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FACULTY & STAFF NEWS

Matthew Meeks

26 August 2016

Matthew Meeks, VP for Communications, Announces Resignation

Plans to begin entreprenurial initiatives in Dallas–Fort Worth area

Dallas, Texas–Every employee at DCC works in the faith that God has called us to this work.  And the other side of that is the faith that he can also show us when he wants us elsewhere.  Vice President for Communications Matthew Meeks now finds himself in that latter category.  After seven years at DCC, Matthew has tendered his resignation in order to keep following God’s leading.

“I came to DCC knowing that the Lord’s hand was guiding me here,” says Matthew.  The phone call with the job offer came the day after he had spent a night asking God to open a new ministry for him.  He began that summer, 2009, in enrollment management.

Since then, he has served in a variety of ways in enrollment management and, most recently, in communications.  Under his leadership and among other accomplishments, he and his team recruited record new-student enrollment for six years, instituted new policies and procedures for admissions and scholarships, developed an early-alert retention system, and created the Academic Mentoring Partnership (AMP) program to help new students succeed.

Developing a strong admissions team has been one of his major goals–and accomplishments.  “My primary ministry has been to my staff, to mentoring them and helping them reach not just the goals of the department but also their own personal goals.”  Matthew is proud that his employee, DCC alumnus Brian Condra, was Employee of the Year for 2015-16.

Says Brian: “I met Matthew while I was a student at DCC when he first was hired. He is the reason I ended up in the seminary I first attended. That same year he invited me and two other students over to his home in order to get to know us personally. Years later, when I took the job in admissions, he continued to support and invest in me as a person and also show me the ropes of Christian higher education. He views his job as a ministry, and it trickles down to all of us in the office. I cannot express fully how much his persistent support has meant to me.  He sets a standard of friendship and mentorship that I hope to exemplify.”

Eric Hinton, dean of students, who has worked closely with Matthew throughout his time here, says:  “Matthew Meeks has a unique ability to think outside of conventional parameters. His creativity, coupled with his sincere compassion for students, has taught me much in my role in student development.”

Each year, Eric Hinton organizes global mission trips for DCC students, faculty, and staff. In 2011, Matthew and his wife got the opportunity to take part in this initiative with Eric, taking a group of students to Berlin, working on various projects throughout the city.

In his term as vice president for communications, Matthew has helped get the new website up and running and has developed The Cornerstone into DCC’s online digital newsroom (where you happen to be reading this).  He has developed promotional materials and launched the in-house faculty-staff app for internal communication.  He is confident that, with these tools now in place, DCC communications can be carried on smoothly from within, carrying the word about DCC and its ministry far and wide.

President Brian Smith says: “Matthew is an innovative and creative thinker who has played a vital role in helping our leadership, me included, to strive for improvement and excellence in many areas, but especially related to the student experience.  His care for students and their overall college experience is one of the things that drives him most.  His work and presence at DCC will leave a legacy for which I will always be grateful.”

When Matthew came to DCC, he expected to stay for three to five years.  Now he knows that he needs to venture into the next phase of his career, including some exciting entrepreneurial communications initiatives with associates in the DFW area.

“The Lord brought me into an incredible family here at DCC,” says Matthew. “The faculty, staff, and students have all had a significant impact on my life in countless ways.  I love and appreciate this ministry and pray for its continued influence for God’s Kingdom.”

 

Dr. Cara Snyder is professor of English and literature at Dallas Christian College and managing editor and senior writer at the Cornerstone