La Sierra University to inaugurate its 6th president, Christon Arthur

The inauguration ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. at the La Sierra University Church and will feature greetings from campus and community leaders including Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, Riverside Community College District Chancellor Wolde-Ab Isaac, as well as representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist church.

The inaugural address will be given by Andrea Luxton, president emerita of Andrews University in Michigan and associate director of higher education for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. The installation of the president will be performed by Bradford Newton, chair of the La Sierra University Board of Trustees and president of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Arthur will deliver a talk in a formal response.

The La Sierra University Board of Trustees appointed Arthur in May 2024 to lead the institution. During his first year in office, various inaugural year events and activities were held honoring his arrival and leading to the formal inauguration ceremony this May.

Arthur is La Sierra’s sixth president since the institution became a university in 1990 and is its 19th leader since the school was founded in 1922. He serves as the first Black president in La Sierra University’s 103-year history.

Since his arrival at La Sierra University, Arthur has led campus initiatives to foster transparency, inclusivity and community, implemented strategic marketing and enrollment investments and a strategic planning process centered by a refining of core purpose toward strengthening mission, university vision and campus culture.

Arthur arrived from Andrews University in Michigan where he served as provost for eight years. In this position he oversaw an approximate $70 million academic budget and a total enrollment of about 10,000 students.

Prior to serving as provost, Arthur held additional leadership positions at Andrews including dean of the School of Graduate Studies & Research. Before that, he served four years in administrative posts at Tennessee State University where he also taught as an associate professor in educational administration.

Arthur holds multiple graduate degrees including an Ed.S. and a doctoral degree respectively in curriculum and instruction and in educational administration from Andrews University. He completed post-graduate studies at Harvard University’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. In 2023, he earned a graduate certificate in finance from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where he is currently an MBA candidate. He also holds a B.A. in theology from the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago.

Arthur is a native of Grenada where he was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist faith at the age of 22, a decision that set in motion a trajectory that led to his present position.