President Edward Ayers said late Monday that the search for a permanent chaplain to the University of Richmond has been narrowed to two candidates, neither of whom are Acting Chaplain Kate O'Dwyer Randall, an announcement that casts uncertainty on the future role of one of the university's most revered and visible leaders.
O'Dwyer Randall was not among those who applied for the position and declined to explain her reasons on the record. But she will remain aboard the chaplaincy for at least for another year, she said.
"We fully expect Kate to be a part of the chaplaincy team, contributing her leadership and care to the university community," said Lisa Van Riper, vice president of communications for the university.
Ayers, in his e-mail message, announced only one of the candidates -- the Rev. Craig Kocher, director of religious life at Duke University.
Kocher will deliver a brief talk and take questions from the university community at 3 p.m. on July 7 in Jepson Hall room 120. The second candidate is be announced next week and introduced at 3 p.m. July 9 in Jepson 118, he wrote, without disclosing the reasons for the delay. University officials are aiming to hire a chaplain before the beginning of the school year.
"We expect this person to be a vibrant and compassionate leader fostering the spiritual and ethical growth of students," Ayers wrote.
It nevertheless remains unclear what O'Dwyer Randall's involvement in the chaplaincy will be -- decisions that will be left to the incoming chaplain, Van Riper said.
"I will be serving in a chaplain's role," O'Dwyer Randall said. "I continue to look forward to working with the new chaplain and the students in general. We're in a year of transition."
The chaplain's search launched during the spring and comes more than two years after O'Dwyer Randall assumed her acting position after then-Chaplain Daphne Burt left the university abruptly at the end of the fall 2006 semester. O'Dwyer-Randall is the third person to serve in the chaplain's position since its creation in 1973.
"I have very much enjoyed working closely with Kate, value her leadership and counsel, and know well how much her care means to so many of you," Ayers wrote in the message.
Her popularity within the community is palpable. In late March, two students submitted a petition with 550 student signatures -- nearly 20 percent of the undergraduate student population -- that urged the university administration to appoint O'Dwyer Randall to the position. And she has met this year with several hundred community members -- including faculty, staff and students -- to provide individual pastoral care, in addition to working as the office's administrative leader.
A working group of chaplaincy stakeholders released a report at the beginning of last academic year to Ayers, calling for a reorganization to the chaplaincy that would split spiritual care and administrative duties between two people. Van Riper said Ayers, the search committee and other university officials were considering these recommendations during the hiring process.
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The working group report was spawned by what chaplaincy officials deemed was a need to determine the group's role -- if any -- in daily university affairs. Chancellor and former President E. Bruce Heilman created the position uniquely for David Burhans, a Baptist minister who served as chaplain for 30 years until 2003, and is now chaplain emeritus and special assistant for advancement.
But a shift in the university's relationships and priorities during the last 15 years have altered the campus's religious landscape considerably. In 1995, the university ended its association with the Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools. Then, in 1999, the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the university severed ties, effectively ending a relationship established in 1840, when the Richmond College charter founded the university through the Baptists of Virginia.
Community service through the Bonner Scholars, a part of the chaplaincy until 2006, now falls under advisement from the Center for Civic Engagement.
Chaplaincies nationwide, including Richmond's, are also coping with an increase in students' spirituality, but a decline in their allegiance to specific faiths. Demographics of Richmond students have also shifted considerably during the last decade: the university was once home to an overwhelming majority of students from Virginia, but now claims students for nearly every state and dozens of foreign countries.
That has left the chaplaincy to ponder its role in the community, a question that Van Riper said the new chaplain would address. The search committee sought out candidates with strong credentials in ministry and administration, she said.
"The new chaplain will be able to direct the responsibilities and take advantage of the strengths within the group," Van Riper said.
Contact reporter Dan Petty at dan.petty@richmond.edu.
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