PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
Discipline in a Long-Distance Race “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” — Hebrews 12:1–2 The Message (MSG)
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hen I announced my final year of service to Warner Pacific University, my intention was to finish my time well—to approach this year as a marathon runner might—to give my all to the last months of the presidency. As this semester started, I’ve faced the challenge of cleaning out my 12 years of accumulated documents, books, and other items, to preserve the past and prepare for the future president. Every weekend, I’ve dedicated hours to this task. I’ve cherished the time with students these weeks. Many of my lunches and dinners have been shared with community partners and donors who love the University and care deeply about the transition of leadership. Leaving a job that has also been a calling is a leadership challenge—and one I anticipated. I’ve always intended to finish my time as President as I lived it—fully present, pressing in, leading for the best outcome for the University. The challenges of the past several weeks have been challenges I did not anticipate facing in the last months as President of Warner Pacific University. The words of Hebrews resonate with me so strongly in this season of COVID-19. While I was planning to run the race well and cross the finish line giving my all, the last few weeks have brought to mind the discipline a runner needs to be able to run a steady race. I’m finding myself “kicking” into a faster pace to finish this race. Students are at the heart of the Warner Pacific mission. I remain convinced that the mission of Warner Pacific University is more important today than ever. “Warner Pacific is a Christcentered, urban, liberal arts university dedicated to providing students from diverse backgrounds an education that prepares them to engage actively in a constantly changing world.” We are working hard to make sure our students continue to have the opportunity to
receive an education that prepares them to engage actively in a constantly changing world. Our world is constantly changing—we feel this so acutely in this moment. And we are still preparing students with an education that will change the course of their lives MORE than COVID-19 changes their lives. They will earn an education that will provide social mobility for their families, a new understanding of themselves and others, a future that will allow them to have employment options, even in the midst of a global pandemic. As a university, we’ve held out hope to students in the form of education. And the finish line is as important today as it was when I began in 2008: to provide access to a Christ-centered, urban, liberal arts education for all students. Providing access has meant doing the work of identifying and removing the structural and institutional barriers that have limited this access for historically underserved students. Students who are no longer strangers to us but are now the reason we run this race. Students who, in the midst of COVID-19, find themselves underemployed, staying on campus because there is no safe home in which to return. Students who rely on the University for the stability they need to successfully navigate the transition between adolescence and adulthood. Too often the structures, systems, culture and nomenclature of higher education have limited access for students who don’t have a guide that personally and intentionally walks them through the process. This is as true for adult learners as it is for traditional-aged students. That’s on us! It’s not on students or their families! For me, this has been one of my greatest frustrations with higher education. Many higher education institutions make the claim of accessibility for all, but throughout the educational structures, systems, processes and examinations, barriers exist that challenge the notion of full access.
