Warren Wilson College is the only national liberal arts college that fully integrates on-campus work and off-campus community engagement into its curriculum. In addition to its innovative experiential program, the College and its 750 students are known for their strong commitment to environmental sustainability, diversity and social justice. The college also features a top-ranked low-residency MFA Program for Writers and a summer-long Swannanoa Gathering of music and folk arts workshops. Visit http://warren-wilson.edu.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Ralph W. and Orlean Beeson Chaplain is responsible for leading and overseeing the spiritual life and pastoral care of the Warren Wilson College community. The appointment of the person filling the position is to be approved by the Board of Trustees, upon the recommendation of the President of the College. Once hired, the Chaplain reports directly to the Vice President for Student Life with a dotted reporting line to the President of the College. This position is a full time exempt position working over 11 months (July 15 through June 14).

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Pastoral Care and Leadership:

• Maintain a pastoral presence at the College, establishing and nurturing a ministry of accompaniment with community members.
• Serve as pastor to the community offering invocations, blessings and benedictions at college functions, officiating at weddings, and preaching in area churches as invited.
• Conduct memorial services and facilitate the gathering of friends to grieve the deaths of students, faculty, and staff.
• Offer pastoral care and spiritual guidance with students, faculty, and staff facing family crisis, personal identity and faith issues.
• Serve as crisis support, consulting regularly with College’s counseling staff.
• In conjunction with other appropriate offices, coordinate College responses to natural disasters and other community crises (offering vigils, etc.).
• In consultation with the President, play a role in supporting and articulating a moral and spiritual vision for the college.

Administration:

• Administer the Spiritual Life Office: prepare annual departmental priorities and budget; prepare regular reports for the area of religious and spiritual life; supervise staff and affiliates. Oversee policy planning and changes for religious accommodation, religious bias incident reporting, and related student organizations and affiliate recognition.
• Represent Spiritual Life across campus and on campus committees; help broaden the definition of diversity as inclusive of religious and spiritual life, and offer religious and spiritual life resources to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts — both in campus programming and the recruitment of incoming students.
• Promote faith development, mindfulness, and reflective living as essential to the emergence of the whole person through study groups, programs, events, and retreats.

Vocation, Work, and Meaning:

• Provide regular programming for campus community that focuses on the living the mission of the school personally and collectively at the intersections of the intellectual and interior life.
• Collaborate with VP of Applied Learning and other appropriate staff to develop and support deepening a culture of vocational discernment through programming and integrated advising.
• Facilitate the programs supporting staff and faculty fellows in deepening their understanding of vocation and meaningful work.
• Manage and nurture ongoing relationship with the national partners (i.e., Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education), including staying abreast of grant, leadership development, and other program opportunities.

Interfaith Initiatives:

• Develop the campus Interfaith Strategic Plan, in alignment with larger college strategic plan, and oversee its implementation.
• Direct the Interfaith Leadership Minor, including promoting the academic program (both internally and through Admissions), advising students, managing course offerings, collaborating with the Chair of Global Studies on hiring and supervising adjuncts, and teaching one to two classes in the minor per academic year.
• Oversee the exploration and development of internal and externally facing interfaith programs, both curricular and co-curricular.
• Supervise the Associate Director for Interfaith Programs, who will teach courses in the minor, manage student co-curricular programs, and co-supervise the Spiritual Life Crew.
• Support the inclusion of religious identity and philosophical worldview in campus diversity and equity programming, including new student and transfer orientation, deliberative dialogue projects, and community engagement.
• Oversee faculty, staff, and student leader training in developing interfaith competency.
• Manage and nurture ongoing relationship with external partners (i.e., Interfaith Youth Core) including staying abreast of grant, leadership development, and other program opportunities.

For the position posting online, see:

https://warren-wilson.breezy.hr/p/d68a1fd57a7c-chaplain-of-the-college