希瑟Vezner, a lifelong teacher and leader in education, is the newly- appointed dean of 欧文康考迪亚大学’s 教育学院(SOE). 她成功 肯特Schlichtemeier, who is now the director of the new Servant 领导 Institute, which works in close partnership with the SOE.
“Credit prayer and the Spirit’s guidance on choosing Heather. It was made evident to us that this was the way to go,” says Tim Schumacher, assistant professor of 教育技术 and chair of the search committee.
“我们爱她。. 希瑟关心别人. She does it without simply being a yes-person and agreeing with everybody. She’ll step into conflict to sort things out, 但她很健康, has a really solid character, 是一个努力工作的人, crunches numbers and gets into the weeds of details.”
Vezner was a primary leader for several years in preparation for 欧文康考迪亚大学’s site visit critical to the California 教师证书 过程.
希瑟Vezner
教务长斯科特·阿什蒙 says he is “thrilled that Professor 希瑟Vezner accepted the call to be the Dean of the 教育学院. God has abundantly blessed us. Professor Vezner brings great experience, 知识, 奉献, 开车, and a love for education—public, 私人, and parochial—to this position.”
Vezner planned to be a teacher from a very young age, earning her degree in 小学教育 at 铜芝加哥 and working in the college’s early childhood center and laboratory school. She met future husband Tony—who is now director of 欧文康考迪亚大学’s 剧院项目——有, and after some years pursuing their vocations in Illinois, the couple headed west to join the 欧文康考迪亚大学 community.
Around that time, Heather felt a shift from classroom to administrative leadership.
“I was personally at a crossroads,她说。. “I wanted to try something new in education.”
A series of administrative roles offered “new opportunities to try different things and see where God was leading me.” In that journey came the discovery that she enjoys administration.
“As much as I loved my years of teaching, I really enjoy the organization that’s needed in administration, the vision you have to develop, bringing people around that vision,她说。. “I love seeing people’s talents and skill sets, and thinking how we can use them to serve students.”
Servant-leadership is one focus of the 教育学院. The Servant 领导 Institute is helping to develop a Master of Arts in Educational 领导, while creating numerous programs, 学院, and symposia at 欧文康考迪亚大学 to equip education leaders to be servant-leaders.
“I aspire to be a servant-leader, somebody who puts other people at the center of the work because I believe God has placed me in this role to coordinate the gifts and talents of other people,维兹纳说. “My gift has always been tapping into the strengths of the team so together we can maximize our capacity for serving students through our diverse and eclectic skill set.”
Her greatest daily preparation comes through prayer, she says.
“I am committed to start every day in prayer and committing the day to God, 说, “主, whatever you want to do through me today, 我把它给你,’”她说。. “It’s about staying connected with God, staying connected in prayer, and having a strong support system.”
以此为基础, “We can prepare highly qualified practitioners who go into their schools and communities and serve their students with excellence,她说。.