Title: Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Company: The Institute for Studies in Practical Spirituality Inc.
Location: Jefferson City, Missouri, United States
Raymond Ervin Cain Jr., PhD, founder and chief executive officer of The Institute for Studies in Practical Spirituality Inc., has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in religion and higher education.
While Dr. Cain has pursued his primary vocation for 35 years now, he’s been dedicated to ministry for even longer. Raised in a religious household from birth, he joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 and soon after felt the pull to preach. While continuing his service in the military, Dr. Cain researched his family history and discovered an ancestor, Uncle Buddy, who had been a minister in the 1930s. Inspired, Dr. Cain began his own journey in ministry in 1976. He was ordained in 1985 at the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church’s New Jersey Annual Conference.
Building on that momentum, Dr. Cain founded his own ministry, Wings of Love Christian Fellowship, in 1989. This effort remained active until 1994, when he decided to focus on his doctoral studies. From that point, Dr. Cain shifted his attention to higher education, though he continued serving the church part-time to keep connected with his spirituality. In 2023, he founded The Institute for Studies in Practical Spirituality Inc., reaffirming his commitment to spreading his faith and helping others find purpose. Dr. Cain’s vision for The Institute for Studies in Practical Spirituality is not targeted toward a specific religion or religious denomination. Rather, he seeks to offer people a set of principles based in science, philosophy and theology to aid them in growing spiritually.
Within the field of higher education, Dr. Cain built a strong reputation for teaching aviation and aeronautics, beginning as an instructional associate and supervisor of the Aviation Learning Center at Long Beach City College and a lecturer at California State University, Los Angeles. In 1992, he took on the role of assistant professor at Western Michigan University, followed by more than five years as dean and associate professor of aviation at Florida Memorial University. In the latter position, Dr. Cain was proud to build the aviation program at a historically Black college and university (HBCU), as well as acquiring significant grants. He also contributed for a year each as a campus academic dean at Westwood College’s Northlake Campus and an assistant professor of aviation at the University of Central Missouri’s Harmon School of Business and Professional Programs. Dr. Cain retired from his academic career in 2013.
Dr. Cain’s professional accomplishments have been supported by a strong foundation in his own education, starting with an Associate of Science as an aviation professional pilot from Long Beach City College in 1990. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in industrial technology in 1993 and a Master of Arts in industrial and technical studies in 1994, both from California State University, Los Angeles. Subsequently, Dr. Cain earned a PhD in career and technical education from the University of Missouri in 2001. He is certified as a ground instructor and a commercial pilot from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Beyond his primary calling, Dr. Cain has been happily married for nearly 50 years and is a loving father to seven adult children, as well as a grandfather to 11 and a great-grandfather to three. In his free time, he relaxes with fishing, meditating, studying new topics, building model railroads and train spotting. Looking to the future, Dr. Cain is excited to continue establishing The Institute for Studies in Practical Spirituality as a hub for growth and spiritual development. With that goal in mind, he intends to build the organization’s online presence, bringing his message to an even wider audience. Concurrently with that, Dr. Cain is working to complete his first book, which he envisions as a pillar of The Institute’s curriculum. With ambitions to leave a lasting legacy, he aims to publish one book a year for the next 10 years.
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