Hannibal-LaGrange University is proud to announce that Mr. Travis Critten, a 1999 graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, has been named the 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award is presented annually to an HLGU graduate who has demonstrated significant and broad accomplishments in business, professional life, or service to the state or nation. This honor recognizes developed talent that reflects favorably on the quality of Hannibal-LaGrange University, its faculty, and administration.
Originally from Monroe City, Missouri, Critten now resides in Dunlap, Illinois, where he serves as a Portfolio Manager, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM (CFP®), and partner at Cornerstone Strategic Wealth Management in Peoria. His professional career began while still a student at HLGU, interning with Everen Securities. Since then, he has spent 27 years in the financial industry, earning his CFP® designation, becoming a Private Investment Management Portfolio Manager, and maintaining multiple securities registrations, including Series 7, 9, 10, 63, and 65, along with applicable insurance licenses.
Prior to joining Cornerstone, Critten worked for Wells Fargo Advisors in Quincy and Peoria from 1998 to 2019. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his integrity, professionalism, and dedication to serving his clients with excellence.
In his community, Critten’s leadership and service have been equally impactful. He has served as a small group leader and elder at LifePoint Church in Quincy, and in counseling, benevolence, and small group ministries at Bethany Baptist Church in Peoria. He is a past board president and director for The Christian Center, a local sports ministry, and currently serves as treasurer for Covenant Community Church in Chillicothe, Illinois, and served as Secretary for TRU International, a missions organization supporting work to feed, clothe, educate, train, and mentor street children around the world. He also serves Hannibal-LaGrange University as a member of its Board of Visitors.
Those who nominated Critten for the award describe him as a man of humility and quiet strength.
“It is hard to put together a comprehensive list of all of Travis’s accomplishments because of his character and humility,” shared his nominator. “He is not one who seeks notoriety for the work he has done. To know Travis is to know someone who loves the Lord, loves people, and desires to serve them as Christ would.”
Critten credits HLGU for shaping both his worldview and approach to business and ministry. “HLG introduced me to many different types of people and helped me to see the importance of connection and building relationships,” Critten said. “It helped shape my worldview, especially in the mindset of business as a mission and the importance of supporting international missionaries.”
He and his wife, Michelle (HLG Class of 2001), are the parents of Josiah, Elias, Isaac, and Elyse. Together, they have been involved in two church plants and remain deeply committed to living out HLGU’s motto, “knowledge for service.”