Curriculum Vitae
KENT M. KEITH
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
2020- present President, Carlson Keith Corporation. Develop and present workshops, seminars, and keynotes; teach university classes; conduct research; and write and publish books and materials related to servant leadership, finding meaning at work, and the Paradoxical Commandments.
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2015-2020 President, Pacific Rim Christian University. PacRim is a Hawaii-based, nationally accredited, Christian university offering Associate degrees, Bachelor’s degrees, and Master’s degrees in Biblical Studies, Theology, Worship Arts, and Christian Ministry. Led the staff in separating from a sister college, setting up a new university corporation, developing strategic initiatives, restructuring the organization, rebuilding relationships with the sponsoring church, hiring new staff, obtaining tax-exempt status, and implementing new processes for recruitment and retention of students. Taught servant leadership at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The university achieved initial accreditation and then the maximum ten-year accreditation from the Association for Biblical Higher Education, as well as approval to launch a new Master of Divinity program and a B.A. in Christian Counseling. The university was certified twice as a Best Christian Workplace and became a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
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2012-2015 Chief Executive Officer, Greenleaf Centre for Servant Leadership (Asia) Ltd, Singapore. Worked with the Board in developing an Action Plan for the Centre. Led the staff in planning and implementing two annual conferences, publishing new essays, creating new promotional materials, and updating and expanding the Centre’s website. Presented workshops in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Estonia, and the United States. Sponsored a servant leadership research project in Singapore conducted by a team from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Authored four articles on servant leadership for Singapore newspapers and magazines and an essay for the Greenleaf Centre on The Ethical Advantage of Servant Leadership.
2007-2012 Chief Executive Officer, Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Westfield, Indiana. Led the staff team that planned and conducted conferences, published and sold books and essays, provided speakers and seminars, held retreats and intensive multi-day workshops, offered courses through the Greenleaf Academy, and supported research through the Greenleaf Scholars Program. Worked closely with the Board in developing a strategic plan and achieving the Center’s first operating surpluses after seven years of operating deficits. Created the Greenleaf Seminars and the Greenleaf Academy, and participated in the establishment of the Greenleaf Scholars Program. Gave more than 235 presentations in 80 cities in the United States, Canada, Greece, Iceland, Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Spoke at more than a dozen universities; served as a visiting lecturer for management and leadership classes. Edited three books and seven essays, and authored three books: The Case for Servant Leadership; Servant Leadership in the Boardroom; and Questions and Answers about Servant Leadership.
2004-2007 President, Carlson Keith Corporation. Presented seminars and keynotes on servant leadership and the Paradoxical Commandments. Researched, wrote, developed, and published Jesus Did It Anyway and researched, wrote, and developed Have Faith Anyway.
2001-2004 Senior Vice President for Development & Communications, YMCA of Honolulu. Provided leadership and support to the nine branches and the Metropolitan Office in fundraising, grant writing, public relations, and policy development. Wrote 20 proposals to government agencies and foundations that yielded $5.1 million.
1998-2001 Vice President for Development & Communications, YMCA of Honolulu. Provided leadership and support in the fields of fundraising, grant writing, marketing, advertising, and public relations for the Metropolitan Office and branches. Wrote 27 proposals to government agencies and foundations that brought in $3.7 million in operating funds.
1997-1998 Lecturer on the law of higher education. Taught courses for the doctoral program of the School of Education at the University of Southern California (Hawaii cohort) and the graduate program at the College of Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
1989-1995 President, Chaminade University of Honolulu. Responsible for all the operations of the University, which served 2,500 students at any given time in day and evening undergraduate and graduate programs. Led the University through a period of dramatic change in response to the deficiencies cited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation committee and the threat of public probation by the WASC Commission. Focused on reaffirming the mission, adopting a new general education curriculum, increasing faculty salaries, conducting a capital campaign, renovating the campus, opening new facilities, launching two new Master’s degree programs, eliminating staff positions, and cutting off-campus programs. Succeeded in fully restoring accreditation after three years, while suffering operating deficits and declines in the traditional day enrollment. Restructured finances so that the university could again generate a surplus. Founded the Chaminade Leadership Institute to promote the concept of servant leadership among faculty and students.
1988-1989 Vice-President for Public Relations and Business Development, Oceanic Properties (Castle & Cooke Properties, Inc.) Prepared corporate communications, speeches, and events for Dole Food Company Chairman David Murdock, and managed the Oceanic Properties charitable donations portfolio.
1986-1989 Project Manager, Mililani Technology Park, Oceanic Properties (Castle & Cooke Properties, Inc.) Supervised the design, permit approval process, and construction of the first twenty-four acres of infrastructure and the first two buildings at the technology park. Attracted the first seven high tech companies to the park.
1983-1986 Director of the Department of Planning and Economic Development, State of Hawaii. Led 180 staff members and managed a $10-15 million departmental budget. Member of Governor Ariyoshi’s cabinet, as well as several government boards and commissions. Focused on support for small business, the simplification of the land use permit process, and marketing Hawaii and its products. Testified at approximately 250 legislative hearings on 600 bills, gave 200 speeches, and represented the Governor and the department at hundreds of community ceremonies and functions.
1981-1983 Deputy Director, Department of Planning and Economic Development, State of Hawaii. Led 40 staff members in the Ocean Resources Office and the Energy Division, and assisted the Director in the overall management of the department.
1979-1981 Coordinator, Ocean Resources Manager, Office of the Director, Department of Planning and Economic Development, State of Hawaii. Developed the department's manganese nodule program and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) program.
1977-1979 Associate, Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright, Honolulu. Attorney in the commercial litigation department. Prepared and argued motions regarding debt collection, environmental law, and construction.
1972-1974 Teacher of English as a Second Language. Taught English as a second language, part-time, at companies in the Tokyo area. Authored the Basic English Course, a short textbook for Japanese adult beginners, published by International Education Services.
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EDUCATION
2006-2007 Chaminade University of Honolulu. Completed six courses in theology as a student in the Master of Pastoral Theology program.
1994-1996 University of Southern California, School of Education. Ed.D. 1996.
1974-1977 Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii. J. D. 1977.
1973-1974 Tokyo Japanese Language Center, Tokyo, Japan. Private tutorials in Japanese conversation.
1972-1973 Institute of Language Teaching, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Two semesters studying the Japanese language. Certificate in Japanese.
1970-1972 Oriel College, Oxford University, England. Honour School of Philosophy and Politics. B.A. 1972, M.A. 1977.
1966-1970 Harvard University. B.A. in American Government, 1970.
1963-1966 Roosevelt High School, Honolulu, Hawaii.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS BY CATEGORY
Servant Leadership and Ethics
Keith, Kent M. 2018. “Discovering Servant Leadership” (videotaped lecture series). Honolulu, Hawaii: New Institute.
Keith, Kent M. 2017. “Meaning, Motivation, and Productivity: Servant Leadership Formula for Success” (workshop). Dallas, Texas: Conference of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
Keith, Kent M., ed., 2016. The Contemporary Servant as Leader. Atlanta, Georgia: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
Keith, Kent M. 2016. “The Case for Servant Leadership in Education” (keynote lecture presented to the International Symposium on Christian Education and Leadership Development). Tokyo, Japan: Aoyama Gakuin University.
Keith, Kent M. 2016. “Introduction to Servant Leadership” (lecture). Johannesburg, South Africa: School of Education, University of Johannesburg.
Keith, Kent M. & Elizabeth M. Keith 2016. “Serving by Leading” (workshop). Lake Naivasha, Kenya: Conference of the Ethics & Integrity Institute.
Keith, Kent M. 2016. “Serving by Leading” (workshop). Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Pacific Century Fellows Program.
Keith, Kent M. 2015. The Christian Leader at Work: Serving by Leading. Honolulu, Hawaii: Terrace Press.
Keith, Kent M. 2015. “The Meaningful Life of Servant Leadership” (workshop). Singapore: Chief Residency Program, National University Hospital.
Keith, Kent M. 2014. Beyond carrots and sticks: Servant-leaders enhance performance through intrinsic motivation. In Today’s Manager. Singapore Institute of Management. Issue 2, 2014.
Keith, Kent M. 2013. The Ethical Advantage of Servant Leadership: Guiding Principles for Organizational Success. Singapore: Greenleaf Centre for Servant Leadership (Asia).
Keith, Kent M. 2013. Growing to greatness through servant leadership. In Today’s Manager. Singapore Institute of Management. Issue 1, 2013.
Keith, Kent M. 2012. The Case for Servant Leadership. Second edition. Honolulu, Hawaii: Terrace Press.
Keith, Kent M. 2012. Questions and Answers about Servant Leadership. Westfield, Indiana: The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
Keith, Kent M. 2012. Morality and Morale: A Business Tale. Honolulu, Hawaii: Terrace Press.
Keith, Kent M. 2011. Servant Leadership in the Boardroom: Fulfilling the Public Trust. Westfield, Indiana: The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
Keith, K. M. 2010. Servant leadership: Making the free enterprise system work better. In Diary of Alpha Kappa Psi, Summer, 31-35.
Keith, Kent M. 2008. The Case for Servant Leadership. Westfield, Indiana: The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
Keith, Kent M. 1995. Call to servant leadership. Facilities Manager, Vol. 11, Number 4, 24-31.
Higher Education
Keith, K. M. 2018. “Making Christian Higher Education More Affordable: Variations on the Bible College Model.” Orlando, Florida: Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
Keith, K. M. 2018. “What Does Academic Freedom Mean at a Christian Institution of Higher Education?” Orlando, Florida: Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
Keith, K. M. & Kormondy, E. J. 2008. Nine University Presidents Who Saved Their Institutions: The Difference in Effective Administration. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press.
Kormondy, E. J. & Keith, K.M., 2001. The salvaging president. In Trusteeship. The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, May/June 2001, 24-27.
Keith, Kent M. 1997. The responsive university in the 21st century. In The Responsive University: Restructuring for High Performance, ed. William G. Tierney. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Paradoxical Commandments
Keith, Kent M. 2008. Have Faith Anyway: The Vision of Habakkuk for Our Times. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Keith, Kent M. 2008. Do It Anyway: Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness by Living the Paradoxical Commandments. Novato, California: New World Library.
Keith, Kent M. 2005. Jesus Did It Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Keith, Kent M. 2003. Do It Anyway: The Handbook for Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness in a Crazy World. Maui, Hawaii: Inner Ocean Publishing.
Keith, Kent M. 2002. Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Law of the Sea/ Ocean Resource Development
Keith, Kent M. 1984. An ethic for ocean resource development: Lessons from Hawaii. In The Emerging Marine Economy of the Pacific, ed. C. Gopalakrishnan, 229-241. Boston: Butterworth Publishers.
Keith, Kent M. 1981. Laws affecting the development of ocean thermal energy conversion in the United States. University of Pittsburgh Law Review, Vol. 43, Number 1, 1-47.
Keith, Kent M. 1978. The international regulation of ocean floating energy platforms. In Law of the Sea: Neglected Issues, ed. J. K. Gamble, 275-296. Honolulu: Law of the Sea Institute. [Paper presented at the Hall of Knights, The Hague, Netherlands.]
Keith, Kent M. 1977. Floating cities: A new challenge for transnational law. Marine Policy, Vol. 1, Number 3, July 1977. [Quoted by Alvin Toffler in The Third Wave, p. 145]
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High School Student Leadership
Keith, Kent M. 1972. Now You’re in the Middle: A Handbook for the Student Council Adviser. Washington, D.C.: National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Keith, Kent M. 1971. The Silent Majority: The Problem of Apathy and the Student Council. Washington, D.C.: National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Keith, Kent M. 1968. The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Student Agencies.
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PROFESSIONAL/COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Higher Education: Member, Executive Committee, Western College Association, 1992-1995. Member of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation team that visited Dominican College of San Rafael in 1991. Chair of the WASC accreditation teams that visited Saint Mary's College of California (Moraga) in 1993; the University of La Verne in Los Angeles and Athens, Greece in 1995; and Humphreys College in Stockton, California in 1997. Member, Board of Trustees, Hawaii Loa College, 1986-89; member, Advisory Committee for the State Higher Education Functional Plan, 1983-86; member, Board of Directors, Harvard Club of Hawaii, 1974-78; member, Rhodes Scholarship Committees of Selection for the State of Hawaii, 1974-1990, 2001-2004, 2006.
Lower Education: Member, Board of Trustees, La Pietra Hawaii School for Girls, 2016- present; Member, Board of Directors, Hanahauoli School, 1990-98; member, Board of Trustees, St. Louis School, 1990-1995; Chairman, Diocesan Board of Education, Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, 1990-1993; member, State of Hawaii Department of Education Task Force on Restructuring the Curriculum, 1989-90; member, State Education Functional Plan Advisory Committee, 1988-90.
Fundraising: Member, 1999-2004, and member of the Board, 2000-2003, Aloha Chapter, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP); member, 1999, and Chair, 2000, Education Committee, AFP National Philanthropy Day.
Business: Member, national Board of Directors, CEO Netweavers, 2008- 2011; Co-Chair, Education Cluster, Oahu Economic Development Board, 1997- 98; member, Board of Directors, Grove Farm Company (Kauai), 1990-1993; member, Board of Directors, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, 1989-1992; Chairman, Chamber Business Development Council, 1988-89.
Community: Member, Pastor’s Round Table, 2018-present; member, Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunrise, 2015-2017, 2019- present; member, Rotary Club of Carmel, Indiana, 2009-2012; member, Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunrise, 1999- 2007; member, Rotary Club of Honolulu, 1992-1999; member, Social Science Association, 1984-2007, honorary member 2007-present; member, Manoa Valley Church, 1974-present, President, 1974-76; member, Board of Directors, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, 1990-1993; member, Board of Directors, Catholic Charities of Hawaii, 1998-2003; Chair, Manoa Neighborhood Board, 1989-91; Section/Division Chair for the 1985, 1991, and 1992 Aloha United Way Campaigns.
Law: Member of the Hawaii Bar since 1977 and the District of Columbia Bar since 1979. Co-founder and Vice-President, Hawaii Ocean Law Association, 1977-81. Assistant Director, Law of the Sea Institute, 1975-77.
Social: Member, International House of Japan, Tokyo, 1974-2007; Charter Member and Life Member, Plaza Club, Honolulu, 1977; member, Pacific Club, Honolulu, 1990-2007.
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HONORS
2020 Appointed President Emeritus, Pacific Rim Christian University
2015 Appointed President Emeritus, Greenleaf Centre for Servant Leadership (Asia), Singapore.
2012 Appointed President Emeritus, Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Indianapolis, Indiana.
2009 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Tusculum College, Tennessee.
2003 National “Audie” award from the Audio Publishers Association for best audiobook of 2003 in the personal development/motivational category, for the narration of Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments.
1997 Meritorious Dissertation Award, School of Education, University of Southern California. (The highest award given to graduating doctoral students in the School of Education.)
1995 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Chaminade University of Honolulu.
1993 University of Hawaii Distinguished Alumni Awardee.
1984 Named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of America by the United States Jaycees.
1970-1972 Rhodes Scholar in residence.
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WEBSITES
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Corporate:
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Servant Leadership:
www.toservefirst.com www.christianleaderatwork.com www.discoveringservantleadership.com
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Paradoxical Commandments:
www.paradoxicalcommandments.com www.paradoxicalchristians.com
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Professional speaker:
