Larry Chamberlain, president and CEO of the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, Inc. in Winona Lake, Indiana, received the Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA, on May 6 at graduation ceremonies in Virginia Beach.
Chamberlain’s wife, Sherlene, attended the ceremonies and the Chamberlains visited with Chaplain Mark Penfold and wife, Robin, as well as Chaplain Jack Galle and wife, Judy, while in the area.
Penfold is an instructor in ethics at the Army Transportation School at Ft. Eustis and Galle is a senior chaplain, ministering to terminal patients, at the Norfolk Naval Hospital. Both are planning to attend national conference this year in California. Part of Chamberlain’s responsibility is to oversee The Eagle Commission, which helps place and support Grace Brethren chaplains in the military.
The academic program which Chamberlain completed is a 3.5 year course of study with 60 credit hours above the master�s degree. He also holds the MSBA and MBA degrees from Indiana University. Chamberlain finished with a grade point average of 3.92 and his dissertation (final project) was entitled, “Trust: The Foundation for Effective Christian Leadership.” The project abstract reads as follows:
“This study examines the strategic importance of trust in the leader-follower relationship in the context of Christian work. An opinion survey of seventy-five Christian leaders was conducted in which key building blocks of trust were identified, including integrity/character, communications, consistency, spiritual maturity, compassion/love, relationships, authenticity/transparency, competence, vision/goals, enablement/empowerment, and others.
“Destructive forces were also identified, along with ways that trust can be repaired in the leader-follower relationship. A review of the leadership literature on the subject of trust is provided, including sections on the definition of trust, the importance of trust, how to gain trust, how trust is diminished, and how trust can be restored.”
Chamberlain presented his research at the Midwest Scholars Conference in Indianapolis on February 24, 2006.
