Long-time MC campus minister Rev. Anne McKee stepping down

The following is a memorandum, titled “New Opportunity for the Rev. Dr. Anne McKee,” emailed March 11, 2022, to the campus community from Maryville College President Dr. Bryan F. Coker.

TO: MC Students, Faculty & Staff

FROM: Bryan F. Coker, Ph.D., President

DATE: March 11, 2022

SUBJECT: New Opportunity for the Rev. Dr. Anne McKee

As was shared during Tuesday’s chapel service, the Rev. Dr. Anne D. McKee is stepping down as the College’s Campus Minister, after accepting a new opportunity. Westminster Presbyterian Church in Knoxville announced last night that Anne will be providing leadership as their Interim Pastor, beginning April 11. Having joined our campus community in 2001, Anne has faithfully shepherded our community in both the good and bad times and has made lasting impacts in every corner of our campus and beyond. While Anne’s last day with us will be April 1, she has graciously agreed to return on Tuesdays until the end of the semester to facilitate our weekly chapel services.

I know you join me in wishing Anne the very best in this next chapter, and in sincerely thanking her for nearly 21 years of service – not only as our campus minister, but also as a faculty member in the Humanities Division and director of the Bonner Scholars, Bradford Scholars, Brahams Scholars, Church and College Scholars, Chapel Scholars, and Isaac Anderson Fellows. She has been a tireless advocate for faith and learning and has planned and led numerous programs and discussions exploring this facet of the MC experience.

An ordained Presbyterian minister, Anne was the first woman to serve as campus minister or chaplain at the College. Prior to MC, she held pastorates in Tennessee, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Additionally, through her work with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Synod of Living Waters, and the Presbytery of East Tennessee, Anne has been instrumental in helping the College strengthen our church-related identity and in garnering support from various church congregations and organizations. She has secured grants for new initiatives and has encouraged and inspired students to pursue work and service in churches and non-profit organizations. In word and deed, Anne has consistently reminded us of founder Isaac Anderson’s charge to “do good on the largest possible scale.”

The next person to serve in this role will certainly have big shoes to fill, and Dr. Melanie Tucker, Vice President and Dean of Students, and I will be sharing plans about the search process in the coming weeks. We also plan to have a public reception for Anne in the near future, so please stay tuned for that news, as well. Once again, please join me in expressing our deepest appreciation to Anne for her years of extraordinary service and for the remarkable legacy with which she leaves the College.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”