Walker transitions to president, weighs impact of COVID-19
Photo by Sydney Pressley
On Aug. 1, Dr. Mark L. Walker made the historic transition to the role of Lee’s 17th president.
Walker, who previously served as Vice President for Ministerial Development and Chair of Lee’s Department of Christian Ministries, has prepared for this role with guidance from former president Dr. Paul Conn and enrollment in various leadership seminars.
“Dr. Conn and I have spent many hours together the past six months discussing the role of a university president,” Walker said. “I also participated in the Executive Leadership Institute, which is sponsored by the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association designed to prepare senior higher ed leaders for the presidency.”
The change in roles began on Jan. 31 and has continued throughout the year despite the pandemic, adding an obstacle in the already stressful transition. Walker said the hindrance of COVID-19 was difficult to navigate.
“[The transition has been] challenging for sure,” Walker said. “Having to turn so much of our focus on managing the crisis, interrupted, at times, the opportunity for Dr. Conn and me to focus on presidential transition issues, but we tried as best we could to make up for any lost time.”
While challenging, Walker said these unexpected circumstances have also played a role in helping him prepare.
“In some ways, however, COVID-19 has contributed to preparing me for the presidency,” Walker said. “It kind of threw me into the deep end of the pool in that Dr. Conn assigned me certain leadership assignments to help manage the crisis that forced me to lead in areas in which I was unfamiliar. I also learned quite a bit about leading in a crisis by observing Dr. Conn’s excellent leadership during this pandemic.”
With the drawback of COVID-19, the university has been in the constant discussion of the best ways to welcome students back to campus for the fall semester. Over the past few months, Walker said Lee faculty have constructed task forces to give full attention to the impact of the virus on campus and ways to reopen safely.
“The potential impact of COVID-19 on our fall semester is a challenge that no one anticipated. It will demand our full attention,” Walker said. “But we have a great COVID-19 Task Force in place assembled by Dr. Conn and chaired by Dr. Murray that include key personnel from each sector of the university.”
In anticipation of his first semester as president, Walker hopes students recognize the love the university has for them.
“[I hope they take away that] God loves them and truly has a call on their lives to make a difference in the world, and that the Lee faculty and staff are here to help them discover both,” Walker said. “I also hope the students recognize that they have a president, just like the previous one, who loves and cares for them deeply and will do everything within his power to make their years at Lee some of the best years of their lives.”
On Saturday, Dr. Paul Conn took to Twitter to reminisce on his time at Lee and his last day as president of the university.
“Today is my last as president of Lee U. My heart is full with gratitude for the gift of these 34 years to lead the school I love and the people I love,” Conn wrote. “To all my students and colleagues: a million thanks! Today my title and position will change, but my heart will never change.”
In his first message to the students as president, Walker assured students that although the semester would be different, they can still expect a great time.
“Although COVID-19 is going to bring challenges to us, I’m excited about our future and what we can accomplish together,” Walker said. “It is going to be different at Lee this fall, but it is still going to be great.”
