For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Dr. Paul Gregory Ketteman will retire after 20 years of senior leadership at Welch College, according to Welch President Matt Pinson. His retirement will be effective at the end of December.
Ketteman became Welch College’s first Provost in July 2006, stepping into the role of Milton Fields, and before him Robert Picirilli and Charles Thigpen, all of whom had served as Academic Dean. Since 2017, he has served as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Graduate Dean of the School of Education. Before joining the Welch faculty, he served four years on the Welch Board of Trustees.
“It’s going to be sad to see Dr. Ketteman retire after two decades of stellar senior leadership at Welch,” Pinson said. “When I asked him to come on board the Welch leadership team as our first Provost, it was because of his three decades of award-winning leadership as an educator and principal in Metro Nashville Public Schools, his academic credentials, including significant graduate coursework in public administration and a doctorate in educational leadership, and his leadership on the Welch Board of Trustees early in my presidency. But over the past two decades I have seen, up close, his heart and his love for Welch, for people, and for biblical truth.”
“Dr. Ketteman’s rock-solid integrity and work ethic are second-to-none—a great example to his younger colleagues and students,” Pinson continued. He has been a dear friend to Welch College and to our family. Though he’s going to continue serving on the adjunct faculty and as an advisor to me, his full-time service to his alma mater will be sorely missed.”
During his tenure as Provost and later Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Ketteman led Welch in a number of path-breaking initiatives to position the institution well in a changing and precarious higher education environment. These included a major in biology, 2+2 bachelor’s degrees in nursing with Belmont, Union, and Cumberland Universities, a cooperative program with the Free Will Baptist seminary in Panama, the Welch Spanish Ministry Institute, the development of Welch Online, and the adoption of the Populi learning management system.
Provost Dr. Matthew McAffee said, “Dr. Ketteman’s retirement is nothing short of the closing of an era, and one that I’m sad to see end. His leadership as Provost at Welch was one of excellence and organizational development. His later role in strategic initiatives was equally transformational for our institution, posturing us for a bright future. Yet the personal impact Dr. Ketteman has had on the members of the Welch family stands above all. He’s been a mentor to so many, and he has certainly been a kind and gracious mentor to me. I hate to see him go, but I pray the Lord will bless him richly in this new season of life!”
Ketteman spearheaded numerous feasibility studies, including the college’s name change and offering of master’s degrees. He provided leadership in ten-year accreditation reaffirmations with the SACS Commission on Colleges and the ABHE Commission on Accreditation and served as a key part of the committee that led in the move from the West End campus to the Gallatin campus.
More recent strategic initiatives Ketteman led include the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) and M.A. in Organizational Leadership, both of which he oversees; the initiation of Dual Enrollment and Welch Collegiate Academy; and agreements with Volunteer State Community College to offer seven degree programs in technical fields.
Ketteman also served as a representative of the college on numerous accreditation teams at institutions across the country for both of Welch’s accreditors, as well as a member of the Board of Gallatin’s Chamber of Commerce.
“Thank you for the privilege to be a part of the ministry and the legacy of Welch College,” Ketteman said. “My service to Welch has been a fulfilling and enriching learning experience that will endure as a signal and unmatched life blessing from God. I am truly thankful to God for a rare opportunity to serve during an historic era for Welch College. It has been my joy to follow in my mother’s and father’s footsteps and to work with so many Christian students and cherished colleagues, including working alongside my wife Jill during part of her 19 years at Welch, and with my sister Carol and brother-in-law Garnett.”
Ketteman continued, “I am grateful to President Pinson and the Board of Trustees for the privilege to serve. God is clearly at work in Dr. Pinson’s vision and leadership. I look forward to our continuing collaboration and friendship in the future. I will remain an ardent supporter of the ministry of Welch College in both word and deed, and I pray that God will bless our service at Welch as we seek to build His kingdom.”
Festivities to celebrate Dr. Ketteman’s retirement are being planned. For more information about Welch College, click here; to donate in support of its mission, click here.