The King's Connection Magazine Volume 23 Number 3//Spring 2013 | Page 16
Featured article
Strong Visionary Leader:
Dr. Melanie Humphreys
guides King’s into 34th year
O
n January 15, the energy on campus was palpable.
Students, faculty and staff gathered to hear who would
become the university’s fourth president, replacing retiring
President Dr. J. Harry Fernhout. The audience, filled with
anticipation for the long awaited news, heard the Chair of King’s
Board of Governors Bill Diepeveen name Dr. Melanie J.
Humphreys, a gifted, strategic leader, as incoming president
as the institution enters its 34th year.
“We are delighted and thankful to God for our new president,”
said Diepeveen. “She has a proven track record in Christian
higher education and effective leadership. She is highly
respected by her peers, supervisors and direct reports. Most
important she understands and is excited by King’s vision and
mission and has been providing transformational leadership in
similar Christian university college environments for years. We
are confident she is the strategic and visionary leader and gifted
community builder to take us into the next phase of King’s
promising future.”
Dr. Humphreys comes to King’s from Wheaton College in
Illinois, where she served as Dean of Student Care & Services
since 2009. During her time there, Wheaton College’s
retention and six-year graduation rates reached an all-time
high and placed the 150-year-old Christian college among
the ranks of some of the most elite liberal arts institutions
in the United States. Prior to this, Dr. Humphreys spent 10
years as Vice-President of Student Life & Dean of Students at
LCC International University in Lithuania, Eastern Europe, an
internationally recognized Christian liberal arts institution which
has distinguished itself by offering a unique, future-oriented
style of education in an interactive academic environment.
“King’s is a unique Christian university, with a unique heritage,
and a unique contribution to make to the lives of students,”
said Dr. Humphreys in her opening address to the King’s
community. “I believe in the kind of transformative, quality
education that King’s provides. Our world, more than ever,
needs people who can see beyond themselves to see the
needs and challenges facing our communities, and beyond.”
advance the mission and vision of the university education
that equips and inspires. Thank you for giving me the
opportunity to serve.”
A humble desire to serve has been part of to Dr. Humphreys’
life since childhood. Born in Dawson Creek, B.C and raised in
the Lower Mainland of B.C, her family fostered in her a passion
for a service—in church, school and community. Her service
to others included becoming a residence assistant during her
studies at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., where she
earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees. It was this
experience that exposed Dr. Humphreys to servant leadership,
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