On July 1, 2011, Rev. Dr. Frank Yamada became McCormick’s tenth President. Last week, The Herald sat down with President Yamada (or, as he prefers, Frank) for a heart-to-heart about the challenges, joys, and unexpected surprises of being McCormick’s president. Read on to hear what he had to say.
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| President Frank Yamada preaching at McCormick's 182nd convocation. |
The Herald (TH):
First question, Mr. President, can I call you Mr. President?
Frank Yamada (FY): (laughs) You can call me Frank.
TH: Describe a typical day as President. What is it that you do?
FY: A typical morning would be either going out and meeting with some folks—donors or trustees—or meeting in committees and talking about how to strategically move us forward and process what we’ve been doing. Oh, and answering a ton of emails.
TH: Do you get workers’ comp for carpal tunnel [from typing]?
FY: No, no workers’ comp for carpal tunnel…or, at least, as far as I know.
TH: Thinking back to last year, when you were being interviewed as a presidential candidate, I remember a promise about community meals . . . something about how you would personally be catering the meals to ensure the highest quality cuisine here at McCormick. Am I remembering this correctly?
FY: I would be happy to cook for the community meals.
TH: You realize this is on-record right?
FY: I understand that. I can’t do that all of the time because again, part of my job is to go out and to tell the good story of McCormick to anyone who will listen. But one of the ways I enjoy community life is to cook for people. So yeah, if there’s an event where we can figure it out for that to happen, I’d be happy to do it, but not regularly. I cook enough for my own family.
TH: You mentioned sharing the good story of McCormick with the world. What of “the world” would you like to bring to McCormick?
FY: The majority of the world’s Christians don’t live in the U.S. anymore. The majority of the Christians live in the Global South, Asia, Africa, Central and South America. We are a lot of things and we do a lot of things well but what we are not, and most institutions in North America are not, is dynamically international in their [our] culture and in the way they [we] think. We think that we’re hosting guests when we’re having international students . . . If there’s a way for us in the next decades to change our DNA, whether it’s through partnerships with other seminaries internationally or sending students abroad or sending faculty here and there, I think it would be all the better for us. My hope is that we can somehow get ahead of the curve of what’s already happening in the rest of the world because that’s where the Spirit of God is moving in the church. I think we have something substantial to contribute to that conversation because we have a great history to learn from.
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| McCormick students listening to President Yamada preach at McCormick's convocation on September 7, 2011. |
TH: A few weeks ago, you sent out a letter to the larger McCormick community in which you discussed your first 40 days as President. It’s now been over 60 days. What’s been the greatest challenge so far?
FY: I think the challenges are for theological education in general. We’re in a shifting environment. That means that finances are always troubling, that means that you’re dealing with students who have increased debt and are going off into the church and there aren’t a lot of jobs. Something has to change in the way we do things. Something has to change in the way the church imagines and trains its leadership. So those are some of the macro challenges that I think we all face . . . Personally, because these things are very exciting to think about, I have had more sleepless nights in the last three months than I think I’ve ever had.
TH: Other than the lack of sleep and restless nights, what else has been unexpected about being president? Have there been surprises or things that you weren’t necessarily anticipating?
FY: I thought this was going to be a really lonely job when I took it on. I had heard from other friends who had taken on this position that this is a lonely job because everyone works for you. Quite literally, you’re the boss of everybody, and I worried about that. But what I found, at least one of the great rewards of my first three months, is that I’ve been able to work with some really great people, especially staff and the board of trustees. Those are circles that I didn’t have as much contact with as a faculty person. One of the things I’ve learned is that there’s a lot of responsibility put on a president, but it’s not a lonely job.
TH: You’ve spoken about your relationships with staff and faculty, so this question is more focused on you and the McCormick student body. What do you want students to know about you as a person and as a President?
FY: Well, I think the students already know about me as a person; or at least that’s what it suggests to me when they read my facebook posts, and then read them out loud at Feast of Fools . . . One of the things I loved to do as a faculty person was to be an advocate for my students. One of the great joys of being President is that I feel like I’m actually in the position, a better position, to be an advocate for students. And I love to be an advocate for our [McCormick] students because they are great leaders and they need to have their voice heard in the church.
TH: As a follow up question, what do you not want students to know about you as President?
FY: Well, if I didn’t want them to know, I wouldn’t say I guess.
TH: It’s kind of a trick question. You don’t actually have to answer.
FY: No, it’s ok. I guess I don’t want students to know that in a not too distant past, I was actually the quarterback for our seminary football team that used to compete in an intramural league at Northwestern. I don’t want them to know that because if we started a flag football team that competed with the U of C [University of Chicago], one, I don’t want to play quarterback and two, I wouldn’t want to have to miss it and I don’t know if I could make the commitment.
TH: And if that flag football league were to start, would you at least be willing to on occasion be willing to make an appearance as a cheerleader or mascot? Perhaps you could dress up as Herald the Ram?
FY: The ram? No, no. Actually, another thing I don’t want them [students] to know about me as President is that I drive a two-door hatchback Yaris. Usually when people hear I’m President and then see my car they go, “ehhh, that car doesn’t look so presidential.” So I don’t need anyone else making fun of my car.
TH: Do you have a name for your car?
FY: I’m going to have to come up with a name for my car. It certainly has a complex because it’s supposed to be bigger than it is and more presidential [than it is]. But I love my car and am going to keep my car.
TH: Ok, Mr. President, I mean, Frank, last question of the interview—do you have any big party plans for President’s Day in February?
FY: President’s Day in February? I mean, no, those are U.S. presidents. This is nothing like that. I hope to take the day off just like the rest of the nation and hope that my staff and students will do the same, as long as we don’t have an event planned.
TH: Maybe there will be an event planned, like a surprise President’s Day party. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.
Please note: This interview was edited for content and length.
