C.W. Post to Recognize Rev. Dr. W. Sherrill Babb with Distinguished Alumni Award
Babb Serves as President of Philadelphia Biblical University

May 8, 2005 — Brookville, NY — W. Sherrill Babb was only 39 years old when he became president of the non-denominational Christian college now known as Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU). Under his leadership, the school has grown from the small, 475-student Philadelphia College of Bible, located in inner city Philadelphia, to a comprehensive university with six campuses and 1,800 students who hail from every state in the U.S. and from more than 100 countries around the globe.

In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments, Dr. Babb will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, during commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 8, 2005.

Dr. Babb took the first steps toward a career in religious studies when he formed a men's Bible study group in his dorm at C.W. Post. After completing a bachelor of arts degree in history at C.W. Post in 1963, he earned a master’s degree in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He then held several pastoral and college administrative posts, earning his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.

In 1979, Dr. Babb was appointed president of Philadelphia College of Bible, and was charged with overseeing the school’s move from four buildings in downtown Philadelphia to a single building on a 115-acre campus in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and overseeing a major construction program, which raised five dormitories, a library, a gymnasium and a student commons. Dr. Babb also spearheaded the introduction of six graduate programs, which earned the school university status. It was renamed Philadelphia Biblical University on January 1, 2001. In his quest to continue the expansion of the University, Dr. Babb plans to make PBU a Ph.D.-granting institution within the next 10 years.

Over the last quarter of a century, this C.W. Post graduate successfully grew a once small college into a respected university, with programs ranging from business administration to sociology to comprehensive biblical studies. A noted scholar, Dr. Babb was one of three people chosen by Oxford University Press to work on the revised edition of the NIV Scofield Bible, recognized as a landmark in Bible publishing. He lives by a biblical phrase he loves-- “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

In recent years, Dr. Babb became a competitive swimmer, consistently scoring in the top 10 in his age group in the U.S. Masters Long Course Nationals. He and his wife, Linda, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 30 years ago, counsel other couples who are coping with this debilitating illness. The couple has three children, Corinne, Michelle and David, and 11 grandchildren.

Dr. Babb will be honored along with two other successful C.W. Post graduates: Charles Gradante (’67 engineering, ’70 management), co-founder of the Hennessee Hedge Fund Advisory Group, and Robert F. Arning (’84 accounting), managing partner of the New York office of KPMG LLP and the company’s Northeast Audit and Risk Advisory of Services practice.