After being named a Distinguished Alumni at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) Oct. 5, Oklahoma Christian University alumnus Bill Pink said he credits “God’s leading” as his means to success and honor in his professional career.
Pink graduated from York College with an associate’s degree before attending Oklahoma Christian to complete his bachelor’s degree in education. Pink later earned his master’s degree in education from UCO and his doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma.
Currently, Pink serves as the president of Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, MI.
Due to his impact post-graduation and his current career achievements, UCO’s Distinguished Alumni award marks the third honor for Pink out of four of his alma maters. In 2016, York inducted Pink into its Athletic Hall of Fame and in November 2017, Oklahoma Christian named Pink as a Distinguished Alumnus.
Pink said all the honors are not reflections of his talent but rather God’s.
“It is very humbling,” Pink said. “This has very little to do with me, and quite a bit to do with God’s leading. I have very good memories of all three institutions and am a big fan of them.”
While a student at Oklahoma Christian from 1988-1990, Pink played basketball under former Eagles’ men’s basketball coach Dan Hays. Pink played on the 1989 NAIA District 9 championship team, which went 30-6 on the season, as well as the 1990 District 9 semifinalist squad.
For Pink, he said he fondly remembers the fun and success he experienced during those seasons.
“We didn’t make a habit of losing basketball games those years,” Pink said. “We expected to win, and I was honored to play with some great basketball players and great men. Looking back, we had two incredible teams that were a source of pride for the college.”
Pink said he believes the team’s greatness during those years could only be credited to the knowledge of nationally-recognized coach Dan Hays.
“I was honored to be coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time,” Pink said. “His influence is at the national level, and he is respected nationally. He is a mentor and a friend.”
In addition to the skills and knowledge he gained in the classroom and on the court, Pink said all his experiences at Oklahoma Christian and in college prepared him for his future endeavors and professional career.
“My Oklahoma Christian education was instrumental in helping shape the component of my philosophy around servant leadership and trying to allow Christ to help me lead,” Pink said. “Also, I allow the competitiveness of college athletics to drift over into my professional work, and that is very advantageous to me as I navigate the presidency [in Grand Rapids].”
After graduating with his doctorate from the University of Oklahoma, Pink returned to York to coach tennis and basketball before working as the athletic director, assistant to the president and head men’s basketball coach at Cascade Community College in Portland, OR. In 1998, he returned to Oklahoma Christian and spent six years as an education professor.
Attempting to work at all his alma maters, Pink left Oklahoma Christian and joined the coaching staff of fellow Oklahoma Christian alumna Sherri Coale at the University of Oklahoma, also serving as the Sooners’ director of basketball operations for two years.
From working at an NAIA program at Oklahoma Christian to a successful Division I institution at the University of Oklahoma, Pink said differences between the two became evident as he worked in the management areas of both programs.
“The resources we had at the Division I level were much more robust than what we had at the NAIA level,” Pink said. “From facilities to scholarships to funding, the D1 level was worlds apart. That said, I was honored to be at an elite D1 school, which can also be very different from a low D1 in relation to resources. I was at the University of Oklahoma, and we were blessed.”
Pink moved from the University of Oklahoma to serve as the associate dean of UCO’s College of Education and Professional Studies. In December 2011, he took on the role of vice president of academic affairs for Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City.
Before becoming president at Grand Rapids, he served as the vice president and dean for workforce development.
Pink said his greatest professional accomplishment was being named the president of Grand Rapids, a position he hopes to use to make an impact and difference in people’s lives. As he aims to do this, Pink said he keeps two important motivating statements in the forefront of his mind.
“First, I don’t want to gain the whole world and lose my soul or my family,” Pink said. “Secondly, one of the worst things a person can do is to wake up every day and go to a job that they hate. They will be miserable and thereby make others in their life miserable. Enjoy your work and it won’t feel like work.”
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