Vanguard University

Dear Vanguard Community, 

It is my pleasure to announce Mr. Norlan Hernandez's appointment as the new Director of the Jesse Miranda Center at Vanguard University. Mr. Hernandez is coming to Vanguard as a result of a national search that yielded numerous outstanding candidates. 

Norlan previously served at Biola University in the position of Director of Online & Graduate Student Success. In that role, Norlan recruited, built, and directed a team to create an infrastructure to support online and select graduate program students with program orientation, course registration, academic advising, success coaching, educational and general support services, and some career counseling. His administrative accomplishments span a range of online education, graduate education, research, leadership and policy, student success, accreditation, cross-functional collaborations, and piloting new software platforms to support student success. Norlan served on various campus task forces, councils, and committees that gave him broad exposure to university functions and people. He was also the co-founder and co-lead of the HERMANOS affinity group established to support the personal and professional development of Latino members of the Biola staff.  In addition to Norlan's broad work experience, he taught as an adjunct professor at Biola and the Latin American Bible Institute (LABI), served as a graduate teaching assistant,  and was a guest lecturer in several doctoral and undergraduate courses. 

Mr. Hernandez will be assuming the Directorship of a restructured Jesse Miranda Center with both internal and external components. Internally, Nolan will work with administrators, faculty, and staff to support student success and strengthen our Hispanic Serving Initiatives. Externally, Norlan will help advance the Miranda Center's mission through pastoral education, congregational care, academic research, and community development. The recent Lilly Foundation Grant funds the Director position as part of their Thriving Congregations initiative. 

On a personal note, Norlan is a proud father to Aella Mia (4 years old) and husband to Isabel. He is a lover of theology, diversity, leadership, art, movies, documentaries, and general knowledge acquisition. He is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Biola's Cook School of Intercultural Studies. His dissertation topic is on the intersection of Nicaraguan ethnocultural identity and Christian theology. He holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, emphasizing culture and society. (He also spent four years at a Spanish-speaking Bible Institute). His research interests include Latin American identity, theology, contextualization, leadership, and diversity & inclusion. I want to thank the search committee, which consisted of Amanda Lebrecht, Jonathan Allbaugh, Chip Espinoza, Itzel Calleja-Macias, and Tommy Casarez, for their excellent work.

Please join me in welcoming Mr. Norlan Hernandez to the Vanguard University community! Norlan begins his service at Vanguard this week, and you can send him a note of welcome at Norlan.Hernandez@vanguard.edu.

 

Pete