- Posted in All University
- Category: Campus News
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA – The Lincoln University, the nation’s first-degree granting Historically Black College & University announced it will award Reverend Dr. Alyn E. Waller, the Senior Pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church an honorary doctorate degree at its 155th Commencement on Friday, May 9 at 9:00 a.m. in the university’s stadium.
Dr. Waller, whose congregation represents the largest African American church in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is also a sought-after speaker, musician and vocalist mobilizing countless people to get engaged in the fight for humanity.
He joins Dr. Stacey Davis Stewart, Lincoln’s Commencement Speaker and the first black woman to serve as U.S. President of United Way Worldwide, who will be likewise honored.
A native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Dr. Waller is a graduate of Ohio University at Athens, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Theological Seminary), where he received his Doctor of Ministry degree.
In addition to serving on many Boards and committees in the Philadelphia region, Dr. Waller is also committed to the global community and has been a key advocate and supporter for educational opportunities in the region.
Since Dr. Waller assumed leadership 19 years ago, the membership at Enon has engaged in many community outreach programs. He has led the church to (1) support works in Kenya to supply communities with clean water, (2) provide food for children in Uganda orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and (3) support programs to combat drugs, gangs and human trafficking in Cape Town, South Africa.
In addition, when legislative changes to the Parents Plus Loan program threatened to block nearly 800 students from returning to The Lincoln University, Dr. Waller helped to fill the gap by raising an offering at Enon that contributed $17,000 to Lincoln’s Presidential Scholarship Fund.
In January, he also served as the keynote speaker for the university’s annual Rev. Dr. MLK, Jr. Convocation.
Dr. Waller is married to Dr. Ellyn Jo Waller and they have two adult daughters, Elynn Morgan and Eryka Lynn.
EDITOR’S NOTE: ‘THE LINCOLN UNIVERSITY’ IS NOW THE OFFICIAL NAME FOR THE INSTITUTION FORMERLY REFERRED TO AS ‘LINCOLN UNIVERSITY’ OR ‘LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF PA’ AND SHOULD BE ADHERED TO IN ALL REFERENCES.
Founded in 1854, The Lincoln University (PA) is the FIRST of four Lincoln Universities in the world and is the nation’s FIRST degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The University combines the elements of a liberal arts and science-based undergraduate curriculum along with select graduate programs to meet the needs of those living in a highly-technological and global society. Today, Lincoln, which enrolls a diverse student body of approximately 2,000 men and women, possesses an international reputation for preparing and producing world class leaders such as Thurgood Marshall, the FIRST African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Lillian Fishburne, the FIRST African American woman promoted to Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy, Langston Hughes, the noted poet, Kwame Nkrumah, the FIRST President of Ghana, Nnamdi Azikiwe, the FIRST President of Nigeria and a myriad of others.