Todd Pickett departs from Biola

Campus pastor leaves university after serving for nearly three decades.

Emily Coffey and Hannah Larson • January 25, 2023

Todd Pickett speaks on Christ for the fifth segment at Advent chapel on December 11, 2019.

Photo courtesy of Andres Ramirez // THE CHIMES (file)

In an email today, President Dr. Barry Corey announced the departure of Campus pastor and Dean of Spiritual Development Todd Pickett. He will be pastoring Holy Trinity Church in Costa Mesa, an Anglican church that was founded in 2009. Pickett has served the Biola community in a variety of roles for 27 years.

“His departure is a significant loss to the Biola community as he has played an integral role in transforming the spiritual development programs on campus,” Corey said in the email. “Todd always has the right words to share, deep wisdom to impart and a profound way he prays with and for Biola.”

Pickett will address Biola for the last time at a Biola Hour chapel on April 21 and transition out of his role at the end of this semester. His departure comes on the heels of the loss of many staff and departments around the university.

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About the Contributors

Emily Coffey, Managing Editor

Emily Coffey is a senior broadcast journalism major who loves John Mayer, Bernese Mountain Dogs and high fives. [email protected] I grew up in the beautiful state of Oregon, which provided a lot of opportunities for adventures like white water rafting, mountain biking, and hiking. During a three-month stint in Nepal with my family (I was homeschooled), I got to document the lives of 13 women who had undergone some form of human trafficking, medical neglect, or family abuse. From here, I found my passion for storytelling. Though I came to Biola as a music major, I started working at the Chimes my freshman year and quickly made the switch to broadcast journalism. My love of verbal and written communication, especially in storytelling, soon blossomed into a love of visual storytelling. Now, I work for the Chimes and am heavily involved in many other student media organizations. You can find me covering a story, interviewing students about their artwork, at the beach, or running.

Hannah Larson, Editor-in-Chief

Hannah Larson is a junior journalism major who loves novels, California redwoods and strawberry smoothies. I was born and raised in San Marcos, a small town in southern California where horses graze in fenced pastures and fields of sunflowers burst into bloom every spring. As much as I love SoCal, there is something special about taking a road trip to see the redwoods up north—you just can’t beat camping along the gorgeous Pacific coast. I started writing for my high school paper when I was a junior and discovered a passion for reporting local news and crafting feature pieces, which drove me to pursue journalism in college. I took a staff writer position with the Chimes news section my sophomore year at Biola and loved seeing an article come together from initial interviews to final edits. The following semester, I joined the team as a news editor and dove into a new world of tight deadlines and investigative research. I look forward to leading The Chimes this year as we move into a new season of print media.