scope. New academic majors were established at the undergraduate and graduate schools, new languages were added to the curriculum, and international programs were added and expanded. He also initiated the development of a Great Books program. He received a major research grant from the Lilly Endowment which culminated in the book he co-edited with Richard Hughes: Models for Christian Higher Education: Strategies for Success in the Twenty First Century. In 1993, he left the position of Provost to accept a second Fulbright award to teach in Kraków Poland at Jagiellonian University, which he declared to be one of the highlights of his career. Returning to Pepperdine, he taught a freshman seminar on Eastern Europe, continued to teach in the Great Books program and directed the London program. He left Pepperdine in 1996 and moved to Fort Worth, TX and then to Bartlesville OK for family reasons. He continued to stay active professionally in higher education and in community activities designed to increase international awareness and understanding. In 1997, he began consulting with a graduate school of linguistics on securing accreditation as a stand-alone graduate institute offering master’s degrees. The school became incorporated as the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (Dallas) and he served on the Board. In 1997, he also became President of Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth. He continued to be interested in promoting community activities that promoted international awareness and understanding. While living in Fort Worth from 1996 to 2000, he was one of the principal initiators and organizers of the North Texas Chapter of the Fulbright Association. He also served on the Board of the World Affairs Council of Greater Fort Worth. In Bartlesville, he served as Chairman of the International Committee of the Daybreak Rotary Club. Ever the scholar, he served as a Guest Editor of an international scholarly journal on John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University. He worked with university scholars from China, Japan, Spain, Mexico and the U.S. in editing the special edition which was released in 2003. In 2005 he accepted his third Fulbright and taught at Agricultural University of Slovakia in Nitra, Slovakia where he and his wife Jane enjoyed the local culture and meeting many local scholars. That same year, Abilene Christian University honored him again as its Distinguished Alumnus. He retained the honored titles of Faculty and Provost Emeritus from Pepperdine University, as well. One Pepperdine colleague remembered that “he always seemed to be present for any activity that involved the life of the mind. Bill showed up in the faculty dining room and engaged faculty members in lively conversation. He showed up at Staley Lectures, at William Green Lectures, and at any other event that featured thought, reflection, and scholarship. . . . With Bill Adrian at the helm, every faculty person knew that he or she worked for a man who cared deeply about the work in which all of us were engaged—teaching, scholarship, and the life of the mind.” That will come as no surprise to those friends with whom he met regularly for lively discussion over coffee most mornings in Bartlesville. His own commitment to the importance of faith in education remained strong always. Again, a Pepperdine colleague noted, “He encouraged employees at every level of the university to find ways to implement a distinctive Christian understanding of their work, whether those employees were faculty members, administrators, or staff members. And Bill always led by example. Indeed, he modeled what it meant to serve as a Christian administrator, and that is just one of the reasons why it was such a joy to work for this model Christian scholar.” Bill enjoyed creating opportunities for others to excel. He savored connecting people with each other. And he enjoyed the simple pleasure of sitting around a table with his family discussing life and enjoying a cup of coffee. Bill is survived by his wife Jane, three children: Steven Adrian (Allyson), Lorrie Rockman (Marv), and David Adrian (Emily); 8 grandchildren: Jared Rockman (Mellisa), Morgan Rockman, Annelise Freshwaters (Matt), Evan Adrian, Yasmine Adrian, Gretchen Adrian, Marcena Adrian, and Photina Adrian; one great-grand-daughter: Mihaela Kayte Rockman, and one sister-in-law: Nell Adrian. Memorial services will be held at Adams Boulevard Church of Christ in Bartlesville, OK at 2pm on Saturday, October 16th. Memorial Gifts can be sent to Hope Harbor at HopeHarborInc.org at or P.O. Box 1047, Claremore, OK 74017.

William Bryan Adrian

November 23, 1937 - October 9, 2021