Cabinet

John Beaghan is Montreat College’s Vice President for Finance and Administration, serving as the college’s Chief Financial Officer beginning in April 2022. He is an accomplished CFO with nearly four decades of experience in higher education. Prior to arriving at Montreat, John served 16 years at Oakland University as the Vice President for Finance and Administration, where he managed all aspects of the accounting and financial reporting functions, facilities, public safety, and human resources. He earned his B.A. in Business Administration from The University of Michigan, Dearborn, graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Master of Business Administration, and is a Certified Management Accountant.

Daniel Bennett is Montreat College’s vice president for student services and dean of students, a position he has held since 2014. From 2006 to 2014, Dr. Bennett guided many student life teams and co-curricular programming initiatives at Montreat College, including student activities, residence life, chapel and convocation, student services, student conduct, and student government. Prior to arriving at Montreat, he served for three years in career services at Wheaton College, where he focused on developing synergetic partnerships along with transition programming for seniors and young alumni. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at Biola University, master’s degrees in educational ministries and theology from Wheaton College, and his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Clemson University.

Dr. Mark Hijleh is Montreat’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. In this role, Dr. Hijleh acts as the chief academic officer for the College, overseeing the execution of academic policy and curriculum, program development, accreditation matters, and faculty hiring and development. Prior to coming to Montreat College, Dr. Hijleh served as Provost at The King’s College in New York City. His depth of experience also includes serving at The King’s College as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty and on the President’s Cabinet and President’s Council. Under Dr. Hijleh’s direction, The King’s College’s retention rate rose from 62 percent to 79 percent, and up to 90 percent of students are able to complete at least one internship during their time. Furthermore, online summer revenue doubled during his time at the college. Dr. Hijleh previously served for 21 years at Houghton College where he first served as chair for the Integrative Studies Collegium, which became the campus-wide unit overseeing all of general education, from 2009-2011. Later, he served as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and was able to develop a new Lilly grant-funded faculty peer mentoring program, as well as initiate a new career exploration and support program for students. Dr. Hijleh holds degrees from the University of Sheffield in the UK, Johns Hopkins University, Ithaca College, and William Jewell College. Dr. Hijleh and his wife Kelley have two children.

Andy Keith is Montreat College’s Vice President for Adult and Graduate Studies (AGS). A strategic online higher education enrollment leader, Andy has more than 15 years of higher education experience in recruiting and retention of online students, marketing, strategic operations and analysis, and budget management. Before coming to Montreat College in 2023, he served as Associate Vice President of Adult and Graduate Studies at Houston Christian University. During his six-year tenure there, Houston Christian’s online enrollment grew from zero to nearly 2,000 students. Keith received his Master of Business Administration from Liberty University and holds two bachelor’s degrees from Trinity Baptist College.