Assistant to the President for Diversity at Walla Walla University

Lots of changes are taking place here at WWU. I sent out a note to some selected friends and colleagues regarding the change that affected me. Here I copy it for my blog readers:

Dear Friends and Family,

Below you will find the intercampus memo that the President of the University just sent out. In it you will see that because of budget constraints a number of adjustments have been made. One of the major one has affected my role as Vice President of Spiritual Life and Mission. This department along with Student Life will now come under the purview of one Vice President. Thus after 9 years as the first VP for Spiritual Life in the Adventist system (and incidentally, the first VP of color at WWU), I will step aside and increase my duties as a Professor in the School of Theology. (I should note that for the 9 years the VP role was two-thirds of my responsibilities; I always kept my foot in the classroom with a one-third professorial assignment). It has been a great journey; and God has been good – as he has been all the time! So I leave that position feeling satisfied that I did my duties on the “wall,” like Nehemiah, as my Mama was wont to say!

But the President had a vision for “stepping it up” in the area of Diversity on the campus. Previously this was a marginal area under Student Administration. And my colleague, Bev Roper-Archer did a yeo-woman’s job! The President is now bringing it up to a level that institutions such as Loma Linda University (under such leadership as that of Drs. Delbert Baker and Leslie Pollard) paved the way. I’m thus humbled and honored to have been invited to pioneer Diversity at this broader and higher level. This will be a Cabinet level position (which means that I continue on the President’s Cabinet after 10 years [my first year was as Director of Institutional Mission]). This is significant; because it means that the University takes seriously its strategic talk of diversity. WWU not only wants to “talk the talk,” but to seriously “walk the walk.”

I will also continue in the position of Ombudsperson for the University – a position that can be time consuming, but greatly rewarding when the outcome is positive.

I seek your prayers, advice, opinions (welcomed or unwelcomed) to make these responsibilities succeed, and to make this University top-class, bar none!

Blessings
pedrito

Pedrito U. Maynard-Reid, Th.D
Vice President for Spiritual Life and Mission
Professor of Biblical Studies and Missiology
Walla Walla University
204 S. College Ave.
College Place, WA 99324
email: pedrito@wallawalla.edu
http://people.wallawalla.edu/staff/maynped/
509-527-2010 (o)
509-301-2792 (c)
509-529-0135 (h)

From: John McVay
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 6:28 PM
To: John McVay
Subject: News for Faculty & Staff

Dear Faculty & Staff Colleagues,

….

Finally, some significant changes are afoot, driven by our budget constraints. We are consolidating our Student Life and Spiritual Life operations and making some other, related shifts including the following: In addition to an expanded teaching role in the School of Theology, Dr. Pedrito Maynard-Reid has accepted the role of Assistant to the President for Diversity and will give leadership to important initiatives in this area. The Office of Diversity Services, which has been ably led by Beverly Roper-Archer, will be closed, though we are hoping to retain Beverly’s services elsewhere on campus. We have invited Mr. Paddy McCoy to become the College Chaplain and he is pondering that invitation. Mr. Ken Rogers will serve as the Vice President of the consolidated departments. These changes will require careful transition planning for a number of areas that are crucial to us at WWU—Spiritual Life, Office of Diversity Services, and Village Life. I have asked Mr. Rogers to take the lead, in conjunction with Cabinet colleagues, in structuring these important transitions to make sure that our programming and ministry in these areas remain strong.

Thank you for your excellent work on behalf of Walla Walla University. And thank you for noting these changes and supporting those engaged in them.

Cordially,

John McVay
President, Walla Walla University