November 13, 2006
CELEBRATE INAUGURATION AT WALLA WALLA COLLEGE
Monday, Nov. 13, 2006 marked the inauguration of Walla Walla College's 23rd president - Dr. John McVay.
Inaugural festivities included remarks from former WWC presidents, a formal reception, musical performances, as well as the inaugural ceremony. The many guests, including faculty, staff, students, academic delegates, alumni, and legislators reflected WWC's long history while representing WWC's bold vision for the future.
Read the President's Inauguration Address.
Inauguration Ceremony
11 a.m., Walla Walla College Church
President McVay will be officially installed as the college's 23rd president during this ceremony, which includes remarks from past presidents and representatives from the State of Washington and other universities in the state.
Campus Reception
1-3 p.m., Fine Arts Center Lobby
A campus reception provides an opportunity for faculty, staff, students, and members of the community to formally meet President McVay, and welcome him to Walla Walla College.
INAUGURATION CEREMONY
| PROCESSIONAL | Solemn Procession - Lloyd Webber Kraig Scott, Organ |
| WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS | Ginger Ketting-Weller, Vice President for Academic Administration |
| GREETINGS | Sheila Collins, Governor's Eastern Washington Liaison Officer On behalf of Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire |
| George Bridges, President, Whitman College On behalf of Independent Colleges | |
| Gerald Kovalski, Vice President for Education, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists On behalf of Seventh-day Adventist education | |
| Bryan Brashear, President, Associated Students of Walla Walla College On behalf of WWC students | |
| Dave Warkentin, President/CEO, Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce On behalf of the Walla Walla Valley | |
| MUSICAL SELECTION | God of Our Fathers - arr. Claude T. Smith WWC Brass Ensemble, Brandon Beck director |
| SCRIPTURE | N. Clifford Sorensen, former WWC president |
| INSTALLATION | Jere D. Patzer, WWC board chair |
| PRESENTATION OF WWC SEAL | Jere D. Patzer, WWC board chair About the Seal |
| DEDICATION PRAYER | Niels Erik-Andreason, former WWC president |
| MUSICAL SELECTION | Psalm 148 - Gustav Holst WWC Concert Choir, String Orchestra, and Organ John Dennison director, Kraig Scott, organ |
| INTRODUCTION OF PRESIDENT | Jon L. Dybdahl, former WWC president |
| INAUGURAL ADDRESS | John K. McVay |
| BENEDICTION | H.J. Bergman, former WWC president |
| RECESSIONAL | Prelude and Fuge in B Major, by Marcel Dupre Kraig Scott, Organ |
The seal was designed in 1912 by Walla Walla College President Ernest Kellogg. It depicts the three phases of education as parts of an equilateral triangle; the mental, represented by a lamp; the physical, depicted by a plow; denoting the importance of manual labor; and the spiritual, pictured by an open Bible. The stained glass representation of the seal, which will be presented during the ceremony, is a historical artifact. In the early 1900s, the window was displayed over the main entrance of the Administration Building, where students and faculty passing through the building's doors could be reminded of Walla Walla College's mission.
Meet John McVay
John K. McVay will be inaugurated as Walla Walla College’s 23rd president on Monday, Nov. 13. McVay assumed WWC’s presidency on the first of September, succeeding Jon Dybdahl, who had served for the past four years.
Prior to his arrival at WWC, McVay was a professor of New Testament and associate dean at Andrews University, in Berrien Springs, Mich., from 1998 to 2000, and as dean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary from 2000 to 2006. He also taught for 13 years at Pacific Union College, in Angwin, Calif., and was senior pastor of the PUC Church.
Born in Corvallis, Ore., to a pastoral family, McVay felt the call to pastoral ministry early in life and followed in the footsteps of his father, Ken, who served for many years as a pastor and hospital chaplain. While still in college, McVay spent time as a youth pastor in Des Moines, Iowa. He began his pastoral ministry in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference where he led a vigorous program of evangelism and church growth.
McVay, 48, is a graduate of Georgia-Cumberland Academy, Southern Adventist University, Andrews University, and England’s Sheffield University, where he earned a doctoral degree in New Testament studies in 1995. His dissertation focused on the theme of the church in the Epistle to the Ephesians. In addition, McVay has been active in scholarly research, presentation, and publication, authoring or co-authoring numerous articles for publications such as the Journal of Adventist Education, the Adventist Review, and the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists.
McVay’s wife, Pam Aalborg McVay, works as an obstetrics nurse. The couple has two children, Marshall, 18, and Macy, 14.