The longtime president of Olivet Nazarene University will receive the CASE District V Chief Executive Leadership Award. John Carl Bowling has been president of Olivet Nazarene University since 1991. Bowling is being honored with the annual honor of the top chief executive in the district at the annual conference in Chicago. The award is an opportunity for CASE to applaud and promote the work and contributions of our top educational executives.

Bowling holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and a Master of Arts in Theology from Olivet Nazarene University, a Master of Religious Education and Doctor of Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Southern Methodist University. The honorary Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Olivet during the Centennial Celebration of the University. He was also chosen as a Resident Fellow for post-doctoral studies at Harvard University. 

In addition to his work at Olivet, Bowling is active with a variety of professional organizations and local community affairs, including membership on the Board of People’s Bank in Kankakee. He served for many years as vice chairman of the Riverside Health System Board of Directors and for 10 years as a member of the Board of Trustees of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He has also served as a member of the United Way Board, and the Board of the Kankakee Valley Chamber of Commerce.  He was selected as Citizen of the Year by the Chamber and is a recipient of the Community Alliance Beacon Award in recognition of service, vision, and leadership in the community. He was also selected for special community recognition as “Samaritan of the Year.” 

Bowling is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, and a former member of the Church of the Nazarene Foundation Board of Directors. He also served for 12 years as a member of the General Board for the Church of the Nazarene, including eight years as president of the Board.

Prior to accepting his current position in August 1991, Bowling served for eight years as the senior pastor of the College Church of the Nazarene in Bourbonnais, Illinois.  He also served as senior pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene, Dallas, Texas.  He has been a member of the faculty at Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and at Olivet Nazarene University. 

In addition to over 65 published articles, he has authored six books: A Way With Words; Grace-full Leadership; Packin’ Up and Headin’ Out: Making the Most of Your College Adventure; Making the Climb, which chronicles his assent to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa and one of the great mountains of the world; Above All Else – Twenty Years of Baccalaureate Messages and his latest book, ReVision.