Stephen Yeagley, the associate vice president for Campus & Student Life at Andrews University, is leaving the university after his position was terminated by the university administration. Yeagley has served Andrews in various capacities, all relating to student life and enrollment since 1998. Yeagley said the university administration, which is headed by President John Wesley Taylor V, conveyed that due to university-wide budget cuts, his role will no longer exist at Andrews.
Three Decades Dedicated to World-Changing
Stephen Yeagley first attended Andrews as a graduate student in the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. Yeagley also earned his doctorate of ministry degree with a concentration in youth and young adult ministries in 2015. Yeagley shared that he felt called by God to be of service to young people. After graduation, he served as a pastor in several churches before becoming a full-time staff member of Andrews University in 1998.
Providing spiritual and social assistance to students, especially those in marginalized groups, has been a priority and passion for Yeagley in his pastoral and administrative careers.
“If I wanted to say anything about my legacy and what some of the most meaningful parts of my work are, it’s [been] coming alongside all our students and serving them well, but particularly those students who are most vulnerable,” he said.
Yeagley’s title and responsibilities have fluctuated over the years, such as being a graduate student residence hall dean early in his Andrews tenure and being the director of co-curricular education in recent years. One thing that has remained consistent, however, has been closely working toward the improvement and organization of students socially.
One task that Yeagley had been assigned for nearly the entirety of his time as a staff member at Andrews was new student orientation. He shared that while attending Southwestern Adventist University, where he completed his undergraduate studies, getting acclimated to the college experience was often lonely for him. In addition, the death of his brother, who died in a car accident while enrolled at Andrews, weighed heavily on him during this time. Seeking to prevent, as best as possible, any student in his charge from experiencing similar loneliness, Yeagley sought to provide more meaningful ways of orienting new students.
“I want to be aware that any student could be stepping on our campus in similar circumstances that I was in,” said Yeagley. “We all need a good connection, and I think that the family groups have often provided that for students. It’s given them a place to start … I want to make certain that students have a solid start here.”
On the other side of things, Yeagley said that the students who apply and work as family group leaders for the semester-long new student orientation had inspired him with their willingness to give back and help their new peers.
“I would defend the high quality of our student population here to anyone, any day,” he said. “This campus community is second to none.”
Tough Choices
Yeagley’s love of the Andrews community made it even more difficult when Frances Faehner, the vice president for Campus & Student Life and Yeagley’s direct superior, informed him in July of this year that his position was being removed. Initially, the Andrews administration sought to have Yeagley’s termination be in August, but Faehner successfully lobbied to have it extended to the end of October so he could effectively train and pass on his responsibilities to other staff members, as well as provide more time so that solutions to retain him could be seriously explored. Yeagley will be on paid vacation leave until Nov. 20 and will officially be off the university payroll unless he is assigned a new position at Andrews.
Faehner was sought for comment regarding Yeagley’s discontinued position, why he was not allowed to finish out the school year or semester, and why the administration decided to save money in a manner that has been interpreted by some as disrespectful. Faehner released a statement to the university community via email on Oct. 31 and referred to that general statement for most of the specific questions that were asked.
In the statement, Faehner said on behalf of herself and the university that it has been a “great honor” to have worked with Yeagley and that there is deep gratitude for the work and ministry he did with and for thousands of students and colleagues. Faehner stated that Yeagley’s position being “discontinued” in the middle of the semester was far from ideal “but was selected in the context of all things considered.”
Faehner personally advocated with fellow university administrators for Yeagley to be retained, and she shared that “various solutions were sought.” Still, administrators concluded that this decision was needed to “reduce the administrative footprint as well as to make additional budget reductions.”
When asked if other departments or employee positions were at risk of being cut, Faehner stated that the president or chief financial officer, Glenn Meekma, would be a better source of information. Taylor declined to comment on the specific logistics of this decision or potential future ones, stating that “this practice underscores our respect for every member of our community and our dedication to handling all transitions with integrity and care.” Taylor also expressed appreciation for Yeagley’s years of service at Andrews.
Faehner shared that she views the loss of Yeagley as a loss of a mentor and source of inspiration for many colleagues and students and will seek understanding and prayers for Yeagley and the continuation of his work.
In her emailed statement to the university at large, she said that Yeagley will have “a well-earned vacation” and that upon his return, the university will provide a formal opportunity “for campus members to express their gratitude to Yeagley for his 26 years of ministry and service to Andrews University.”
Although disappointed by this decision, Yeagley has expressed to the administration that he hopes to resume serving Andrews University and its students if another position becomes available. Yeagley shared that he and Taylor have had “cordial” conversations regarding this, and Taylor has taken stock of some of the departments and other work Yeagley would be interested in doing for Andrews.
Continuing Yeagley’s Work
The responsibilities of co-curricular education will now be taken over by Patricia Fitting, Andrews’ Title IX Deputy Coordinator/Investigator and the assistant to Faehner, Yeagley said. Fitting has been preparing with Yeagley for a couple of months to take on this additional responsibility. The expectation is that the process of setting up and earning co-curricular credit will look exactly the same for students.
Fitting, who has worked with Yeagley for two years, shared that she appreciated how welcoming Yeagley was to her when she arrived and how willing he was to help her and others.
“I was really struck by how Dr. Yeagley cares about the students here at Andrews University,” she said. “How, everything he did … was to help each student and their student experience at Andrews.”
She specified that Yeagley put exceptional effort into things for this school year, such as the new student orientation, despite knowing he would be removed from his office soon after.
Celeste Velinova (junior, digital communications), who was Yeagley’s student worker this school year, will keep her job as co-curricular records manager and will work closely with Fitting. Velinova shared that Yeagley has been “such a light” in her short time working with him.
“The way he interacts with students,” she continued, “and the time he takes to make sure they’re heard, is so nice to see. He would have deep conversations with students and talk about the things that matter, which really warmed my heart. … He doesn’t just do the bare minimum.”
Velinova believes that the Andrews administration has “no idea what they’re doing” and is not being as thoughtful or caring as they should be when it comes to removing someone as respected and loyal to the university as Yeagley has been for such a long time.
Although the Andrews administration may no longer find Yeagley’s position necessary, Velinova strongly believes that Yeagley deserves another role at the university because of how much effort and care he’s brought to his work for nearly three decades.
“He was one of the few people at Andrews that I’ve found made it worth coming here, and getting rid of him didn’t have to be the solution. … He will be missed.”
Students and Faculty Say Goodbye
Other students were eager to share their thoughts on Yeagley’s service and his untimely departure. Juliane Phillips (senior, general studies) also agreed that Yeagley being forced out is ignoring the necessity of what he provided to the university.
“Without his thoughtful planning, new students, in particular, will lose out on the welcoming, structured orientation that helps them feel at home from day one.”
She continued, saying that it is not enough to just pass on his responsibilities to someone else, since filling the hole that is left from his departure will be hard for someone to do with their pre-existing job responsibilities.
“It’s a disservice to the student body to diminish a role that has such a significant impact.”
Natalie Makumbe (sophomore, speech-language pathology) expects Yeagley’s loss to weigh heavy on the student body.
“Yeagley has always been a catalyst for making students feel a part of this campus,” she said.
Makumbe, who is the social vice president of the student club, the Black Student Christian Forum (BSCF), personally witnessed Yeagley’s care for individual students and student clubs.
“He always extends a helping hand to our clubs, taking time out of his personal time to help us,” she said. “I think it’s not a strategic move on the university’s [part] to eliminate a pivotal role for the student body … it’s sad to see someone who actually interacts with the students be let go.”
On top of his work with co-curricular education, orientations and working with student clubs, Stephen Yeagley has also been a proud and significant contributor to the Student Movement. Former Student Movement editor-in-chief Chris Ngugi (senior, Spanish) shared that he values Yeagley as a friend in addition to being an excellent mentor for the newspaper staff.
“Dr. Yeagley has been a stable presence on the Andrews University campus … for over a quarter century, fighting for students every step of the way,” said Ngugi. “Hearing that his position was terminated and that my mentor and friend would no longer work here at Andrews was a great disappointment this summer.”
Ngugi still trusts, however, that Yeagley will find ways to continue positively impacting the university and the Berrien Springs community.
Other current and former students have taken to social media and other platforms to discuss their disappointment and shock at Yeagley’s departure and the decision to discontinue his position and his office. Such reactions were seen in the comment section of Yeagley’s Facebook post on July 19 when he first announced that he would no longer be working at Andrews after this fall. The Facebook post is private, but Yeagley shared with the Student Movement the post and the long list of faculty members and others who commented.
Deborah Weithers, a former dean for Student Life, shared her passionate thoughts on the news, saying, “My heart aches, and my head is so angry for how disrespectfully you have been treated after all your service to Andrews University.” She also praised Yeagley for his “super intelligence” and “emotional competence” that he demonstrated for students.
Michael Nixon, the former vice president for University Culture & Inclusion at Andrews, worked in the same office area as Yeagley in the Campus Center and shared his disappointment.
“Unbelievably believable. I’m really sorry it has come to this, Steve. You deserved so much better. One of the greatest honors I had while at AU was the privilege I had to work alongside you.” Nixon continued, “This is an incalculable loss for the university, which will be felt for years to come.”
Yeagley Looks Toward a Future of AU “Thriving”
Andrews University is not invulnerable to the need for budgeting and tough decisions, especially as a relatively small, non-profit, private university. However, the perceived lack of tact displayed in the departure of a long-time contributor to student and university excellence is shocking to many, while others are unfortunately not surprised.
To many, Yeagley’s departure is another instance of Andrews going down a concerning path. The removal of pivotal aspects of the university was first seen with Change Day this school year and now with Stephen Yeagley. The perceived disrespect towards Yeagley has drawn comparisons to another beloved university faculty member, Danielle Pilgrim, the former associate chaplain and interim chief diversity officer, who detailed suffering blatant disrespect from administrators in her resignation letter.
Although declining to comment on the experiences of Pilgrim and potential comparisons between the two of them, Yeagley said that another highlight of his career at Andrews was working with Pilgrim and Nixon on matters of diversity and helping people with a sense of belonging on Andrews’ campus.
“Belonging is not something that simply happens because you’re diverse. It is achieved through hard work,” said Yeagley regarding the Andrews community. “The work of including others, of helping them to belong, has become part of a culture war in society. …If we’re not careful, we will focus on that cultural conflict and …fail to see it as our spiritual calling.”
Yeagley holds the words of 1 Corinthians 12:26 dearly in his heart, which says, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” To him, this means that we all, as a university community, should concern ourselves when any individual or group is suffering.
“We should believe it when somebody says ‘I’m hurting,’” said Yeagley. “Rather than question the pain, we should sit with it long enough and sit with the other person long enough to understand… and do whatever we can to heal the sources of that pain.”
Yeagley is looking towards the future and knows that Andrews’ administration and community want to progress toward a position of thriving.
“If this is to be my final exit from Andrews University, and I hope that it is not, I want people to recall my good intentions and work for the good of the university, for the good of its students, and especially for the good of its most vulnerable members. …Hopefully, I have always done that in the spirit of seeking to benefit the whole community.”
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.