Meet Frank Lloyd, Daystar U.S.' Board Chair. He has a long relationship with Daystar University. He became a Daystar U.S. board member in 2012 and visited Daystar University in Kenya in 2013. He currently works at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
Give us a little background on yourself:
I was born and raised in California, east of San Francisco, and I receive a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles. At graduation from Occidental, other than visiting my grandparents in Oregon each summer, I had never been east of Reno, Nevada or Phoenix, Arizona. Nevertheless, I left California for the American Midwest, where I earned a master’s degree at Purdue University and a PhD at the University of Iowa.
Following completion of my doctorate, I took a one-year job in the US Information Agency’s cultural affairs area. I helped a group of German high school English teachers identify curriculum material in American history and culture to support English language teaching. That led me to be awarded a Fulbright lectureship at the University of Isfahan in Iran, during the US bi-centennial year. My wife and I both taught in the English department during that fascinating and challenging year.
I returned to the US and obtained a job in human resources at General Motors. I worked for GM for nearly 17 years. I left GM for a leadership opportunity in executive education at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Phoenix, Arizona. I was at Thunderbird for 10 years, and represented them around the world, including campuses in the Geneva area, Shanghai, and Moscow plus joint ventures in Taipei, Prague, and Sao Paulo. I then received an opportunity to move to a full university in Dallas, Texas, Southern Methodist University, better known as SMU. It is a private university for 11,000 students comprised of 7 schools and colleges. I have now been in the Cox School of Business at SMU for over 12 years leading their executive education area. We specialize in training oil and gas industry managers and in advancing high potential Latino managers to top executive positions.
My wife Barbara and I married right after I graduated from Occidental, and she has accompanied me on all these adventures. We have two sons. Rob lives in Durango, Colorado where he works for WL Gore, a maker of medical devices. Bill lives in San Francisco and works at Google’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California. We are fortunate that they live in such desirable places to visit.
How did you get involved with Daystar?
When we lived in the Phoenix area, Barbara and I attended Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale and became good friends with Don and Marilyn Kredel who introduced us to Daystar. Soon after we moved to Dallas, Afrizo appeared at a church near to SMU. We attended their concert, and fell in love with the students and the Afrizo mission. However, we were disappointed at the turnout, and we knew that our church, Highland Park United Methodist Church, could do much better. On the next Afrizo tour, we hosted them at our church and in Dallas. The flagship concert was in our church’s annual arts series, and it attracted several hundred people and was a significant fundraiser.
What makes Daystar U.S. special?
Daystar U.S. is special because it brings together a diverse set of leaders, donors, and other supporters who are all tied together by the love of Christ and the joy of helping Daystar prepare servant leaders for Africa.
Have you visited Daystar University?
Barbara and I visited Daystar in 2013 along with our friends the Kredels and several people connected with Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Arizona. We were very impressed with what Daystar graduates are doing to advance educational opportunities for slum-dwelling children and youth and at the International Justice Mission in Nairobi. We enjoyed feeding the giraffes at the Giraffe Center in Nairobi. We saw the elephant orphanage and the Karen Blixen house. However, favorite moments included evening fellowship, receiving a small clay bird from a worker at the Kazuri beads factory, visiting chancellor Florence Mulii Musimi’s home for a meal, and seeing a cheetah make a kill during a game drive on the Masai Mara.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Be open to opportunities for new experiences. The things I regret most are not saying yes to opportunities that could have been very fulfilling. When I did say yes, it always led to something new and exciting. Such positive experiences led me to be less risk averse.
How do you like to spend your time when you aren't working?
Barbara and I enjoy choral singing with our church choir. We enjoy traveling to visit friends and family. We enjoy reading, and I enjoy baseball.