Q: What is the WWC constituency and how does its vote change our name?
A: The Walla Walla College constituency is comprised of delegates who represent the membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Of the more than 300 church members who are official delegates, 256 were present at the constituency meeting to vote on the name. 

In addition to the appointed delegates who represent church membership, other delegates are “ex-officio” delegates who represent specific institutions or groups. For example, Walla Walla College had eight delegates representing the institution. 

The constituency meeting is held every five years, to coincide with constituency meeting of the North Pacific Union Conference, the formal name for the regional church organization.

The purpose of the meeting is to review five-year progress reports and to elect officers, boards, and committees for the ensuing quinquennial period, and to transact other business. 

The 26th constituency meeting, where the name change was decided, was held in Portland, Ore., on October 1. 

Only the college constituency, in an official session, has the authority to legally change the institution’s name.