Dr. Michael J. Beals
President
Vanguard University
Dr. Michael J. Beals is the 10th president of Vanguard University in Costa Mesa. Over the last 40 years, Dr. Beals has been called to Vanguard in many different capacities, including undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty member, administrator and today, president.
A native of California, Dr. Beals began teaching at Vanguard as an adjunct faculty member, where he later became an assistant professor of Philosophical Theology and Christian Ethics. In addition, he has served in other leadership positions at Vanguard, including as Dean of Spiritual Formation serving as the university pastor for the Vanguard community. In the community, he served as a senior pastor of a local Orange County church, as well as spending 31 years of ministry as an ordained pastor with the Assemblies of God at local churches.
As a member of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Dr. Beals has written for Enrichment, the journal for Assemblies of God ministers, and contributed to Blackwell’s Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization. He has been actively involved in global outreach in Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, China, Israel, Switzerland, France, England, and Scotland. Dr. Beals earned his B.A. in Christian Education and Psychology and his M.A. in Church Leadership, both from Vanguard, and a second M.A. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Biblical Studies and Theology before earning his PhD in Christian Ethics from Fuller where he also serves as an adjunct faculty member. Dr. Beals met his wife of 40 years, Faith, at Vanguard and have two grown children and five grandchildren.
