TRANSFORMATION: ONE MAN. ONE UNIVERSITY. ONE CITY. A MILLION HEARTS.

"HE WANTS TO PASS THE BENEFIT OF OPPORTUNITY TO OTHERS."

--Bob Brown, Vice Chairman for the HPU Board of Trustees and a former advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and two U.S. Presidents

They all see High Point University through a different lens.

Students and alumni see the campus as a caring, safe place. Faculty members see the campus as a place of scholarship. Residents in the city of High Point see the campus as a memory-maker, a place to explore gardens, celebrate Christmas and hear global leaders and innovators talk about the why of life.

But HPU is the Premier Life Skills University, and its purple is also seen as green.

It's High Point's economic engine that generates $500 million every year for the city.

It's the city's philanthropic partner that donates money, provides volunteers, staffs nonprofit boards and spearheads various community service projects citywide.

It's the place that helps those who struggle.

It's the place that helps many to dream.

There's no better example of HPU's dream-big philosophy than the $135 million project planned a mile west of campus.

The pragmatic dreamer leading it all is an immigrant, a High Pointer, a man who came to the United States with nothing in his pocket and patterns his life after Luke 12:48, his favorite Bible verse: "To whom much is given, much is required."

That is HPU President Dr. Nido Qubein.

A HUMBLE BEGINNING

Qubein's story feels as quintessentially American as the Statue of Liberty.

Came to America at age 17. Arrived 7,000 miles from home with $50. Learned English on index cards. Attended North Carolina's Mt. Olive Junior College where an elderly housemother helped him buy his first car and an anonymous local doctor assisted with his tuition.

Transferred to then-High Point College. Graduated in 1970, received a master's degree from UNC-Greensboro, settled in High Point and began his first business with $500.

Married, raised a family and built six businesses. Helped start a local bank. Wrote 18 books on business, leadership and life, became a popular leadership speaker worldwide and joined High Point University's Board of Trustees.

Left the world of business in 2005 after being approached to become the seventh president of High Point University, his alma mater.

After months of prayer, discussion and thought, he said yes.

The impact of that one decision is not lost on High Pointers.

Take Bob Brown, an HPU trustee and a former advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and two U.S. presidents.

A year ago, before Qubein spoke to a room full of local leaders, Brown introduced him and recalled the time decades ago when the poet Langston Hughes visited a local high school.

Hughes read "Mother and Son," his famous poem with the memorable line, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair."

Qubein, Brown said, knows that line personally.

"Life for him has not been a crystal stair," Brown told the audience. "But he wants to pass the benefit of opportunity to others."

"HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY GAVE ME THE WORLD."

--Brittanie Joyner, "14, employed in Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina's Direct Sales Department

THE FIRST STEP

There was a time when Dr. Dennis Carroll worried constantly.

It was late 2004. He was the dean of HPU's School of Education, and he saw his school being left behind because its lack of technology, creativity and drive.

The more he worried, the more he asked himself, "Why am I...