Grace College Appoints New Provost and Vice President of Advancement

Grace College has appointed two new senior leaders: Dr. Kevin Roberts as provost, and Dr. Nathan Harris as vice president of advancement. Harris is filling the role formerly held by Grace College President Dr. Drew Flamm before he assumed the presidency in July.

“Kevin and Nathan are strategic administrators with brilliant minds, but they are also servant leaders with tender hearts for the Lord and the work He’s doing at Grace College,” said Flamm. “Their past experiences will bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to the way we pursue academics and engage our community while holding fast to the foundations of who we are and what we believe.”

Roberts is a household name at Grace, having taught for more than 19 years in the School of Behavioral Sciences and most recently serving as dean. Before that, he worked in counseling and testing for a decade in various clinical practice settings.

Roberts holds a B.S. and an M.A. in Counseling from Grace College and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Adler School of Professional Psychology. He’s a published author and is co-authoring a commentary focused on the book of Proverbs to be released this year. He is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and a Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor.

As provost, Dr. Roberts oversees each academic school, student success, academic accreditation and the Morgan Library. His vision is for the college to increase its focus on STEM-related degrees, specifically in engineering, medical imaging, computer science and health sciences, and to expand community engagement opportunities through academics.

“Community engagement is a hallmark of Grace College, and I think we can continue to take that to the next level,” said Roberts. “I look forward to collaborating with various department chairs and deans to think outside of the box and look for innovative ways to give our students a one-of-a-kind educational experience where programmatic rigor is matched with an unwavering commitment to the truth of God’s Word.”

Harris, the new vice president of advancement, is joining Grace College for the first time this fall. He holds a B.A. from Malone University as well as an M.Div., Th.M. in Pedagogy and Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.

While studying at Midwestern Baptist, Harris also worked for the institution, first as the director of marketing and then as the director of institutional relations initiatives. After only a few months in the role, he found an unexpected passion for fundraising. According to Harris, it was during that time he realized fundraising for Christian higher education is “what he was made to do.”

In response to this new career calling, Harris transitioned to serve as the senior director of annual giving and stewardship & assistant professor of biblical studies at Cedarville University, the role he served prior to coming to Grace in August.

Harris’ key responsibilities at Grace include leading all development, annual giving and stewardship initiatives for Grace College and Seminary. Enthusiastic about the intersection of faith and philanthropy, Harris is in the process of publishing a book entitled “Gospel Generosity.” He looks forward to leading in a position that allows him to speak about this topic daily.

“Philanthropy excites me because the call to Christianity is a call to philanthropy – loving mankind with your time, talent and treasure,” said Harris. “It is a joy to shepherd alumni, donors and friends of the institution into generous giving, and show them that as Christians, giving to aid local churches and ministries like Grace College is something we are called to do.”