For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Dr. Daniel Webster has been named Vice President for Administration and Student Engagement at Welch College, according to President Matt Pinson. In a major administrative reconfiguration, which includes the naming of two new directors, Webster will strengthen coordination across campus operations, fostering a more cohesive and effective experience for current and prospective students and employees.
“In recent years, many institutions have consolidated the campus experience under one vice president who oversees multiple department directors and coordinators,” Pinson said. “I’m so excited about Dr. Webster’s appointment. Not only is he a stellar leader and administrator, but he has just the skillset we need for this streamlining of campus operations.”
After Dr. Jon Forlines’s retirement from the Vice President for Student Services role in October 2025, Webster was named Interim Director of Student Services. Then, following Craig Mahler’s resignation as Vice President for Financial Affairs, Webster became Interim Vice President for Administration and Student Engagement.
“In this restructuring, a single vice president will supervise three departments with corresponding directors or coordinators in the areas of Enrollment, Student Services, and the Business Office,” Pinson said. “Dr. Webster will be supervising these departments, not taking on the jobs of the former VPs in these areas. We’ll be hiring three new employees to ensure the workload is adequately spread out.”
Webster began serving part-time in 2016 as Director of Marketing and Recruiting for Welch Online. In 2017 he became full-time Director of Enrollment Services. Then in 2022 he was named Director of Enrollment and Marketing, while overseeing chapel worship and the worship ministry program. He also holds a faculty appointment, teaching part-time as Assistant Professor of Music and Theology.
Before coming to Welch, Webster served ten years as Music Minister at Gateway Free Will Baptist Church and teacher at Gateway Christian School and College. Then he served as pastor of a Free Will Baptist church in North Carolina for four years. He has been married for twenty-one years to his wife Kimberly, a homemaker and homeschool mother of their three children, Aaron, Julianna, and Noah. (Aaron, a high school senior, is dually enrolled at Welch and will be a freshman this fall.)
A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Webster holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Gateway Christian College, a master’s degree in biblical studies from Virginia Beach Theological Seminary, and two master’s degrees from Maranatha Baptist University, in theology and church music.
Webster was recently awarded the Ph.D. in church music and worship from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also served extensively as an author for D6 Family Ministry, has written numerous popular and academic articles and papers, and serves on the Music Commission of the National Association of Free Will Baptists.
“This restructuring move aligns Welch College with best practices in higher education and positions us strategically for continued growth as an institution,” Provost Matthew McAffee said. “I can think of no one more uniquely qualified to lead this particular effort than Dr. Webster. His diverse experience and expertise are just what we need in someone to lead these three crucial departments.”
To facilitate this transition, Welch will employ three new full-time-equivalent employees and will shift existing employees. Former Welch Student Accounts Coordinator Alyssa Hill, originally from Norton, Virginia, has been named the college’s Director of Financial Services. A 2018 Welch graduate with a B.S. in Business Administration, Hill served four years as Financial Aid Assistant and later Assistant in both Financial Aid and the Business Office, before assuming the role of Student Accounts Coordinator in the Business Office in 2022. The college will conduct a search for a full-time employee to fill Hill’s former role.
Women’s Resident Director Whitney Lute has been named Interim Dean of Students. Currently assisting President Pinson part-time with administrative roles in the President’s Office, Lute is in her sixth year in the Student Services department at Welch. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from Welch (2018) and an M.S.W. from Tennessee State University in Social Work, having served as an adjunct instructor in psychology at Welch for the past three years. The college will be conducting a search for the Dean of Students position soon.
In Enrollment Services, Dr. Webster will continue to provide direct, daily oversight and strategic leadership, working closely with Pam Buck, Admissions Records Coordinator; AnnaGee Harris, Coordinator for Enrollment Events and Student Reps; and Abby Settle, Senior Admissions Counselor. Together, this experienced team brings nearly forty years of combined undergraduate recruiting and admissions experience and will continue building on the 42-year high enrollment the college had last fall.
“I’m so excited about what the future holds as these stellar, proven leaders assume these new positions with fresh ideas and a firm commitment to the mission of Welch College to educate leaders to serve Christ, His Church, and His world,” Pinson said. “I want all our supporters to pray for them as they step into these exciting new roles in this hopeful time after the 42-year enrollment record this past fall. Also continue to pray for the other employees in these departments, who will continue their dedicated service to Welch.”
In addition to these changes, Welch will be searching for another full-time-equivalent administrative assistant to offer assistance in this new administrative structure. For more information about Welch, visit the college’s website at welch.edu.