Gavin Leton | October 26, 2026
With the start of the new school year, Huntington University has been joined by a new Vice President for Student Life, Dr. Rob Pool. He joined the HU staff over the summer and since the start of the school year has been working diligently to serve the campus and students.
Dr. Pool began his educational tenure at Southeast Missouri State University. Originally, he was not planning on going to college due to the cost, but after his parents had advocated for him to attend, he went off to Southeast Missouri State. While at university, he majored in philosophy and speech communication with a minor in political science. After completing his undergraduate degree, he continued on to his master’s degree with an emphasis on counseling for student affairs.
Once he completed his master’s degree, Dr. Pool moved on to the University of Evansville in Indiana where he started his PhD work, married, and had three kids. He continued his PhD work in Leadership in Higher Education at Indiana State and began to work for Houghton College in New York shortly after.
He then worked at Ashland University in Ohio for eight years before finally ending up at HU. During his time at all these universities, Dr. Pool had the chance to interact with many different students and experience the differences between several Christian denominations.
Despite his short tenure thus far, Dr. Pool mentioned several events that he has particularly enjoyed at HU. He commented that the “first thing that jumps to [his] mind is the hoedown” as it “was so cool to see hundreds of students” getting together after summer to see each other, make new friends, line dance, and more. Dr. Pool and his wife joined in on the fun and learned “the dance to ‘Footloose,’” a hoedown highlight for him.
Furthermore, Dr. Pool commented that he appreciated “watching student government lead” in a “wonderful and healthy way” by “properly advocating for what students want but also diligently partnering with [him] and others to get the work done.” Additionally, Dr. Pool has enjoyed the chapel services and playing the drums on stage with Pastor Mark.
Dr. Pool has several goals this year with a particular focus on “what students are learning about themselves . . . who they are in Christ and how their identity and uniqueness blends with the needs of God’s Kingdom that’s calling.” This mission is of particular importance because college is fundamental in shaping individuals and is a major factor in what students will do in their future profession.
Another important objective for Dr. Pool is “helping our student athlete experience be more integrated into the overall university.” With over half the student body being involved within sports, it is even more important to have a balance between athletics and broader campus community. Dr. Pool wants HU students to “have a deeper relationship with Christ and that they’re going to own their own faith . . . when they come to HU or when they graduate.” Even if they do not hold belief in Christ, they will own their beliefs.
One thing that Dr. Pool would love students to know is that “they should be confident that they can leave this place and work anywhere in the world and be exceptional at their calling” not because they are trained a specific way but “because we serve a God that we should be thinking about in pursuing excellence in everything we do and that they’ll be loved here.”
Finally, Dr. Pool highlighted HU’s welcoming community culture. An example of this was a random conversation he and Pastor Mark had while at lunch with students which “showed [him] a quiet confidence that a lot of Christian colleges give their students, which is that we’re part of the body of Christ.”
Though the year has only just begun, Dr. Pool has already made several impacts within HU campus and community. In addition to these impacts, Dr. Pool has hope for an even better campus centered around Christ.
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