Jamie Webster named as interim campus minister for Maryville College
Nov. 2, 2022
Maryville College has a new faith leader on campus: Jamie Webster was recently named as the interim campus minister at Maryville College, effective with the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year.
In this role, Webster will provide interim leadership for religious and spiritual life at the College. She will be responsible for providing pastoral counseling and support, leading worship services, participating in College ceremonies and special events, serving as a liaison for religious- and spiritual-based student organizations and collaborating with Church Relations and other faith-based initiatives on campus. Webster is filling some of the duties previously held by the Rev. Dr. Anne McKee, the College’s campus minister who left in April to resume service in the church. As Maryville College evaluates the scope of the permanent campus minister position, Webster, as an interim, will help facilitate related conversations.
The position coincides with Webster’s return to Tennessee, where she received her bachelor’s in History with a minor in Religious Studies, as well as post-baccalaureate work in Elementary Education, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. From 1991 to 1992, she worked as a community organizer for youth involvement with the grassroots civic and environmental group Save Our Cumberland Mountains. During her tenure, Webster utilized grant money to connect teens across the state for weeklong summer camps at Middle Tennessee State University and Maryville College.
In 2014, Webster moved with her husband and kids to Boston, where she completed her Master of Divinity from the Boston University School of Theology.
At the Calvary United Methodist Church in Arlington, Massachusetts, Webster engaged with community and mission initiatives to construct and repair houses, mentor youth and promote outreach during COVID-19 lockdowns. She also worked as a librarian for Thompson Elementary School in Arlington, where she taught nearly 30 classes per week for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
“Jamie brings a seasoned approach to campus ministry, with a focus on inviting multiple perspectives of faith to be heard and valued,” said Dr. Melanie V. Tucker, vice president of Student Affairs and dean of students. “Her appreciation for diverse perspectives of spirituality provides a nuanced approach to the interim role.”
In addition to her academic and religious work, Webster also has experience as a children’s dance and acting instructor who creates modern, creative curricula to engage and inspire. Since the late ’90s, Webster has worked as a teaching artist for various children’s groups, including for underserved community-focused and non-profit groups. For six years, she taught stage movement for a summer acting class taught at the Clayton Center for the Arts.
As the interim campus minister, her office is located in the Samuel Tyndale Wilson Center for Campus Ministry.