By Ally Horine | Echo
Twenty-three years after graduating Taylor as a student, Michael Hammond ('92) has returned home. But this time, his role looks a little different.
In Spring 2014, Taylor began the search for a new dean for the School of Humanities, Arts and Biblical Studies (HABS).
"We talked to different leaders and chairs of the departments, evaluating the type of person we would want to hire," Provost Jeffrey Moshier said. "I wanted to bring in someone who we greatly respected, and I felt I could rely on as a part of my team."
After months of interviewing and deliberating, the search committee, comprised of HABS department chairs, selected Hammond for the position. Responsibilities for this role include establishing a vision for HABS, faculty development, oversight of curricular proposals and teaching a class each year.
After graduating from Taylor with a B.A. in Christian education, Hammond went on to earn an M.A. in biblical and theological studies from Wheaton and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Arkansas.
Though he's now in a new position, it is not Hammond's first time serving as a Taylor employee. He served briefly as the associate director for admissions for the Taylor Fort Wayne campus and later the director of leadership development at the Upland campus.
"Taylor is a really special place for my family and me," Hammond said. "I am so excited to be coming back and to have the opportunity to serve the faculty as they serve the students."
Currently, Hammond serves at Southeastern University as the chair of the Department of Historical, Legal and Leaderships Studies, chair of the general education committee and chair and coordinator for their Best Ideas program. He also recently served on three presidential task forces on university governance, strategic planning and faculty rank, salary and promotion.
"We were very impressed by Dr. Hammond's breadth of experiences," Moshier said. "His extensive leadership experience, passion for liberal arts and his exemplary Christian walk evidenced by his life made him a great candidate for this position. It also is great that he knows what makes Taylor, Taylor. His familiarity with the culture is a great advantage."
While moving to Upland from Florida may not be the most exciting change of scenery, Hammond is excited to be back on campus.
"I can't wait to be back at Taylor. It's funny-we live about 45 minutes from Disney World, but every summer we vacation to see our family, and we always stop at Taylor to meet with old professors," Hammond said. "Our joke is that we live in Disney, but vacation in Upland."
What Hammond looks forward to about this job is building the Taylor community. His fondest memories at Taylor include establishing relationships through late-night conversations in his room in Bergwall and attending Taylor basketball games.
"While my position does not directly communicate with students, I am excited to serve the faculty as they serve students," Hammond said. "I want to make their teaching experience as rich as it can be and to make Taylor a place where people communicate well and serve the students well."
Part of Hammond's responsibility as the dean involves teaching one class a year. Due to his background in history, he naturally chose the History Department to call home. As a result, he hopes to build intentional relationships with many students, particularly history majors, including those who don't have him in class.
Another dream for Hammond and his wife is to be a community connection for a wing on campus.
"My wife is so good at meeting people and relating to them-she has such a gift of empathy," Hammond said. "We really hope to have Taylor students at our house often and to pour into the campus that way. We also would love to see our kids grow up around Taylor students and to have excellent role models in their lives."
Though he is still in the early stages of making the move to Upland, Hammond feels ready to take on the challenges of this position and in continuously improving the Taylor experience.
"My approach is to create lasting change-this is not something is easily measured quickly after graduation," Hammond said. "What we get to do in those short four years at Taylor is to give students a burden for learning, service and faith development. It's more than getting them a degree-we want to cultivate rich learning for the remainder of their lives."
