Commencement

Speaker

Pillar College is committed to an educational philosophy that emphasizes the integration of learning into the Christian worldview. Student Chapel reflects this philosophy in that it incorporates a teaching component along with student-led worship. Chapels include Pillar staff, faculty, alumni, and occasionally friends of Pillar College. Student Chapels are a critical part of academic life and students are strongly encouraged to attend chapel services.

Ordained in 1974, Dr. Schroeder has pastored churches in New York, New Jersey, England, and New England. On the missional front, he has served overseas and at home with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Trans World Radio, and International Teams. He continues preaching and teaching ministries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Through MasterWorks, Inc., a ministry he began in 1990, David is a frequent speaker at retreats and seminars, using some of the twelve books he has written. David and Betzi have been married for over five decades and enjoy their three children and eight grandchildren.

Speaker

Dr. Dale G. Caldwell is the 15th President of Centenary University in Hackettstown, New Jersey and the first African American in that role. He is also the Pastor of Covenant United Methodist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey, the author of eight books and for the last five years in a row has been named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Higher Education in New Jersey.

Dr. Caldwell graduated from Princeton University, received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctorate from Seton Hall University. He also completed the Harvard Graduate School of Education New Presidents Program, the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government program and the Rutgers Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance program.

Dr. Caldwell has been the President of three public school boards and was named the 2015 Charter School Administrator of the Year and the 2009 New Jersey School Board Member of the Year. In 2006, he became the first African American President of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Eastern Section and served on the USTA Board of Directors. Dr. Caldwell curated the “Breaking the Barriers” touring exhibit with the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) in 2007 and founded the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, he received the ITHF Tennis Educational Merit Award and in 2021 was inducted into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame.

Dr. Caldwell’s professional experience includes being the CEO of Strategic Influence LLC, a Senior Manager with Deloitte Consulting, the Executive Director of the Newark Alliance and the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.  

His Father, Rev. Dr. Gilbert H. Caldwell, Jr., knew and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Growing up around the Civil Rights Movement inspired Dale to have a passion for helping to transform the lives of people in economically challenged communities and households. This inspired him to establish the Dale Caldwell Foundation (DCF) in 2018 to reduce poverty through education, employment, and entrepreneurship.