Teaching and transforming lives
Dr. Nancy damron cultivates space for the Lord to do His work in students' lives.
By Sarah A. Moser
She may serve in one of the top positions on campus, but Dr. Nancy Damron knows what it’s like to be a MidAmerica Nazarene University student—a transfer, commuter student, at that. Nancy Damron, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer, is a 1995 graduate of the university with a BA in secondary education social studies and a 1998 graduate with a Masters of Education.
After trying out two large public institutions, she decided to check out MNU. With no Nazarene affiliation, she wasn’t sure what to expect. “No one ever talked with me about knowing myself as a learner, figuring out in what kind of learning environment I would best thrive,” says Nancy. “At MNU, I found a place where I belonged and mattered. I never lived on campus or attended one event, but the professors gave me the things I was looking for. Here, I found a sense of belonging, of mattering. MNU made the difference for me.”
One example of how Nancy felt cared for at MNU is that she chose to minor in German. Only problem was she was the only student taking German at the time. So, the university paid for a native German adjunct to teach her. “I remember being amazed that they would do that for me,” she says. “They went the extra mile just for me.”
After graduation, Nancy taught in the Blue Valley (KS) School District for seven years. During this time, she had her first child, had guardianship of an orphaned 12-year-old boy, her husband was traveling a lot, and she found out she was once again pregnant. “I remember the Lord saying to me STOP. It’s OK to take a pause,” Nancy says, leading to a two-year sabbatical from Blue Valley. During this time, Dr. Verla Powers in Teacher Education reached out, asking her to apply for a department chair position at MNU. Six months pregnant, Nancy interviewed and was offered the job. “But I felt God telling me to step away, finish my doctorate, and take care of my kids,” she says. “I was scared to say no to a job offer, afraid it would never come up again. I declined the offer and trusted that the Lord would make a way.”
Fast forward about eight years, and indeed, the Lord did make a way. Plus, Nancy felt more prepared the second time around. In January 2010, she started a position as the director of clinical and field-based experiences in the Teacher Education Department at MNU.
“Getting the opportunity to apply a second time fulfilled the Lord’s word in 2002,” she says. “It was a reminder of God’s timing. It may have been an eight-year wait, but His promises are true! I think He was preparing me for that moment. The time that had passed was to make sure I had the skill sets I needed; I had finished my doctorate.”
For the next few years, Nancy worked in a variety of roles around campus, including as the Dean of the School of Education and later of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In 2019, right before the pandemic, Dr. David Spittal invited her to interview for the Vice President for Academic Affairs role. “I was happy being dean, and I didn’t feel entirely equipped to do this job,” she says. “But as I prayed, I felt the Lord saying, ‘I am asking you to take this one faithful step.’”
She soon realized that every job she had worked at MNU had prepared her for this role. “Coming into my current position, I know what it’s like to carry all of the other jobs,” she says. “It helps me understand how the university operates, and better relate to the people I serve and know their burdens. And I still carry my experiences as a transfer, commuter student and the benefit of the classroom with me today.”
No matter the position, no matter the title, Nancy’s sole focus is on bringing students to Christ. She wasn’t raised in a Christian home and never knew the benefit of deep, spiritual, and transforming conversations and lessons until she came to MNU. “Coming here showed me who I am intellectually and spiritually, and how to integrate those parts of me,” she says. “Now, I talk with faculty to cultivate spaces that allow the Transformer, the Lord, to do His work. I firmly believe that if our doors are open to simply transform ONE life, it is all worth it. Nothing in Scripture suggests that the Lord wouldn’t go to such depths for one person. As we do our work on campus with excellence, we are cultivating those spaces for the Lord to do His work.”