After being interim VP of Student Life, Joe Bruner is now officially VP of Student Life. During his time at Asbury, he has been in four different roles. “I came to Asbury in 2008. That would be almost 17 years that I’ve been working at Asbury. And so in all that time, I’ve been in Student Life,.” said Bruner. Bruner has been a part of many things in Student Life, whether that be residential problems that may arise or the building of a strong community.
Student Life has many different roles on campus. “When you think about dining services, intramurals, health services, the clinic, and the Catalyst Center, those are all aspects of student life,” said Bruner. This brings many opportunities for spiritual growth and relationships. The commitment Asbury Student Life has for campus is to support them as not just students, but as people who have different needs and personalities.
The program creates a culture revolving around belonging, spiritual formation and personal growth. “The three things that we talk about a lot for our students is that we want them to belong, to be fully known, and they fully know others,” said Bruner. These guidelines go into everything Student Life does and their desire for everyone at Asbury to be the best versions of themselves.
Bruner is originally from Texas, having attended Howard Penn University and Baylor University for his undergrad and masters. After working in the student life office at Baylor, he felt a calling to move with his wife. He received a job offer from Boston College, but ultimately decided not to take it due to Asbury. “I just felt the nudging from the Lord at that point and going like ‘Hey, this is where you’re going to be,.’” said Bruner. Since he came here, Bruner has been involved in making decisions that will benefit Asbury’s students.
His desire to help Asbury’s students is extremely important to him. “My biggest strength is that I’m very passionate about improving the student experience at Asbury,” said Bruner. This means everything from taking a campus car to the mechanic to making sure student events happen on time. His passion helps Student Life to succeed and thrive in the way it’s supposed to.
Ultimately, Bruner is just happy to be able to make an impact on Asbury’s campus. “I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years and there’s not a day that I didn’t enjoy coming to work,” said Bruner. College is a very transformational time and being able to have strong leaders to guide Asbury into the future is what will make all the difference.
