PHC’s first alumnus to join the Board of Trustees; Phil Greendyk reflects on the journey

Philip D. Greendyk (GOV-IPP, ‘10) became the first of the PHC alumni to be appointed to the Patrick Henry College Board of Trustees on March 25. “I have had the privilege of working with Phil over the past 10 years in his leadership roles with the PHC Alumni Association," President Jack Haye said. "Phil was one of the first alumni to be considered [as a Board of Trustees candidate] given his proven track record of leadership and support for PHC’s mission." 

Greendyk arrived at PHC in 2006, majoring in Public Policy until PHC split that track of the Government major into American Politics and Policy and International Politics and Policy. “I thought, IPP seems more exotic and sounds fun, so I’ll try that,” he said. Greendyk also participated in activities including Model United Nations, mock trial, and chorale. Now married to fellow grad Asriel Yousefi Greendyk (GOV-SI, ’10), the Greendyks live with their four children in Northern Virginia. They have continued to stay very involved in supporting PHC. 

“One of my favorite things about PHC that I think is really valuable and has helped me tremendously is the Core, the robust breadth of original sources that we had to look at . . . combined with the apprenticeship model,” he said. In fact, the internship with Cisco he did while at PHC launched him into his career in ethics and compliance.

At Cisco, he worked to help set up an internal program of policies, training, and investigations of the companies Cisco worked with to prevent those companies from bribing governments around the world. As the company expanded, Greendyk switched to managing a team that ran this due diligence process, and then he moved to another team to work as a compliance officer, a much broader role. He now works for Ericsson as a Senior Compliance Officer, supporting various acquisitions. 

In 2019, he earned a Master’s in Religion from Reformed Theological Seminary, where he was part of their Institute for Theology & Public Life. “It was like a continuation of what I did at PHC, where I wanted to understand some of the theological materials around how we as Christians should seek from a biblical perspective to impact culture,” he said.

Greendyk also served on the PHC Alumni Board for ten years, and on its leadership for seven years. He served as head of various committees, as well as vice president and president. He worked closely with the PHC administration, presenting suggestions and feedback from the alumni community. As president, Greendyk assisted the advancement committee of the Board of Trustees, and he attended their twice yearly meetings. "Phil demonstrated great insights and leadership on a variety of important issues," President Haye said.

The advancement committee leads efforts for fundraising, which Greendyk explained looks different for PHC than for schools with alumni that can provide most of the funds. “That’s not the case for PHC because it’s a younger school,” he said. “Alumni currently don’t have the means to fully be the fundraisers or be the donors.” However, this is changing, as during his leadership, alumni fundraising increased by twenty-five fold, thanks to the generosity and sacrificial giving of more than 30% of alumni who now give annually to PHC.

When he decided to step down, the Board of Trustees asked him to join them. “I think because I worked with them so closely for so many years and built some really strong, wonderful relationships, [I’m] assuming they valued my input and asked me to serve, which is certainly an honor…and I’m very humbled by that,” he said. He brings a different perspective to the board, having lived on campus and learned from many professors still teaching at PHC. “It’s a very challenging—but life changing and transformative—experience to go through what PHC is,” he said.

Greendyk said that as an alumni, he has a vested interest in PHC maintaining its three distinctives: Christian identity, rigorous academics, and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding. “[PHC] is a wonderful, unique place that has a special, important role in God’s kingdom, and the current students who then become graduates are really why all of us are there to serve,” he said. “I’m always encouraged when I see the wonderful things for the Lord that students and graduates are doing.” 

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 Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.