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LA MIRADA, Calif. — “Mr. Biola,” who for 25 years served as president of Biola University under his God-given name of Dr. Clyde Cook, died of a massive heart attack April 11 at his home in Fullerton, Calif. He was 72.
Dr. Cook retired from his position in June 2007 but was still active in the Biola community, having attended a centennial gala for the university Feb. 23.
“Clyde Cook embodied Biola, its heritage, its values, its high calling as a Christian university,” said Dr. Cook’s successor, President Barry H. Corey, during an April 14 chapel address honoring Cook. “When people across the country and around the world saw Clyde Cook, they saw Biola.”
Although Dr. Cook suffered a major heart attack years ago, he was in relatively good health and his sudden death surprised the campus community.
“This news has stunned us all,” President Corey said in a statement on the university’s Web site. “We grieve deeply …”
Biola faculty, staff and students held a candlelight memorial for Dr. Cook on the evening of April 14 on the university’s Metzger Lawn. More than 1,000 students and employees attended the event. University officials estimate that Dr. Cook influenced 50,000 students and faculty during his tenure.
A memorial in Dr. Cook’s honor was held April 19 at the Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, Calif., where he and his wife were members for the past 25 years. A University chapel service honoring Dr. Cook was also held April 21 at Biola.
In honor of their former administrator, students also dedicated the university’s 79th Annual Missions Conference—held April 16 to 18— as the Clyde Cook Memorial Missions Conference, in recognition of Mr. Biola’s global heart and vision to reach the world with hope.
“I do not know in my lifetime if I’ve met anyone more Christlike than Clyde Cook,” said Charles R. Swindoll, an internationally known author and speaker and a personal friend. “He not only walked well; he finished well. He never lost his heart for those who were less fortunate and for those without Christ. Without a doubt he was the most encouraging friend I have ever had.”
During his quarter-century tenure—three times longer than the average tenure of a university president—Dr. Cook served on various boards of directors and was referred to as the “Dean of Christian College Presidents” by his colleagues. His appointments included the Christian College Coalition—now the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities—and the American Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
In his blood
While best known for his long tenure as president, which began in June 1982, Dr. Cook’s relationship with Biola actually began decades earlier when he accepted an athletic scholarship to what was then Biola College. A star basketball player as a youth, Dr. Cook was named California Interscholastic Federation Player of the year in 1953 and was courted by 12 other major universities that offered scholarships. His athletic jersey was retired in February 2007.
Upon his graduation in 1957, Dr. Cook accepted a position as the college’s athletic director, which he held until 1960. Following the path of three generations before him—and emulating his childhood in Hong Kong, where his parents served as missionaries—Dr. Cook and his wife, Anna Belle, served on the foreign mission field while ministering in the Philippines.
The relationship with Biola remained strong, however, and Dr. Cook returned to the campus in 1967, where he became a missions professor, helping to develop Biola’s nationally acclaimed program in cross-cultural education. He served on Biola’s board of trustees from 1980 until 1982, when he was unanimously selected as Biola’s seventh president. He assumed office June 1, 1982, his 47th birthday.
Among his professional achievements was the establishment of two schools under the university banner: the School of Intercultural Studies and the Crowell School of Business. During his tenure, enrollment doubled to nearly 6,000 students and 12 new buildings were constructed on campus.
Eighteen months ago, as the university was preparing for Dr. Cook’s retirement, Biola magazine featured the administrator on its cover, with the headline, “Well Done.”
“It’s so easy for me to think I’m Mr. Biola,” he told the magazine. “But there were presidents before me and presidents will come after me. This is God’s work and it’s His mission, and He’s going to see it through.”
Dr. Cook’s death comes as the university is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
“Clyde always told me, the best days are yet to come,” President Corey said. “Those best days for Clyde are now, and they will never end.”
Dr. Cook is survived by his wife and two children, Laura and Craig, and their families.
In lieu of flowers, the Cook family has requested that gifts of remembrance be designated to Biola's Clyde Cook Memorial Fund for the Talbot School of Theology building, an expansion project that was on his heart as a priority to complete.
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