OAR Dean Tim McElwee Departs from Manchester
Tanner Edge
Dr. Tim McElwee, dean of the Office of Academic Resources, is saying goodbye to Manchester University on Friday, Oct. 7, a place he’s called home more than once.
McElwee comes from a small town near “the real Kansas City,” Missouri, as he likes to say.
He graduated from Manchester College and he went on to attend seminary school in 1978. He returned to Manchester in 1983 and served as the campus pastor for four years and taught as well.
After those four years spent at Manchester, he decided to attend graduate school at Purdue University, later going on to work for the Church of the Brethren’s denomination, directing their public policy office in Washington, DC.
In August 1996, McElwee was notified by his friend Wendy Gratz-Borman with news of an opening for the position of Director of Development Fundraising. “I said I don’t know anything about fundraising,” McElwee said, but he still applied and was accepted.
McElwee later took over his good friend’s position as vice president of Advancement in December 1999. He held that position a number of years before leaving, and then returning to it, eventually being named dean of the Office of Academic Resources.
Now, McElwee has decided to part ways with Manchester University and accept a new position at Parkview Hospital. “It really came down to this,” he said, “I feel just very attracted to a lot of the values that Parkview Health System lives out. I really see it as another opportunity for me to try to invest some of the background skills and experiences I’ve attained over the years in a setting that shares many of the same value commitments that Manchester does.”
McElwee took some time to reflect on some of his favorite professors and memories as a college student and a faculty member at Manchester University. “First and foremost, when I think of favorite professors I think of Ken Brown who used to be the director of the Peace Studies Program,” he said. “Also, I’ve built a lot of good friendships in those years and have stayed in touch with those people.”
McElwee will carry with him fond memories of Manchester. “We truly are a community, I mean a community of scholars,“ McElwee said. “We’re also a community that teaches values and how to make a life, not just how to make a living.”