Whitworth Names Meredith Devey as Director of Dornsife Center for Community Engagement
Devey has served as the Dornsife Center’s assistant director for community-engaged programs since 2018. In that position she was responsible for overseeing the training, placement and supervision of students in co-curricular student leadership, for managing partnership initiatives that stewarded mission-aligned and reciprocal relationships with nonprofit and campus partners, and for stewarding multiple budgets including operational and gift and endowment accounts. She has also previously worked for the Dornsife Center as a community engagement specialist, program coordinator for student leadership and program assistant.
In her new role, Devey will collaborate and work closely with the vice president of student life to provide strategic, operational and organizational direction for the Dornsife Center and other service-based initiatives that support the university’s mission. She will also offer faculty development opportunities that support service-learning initiatives.
“Meredith is a hallmark for student engagement,” says Rhosetta Rhodes, vice president of student life & dean of students. “Her work is stellar in that she connects student learning to improved community outcomes. She works tirelessly with our West Central community partners to improve quality of life for the neighborhood’s residents in a myriad of ways, including by promoting educational attainment, business development, environmental projects and youth engagement. Meredith is an excellent communicator and advocate for students. She successfully builds and reinforces essential programs.”
Devey is currently co-facilitator for the Dornsife faculty fellows program and is an equity advocate for university search committees. She has served on Whitworth’s Staff Development Committee, Student Life Divisional Learning Outcomes Committee and University Recreation Center Building Committee. Devey currently teaches one section of GE 330: Leadership in the Community. She has also been a discussion group leader for Core 250 and Core 150.
Devey is the current chair and former secretary of Partners in Campus and Community Engagement in Spokane, is a member of REACH West Central, and is part of the Mentoring Leadership Collective.
With the assistance of Devey’s leadership this academic year, the Dornsife Center produced these impressive results:
• 21 community-engaged courses taught
• 1,025 students enrolled in community-engaged courses
• 14,417 total hours served by Whitworth students in the community
• $486,000 return on investment for Whitworth student service
• Whitworth courses partnered with 146 organizations
• 92 percent of students were able to identify a need in the community
“I’m excited to continue connecting Whitworth to our incredible community partners throughout Spokane,” Devey says. “In the West Central neighborhood, specifically, passionate individuals and organizations find ways to meet the needs of our collective neighbors with creativity and respect. By connecting students and faculty to these organizations, we have an exciting opportunity to help develop the next generation of leaders invested in the common good.”
About the Dornsife Center for Community Engagement:
The Dornsife Center for Community Engagement, named in honor of philanthropists Dana and David Dornsife, brings together students, faculty, staff and community partners in strategic service that strengthens communities while enriching educational programs.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Trisha Coder, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu.
