Jon and Kathy Dybdahl were greeted warmly by many of the WWC faculty and staff during.an honor reception Tuesday Aramark, who catered the refreshments, estimated that over 200 guests came to the Fine Arts Center to meet the Dydahls and personally welcome the family to the community, after refreshments, the guests assembled in the auditorium to listen to the president's formal welcome and introduction, and hear the president's in augurate" speech. Jere Patzer, president of the NPUC, welcomed Dybdahl as the 22nd president of WWC and proclaimed the evening a historic occasion." Dybdahl proceeded to give an informal speech generalizing the direction of his aims andvisions for the WWC presidency and ended his speech with a question and answer session.
Dybdahl's key objective as the president of WWC is to emphasize the importance of unity within the college, and together with students, faculty, and local community, make WWC an impact school with a potential to touch the world.
"The best days of WWC don't have to be in the past," said Dybdahl. "They can be in the future."
Dybdahl considers his areas of strength to be problem solving and strategic visioning. However, Dybdahl said that for his visions to happen, they have to be executed within the community.
"Together we talk about it, pray about it, and work on it. Together we can forge a unified community." Dybdahl officially announced to the faculty that his physical condition shouldn't have a harmful effect on his job for the next year.
Dybdahl was recently diagnosed with a low grade lymphoma and is still recovering from the treatment. Dybdahl said, "I should be OK. God has many more years of ministry for us."
The new president will be on campus for the next few days, getting acquainted with his co-workers and becoming familiar with the campus. After concluding his responsibilities at Andrews University and teaching at Newbold College, Dybdahl will arrive on July 15 to begin his WWC presidency.
Current President Clifford Sorensen said that he would be working with Dybdahl, familiarizing him with active WWC policies and advising him towards the direction that Sorensen has been advancing the college. Sorensen said, "I think it is very important that the new administration upholds the old administration and realizes what it was trying to accomplish.” Dybdahl appreciated the input from the student body about the direction of WWC and wants to answer any questions about the new changes in the administration.
Photos
Photo taken by Greg Fong.
