Who is Greg Hearn?
Greg Hearn is a father, husband, and grandfather. Greg Hearn is a CPA, CEO, firefighter, and EMT.
In May 2023, Greg Hearn became the 10th president of Emmanuel University, but his journey at Emmanuel began long before that.
Hearn grew up in Franklin Springs and attended Emmanuel when it was a junior college. While there, he played tennis for Coach Mike Bona, before transferring to the University of Georgia to complete his bachelor’s degree.
He began his career in accounting in Oklahoma, before moving back to Franklin Springs in 1991 to serve as CEO of LifeSprings Resources, formerly named Advocate Press.
His first employment at Emmanuel came in 2005, under President Mike Stewart’s leadership. He served the institution until 2009 when he was named the Chief Financial Officer for the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. After serving a few years in Oklahoma City, he returned to Georgia to take a role at a local hospital in Lavonia, where he helped them get back on track financially before feeling led back to his alma mater to serve on Dr. Ron White’s leadership team as the Executive Vice President and CFO.
Now, in a more forward-facing role, President Hearn has enjoyed getting to know the students on campus and hearing stories about what God is doing in their lives.
“That’s one reason I agreed to do this job,” he said. “Students who come here have an opportunity to encounter God and the love and support that’s at Emmanuel. Hopefully, they’ll leave here strengthened spiritually and ready to face whatever God has called them to do in life.”
To emphasize spiritual formation on campus, President Hearn created a tagline that embodies the meaning of Emmanuel.
“Emmanuel University – Where We Meet God Together”
“I think that’s what we’re about,” he said. “It’s an opportunity and the three words to me all have meaning. Meeting – meaning we come face to face with him and see how much he loves us. God, himself is this awesome being that wants to be with us. The word Together means a lot to me. I don’t want students to feel like they are struggling with anything or trying to go through life alone.”
Overall, the tagline reinforces the community that is found at Emmanuel, something President Hearn hopes students take advantage of.
In his first time speaking with the student body in Chapel at the start of the fall semester, the message was simple. We are glad you’re here…because God placed you here for a purpose.
“In a setting like this, we have students from a variety of backgrounds. In the first two chapel services, I was trying to say that regardless of where you’re coming from, we’re glad you’re here,” he said. “Emmanuel needs to reflect the character and the nature of God, and that’s a very accepting person. He accepts us where we are and helps us get to where we need to be. The purpose of those two chapels was the communicate that. Being a Christian is about accepting a relationship with Christ, right where we are because he just wants to be with us and walk through life with us.”
Recently, Emmanuel’s name changed from Emmanuel College to University. With the change comes opportunities for academic advancement, but for Hearn, the mission of the institution remains focused on faith.
“We’re here to change our culture through our students and the more biblically oriented students and graduates we can put out into the world, the better the world will be.”