New WWC President Damián Fernández Plans on “Future Proofing” the College
Quinn Bonney | February 23, 2023
Warren Wilson College (WWC) has named Damián Fernández as its new president following a months-long search. Fernández, who previously served as president of Eckerd College in Fla., will assume his new role on June 1, 2023.
Fernández brings a wealth of experience in higher education, including receiving a National Science Foundation grant and sitting on the Board of the American Council on Education and on the Association of Governing Boards Council of Presidents.
Eager to start his work at WWC, Fernández has begun working with Interim President Bill Christy and Cabinet on transitioning into the WWC community.
“My first priority is to learn,” Fernández said. “I need to learn what is working, what needs help. I need to learn about the community, I need to learn the aspirations and I need to get a deeper sense of the challenges.”
Special to The Echo | Warren Wilson College
Damián Fernández.
Fernández’s story with WWC started in 2008 when he was offered the position of provost and vice president of academic affairs but turned the offer down due to family reasons. Fernández has “had a crush on Warren Wilson” ever since.
“When I saw the position announced, I remembered what John Steinbeck the Nobel Prize winner [in] literature said to his son, ‘nothing good gets away,’” Fernández’ said. “Maybe Steinbeck was right, that nothing good gets away.”
As a newcomer to the WWC community, Fernández is excited and grateful for the offer to be the president of the college.
“I don't have any superhero powers,” Fernández said. “I approach this [job] with great humility and with joy.”
The Board of Trustees voted on this decision with recommendations from the presidential search committee. Siti Kusujiarti, department chair of sociology and member of the search committee expressed what criteria the committee searched for.
“[Important criteria are] fundraising experience and abilities, and their networks in doing that, not only how much but also how fast and how deep their connections are,” Kusujiarti said. “This future president can move us forward and also can get the buy-in from all of the constituents, the students, faculty, staff, alumni and Board of Trustees. Those are very important.”
Also important in the search was congruency with the missions and goals of Warren Wilson, such as value in the history and teaching practices of the college.
WWC stakeholders– including students, staff, faculty, trustees and alumni– gave input to the Board of Trustees on their vote. A group of students was invited to sit with presidential candidates during lunch to ask questions and express concerns.
Aria Hansen, student representative on the search committee and trustee, believed student input was important to the final choice. Hansen had the opportunity to present student concerns to the board.
“I felt like we [students] definitely got our point across in many intricate ways,” Hansen said. “It was a really great experience and I honestly think I would like to be president now because of this experience.”
Hansen believes that Fernández’s fundraising abilities may be critical to the success of the college. During his two years at Eckard Fernández raised over $38 million dollars for the college.
“We need fundraising,” Hansen said. “With fundraising, we fix our facilities, we hire more teachers, more faculty and staff for support. We don't have unity within the community because there's not enough support for faculty and staff and students to create that community because we're all wearing so many different hats, and we're all so stretched in with everything that we're doing.”
Christy is hopeful for the future of Warren Wilson; he has been interim president since 2022 and the retirement of President Lynn Morton. Christy acknowledged the financial needs of the college and the changing higher education market.
“There are about 800 schools that have enrollments of under 1,000,” said Christy, who graduated from WWC in 1979 and served on the Board of Trustees. “Who — for the most part — don't have big endowments. So if we had a billion-dollar endowment, things would be very different. We don't.”
Christy believes that despite a modest endowment, WWC has an advantage over other schools.
“None of [other small colleges] are sitting on 1,200 acres of some of the most beautiful land on this earth, in the apple of [the] southern Appalachian mountains,” Christy said. “None of them have — there might be some — very few have a work program, [and] a mission of environmentalism and social justice. We have so many things that we should be proud of.”
Fernández recognizes that WWC has challenges in facilities and financial uncertainty, however, he assures the college that “we’re not alone.”
“This is the national landscape– of small liberal arts colleges with modest endowments, but we [WWC] have assets,” Fernández said. “How do we leverage our assets to generate non-tuition revenue, so we can deliver a world-class education? That, to me is the biggest strategic issue.”
The longevity of the institution will be key to Fernández’s plan as president. Hansen is optimistic about the new president and his fundraising abilities.
“We could – maybe we could – fix the damn pool,” Hansen said. “Like, wouldn’t that be a dream?”
The new president has many goals for his time at Warren Wilson such as improving student and faculty retention, enhancing the student experience and finding financially sustainable ways of supporting faculty work and students. Fernández described this as “future-proofing” the college.
Fernández, who views the agenda for a new president as a six to seven-year plan, plans to stay at Warren Wilson for the long haul. "This is probably my last hurrah," Fernández said. "I want to bring back some joy we've lost."
Fernández sees himself as the “chief storyteller,” as well as being president. He believes the story and mission of the college are important and inspiring. Christy is confident that Fernández is up to the task of articulating the “dynamic vision” of the college to the campus and to the world.
“I honestly think that's what we're missing,” Christy said. “I don't think we have done a very good job of telling our story. Because I think we don't even realize how much other people would really like to hear about our story. It's unique, it's a different way of education, and it's valuable. So I think he's the right person.”
The new Warren Wilson president doesn’t have a “magic wand” and expresses he will need help from the community in his journey at the college.
“I want to make sure that I tap into the goodness that is there amongst my colleagues, the faculty, the staff, the students,” Fernández said. “And I will need help,”
As for Christy, the interim president will not be going far. He will continue living in Black Mountain and return to his retirement. He has been a part of the WWC community for 49 years and his next plans are to expand his gardening efforts at his home.