Olivet Nazarene University recently announced the appointment of Dr. Lisa Vander Veer to the position of Dean of Student Persistence. The creation of this position is part of a robust and intentional campaign to continuously improve graduation rates for the University.
In the fall, University President Dr. Gregg Chenoweth identified student persistence as one of the five-year institutional priorities. The division of Academic Affairs, under the direction of Vice President Dr. Stephen Lowe, will seek to achieve historic levels on a range of graduation rate indicators by 2027. In taking the lead for this effort, Dr. Vander Veer will sit on the deans cabinet and oversee areas related to student persistence, including the Rick and Debbie Dykhouse Center for Academic Excellence, Library, Academic Advising, Career Development, and Retention.
Dr. Vander Veer holds a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology, as well as a B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College. She has been licensed in Illinois as a clinical psychologist since 2011, a credential that she has put to use at Olivet in her roles as a Staff Psychologist, Director of Wellness & Career Services, and since 2019, Executive Director for Counseling & Health Services. Most recently, she has served as an important voice on Olivet’s COVID Steering Committee and as a member of the Persistence Team. For more than a decade, Dr. Vander Veer has also taught as an adjunct professor in courses for the Department of Behavioral Sciences and the Department of General Studies.
Dr. Lowe said of the appointment, “In my first meeting with Dr. Vander Veer, I was deeply impressed by her obvious care for our students and, more specifically, her desire to see them thrive and graduate. I feel grateful and blessed that she has accepted this new role, and I look forward with anticipation to the good work that all of us will do to help more of our students graduate.”
For more information about academics at Olivet, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@olivet.edu or 800-648-1463.
Published 1/20/2022
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