Shirley A. Mullen is the President of Houghton College. She returned to her Alma Mater in 2006 after serving for 23 years at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California where she taught European History and served four years as Provost.
Since coming to Houghton, she has led Houghton in strengthening its longstanding commitment to the natural sciences, especially in undergraduate research; in expanding Houghton's historic commitment to underserved populations both on its main campus and among the refugee communities of Buffalo and Utica; in highlighting such curricular and co-curricular opportunities of Houghton's location such as Creation Care and Equestrian Studies; and in enlarging Houghton's commitment to student athletes through expanded facilities and programs.
Her work is informed by her scholarly interests in Enlightenment tradition, Victorian England and David Hume, and her passion for the Christian liberal arts tradition and its potential for inviting and empowering students to be winsome, articulate, thoughtful, and surprising agents of God's redemptive purposes throughout the world. Dr. Mullen has chaired three accreditation review teams for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. She serves on boards of Fuller Theological Seminary, CCCU (Council for Christian Colleges and Universities), NAICU (National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities), National Association of Evangelicals, and Allegany County United Way.
