The Board of Trustees of Maryland University of Integrative Health recently elected Cheryl Walker to step into the newly created position of vice president for institutional development and chief values officer. This new role is extremely unique for any organization and it appears that MUIH is the only national university to combine leadership in ethics with leadership in philanthropy.
Walker will serve the University by insuring that we remain committed to our principles and values, honoring them as not just words and intentions, but as dynamic and essential components of our communal life. This will manifest in three primary ways immediately.
First, Walker will work with the leadership and community to create and nurture a culture where these principles and values inform every decision and are considered in all the work we do. This will show up in the sense of community that is maintained, and, very simply, in the way we treat each other on a daily basis. Performance objectives for staff and faculty will reflect the principles and values which will enable us to measure our effectiveness.
Second, Walker will work closely with academic directors and faculty to weave our principles and values throughout the academic programs and courses. The university promotes and practices relationship-centered healing and develops practitioners who have cultivated a “healing presence.” These aspects of the academic programs will now be purposefully integrated into the student experience and will be assessed.
Finally, all of our external partnership opportunities, collaborations, and fundraising efforts will reflect and support our principles and values. This sends a strong message to prospective partners and donors about how important we hold our institutional values and the integrity of the University.
“Adding this role underscores our total commitment to insure that the values and virtues of our school, the institutional DNA so to speak, are protected, more fully incorporated into the fabric of our academic and administrative infrastructure, and are forever sustained,” said President and CEO Frank Vitale. “Additionally, what greater way to gain philanthropic support for MUIH than to have the person most intimately connected to our values leading the effort?”
About Cheryl Walker
Cheryl Walker has worked at MUIH for more than 12 years in various positions, including academic director of the Health Philosophy and Promotion Department, dean of students, and a faculty member. Walker also has more than 10 years of experience as an organizational development consultant and executive coach and has demonstrated her entrepreneurial capabilities in building the non-profit division of Transformation Strategies, Inc. Walker recently lead the process to create our new foundational principles and collaborated on the development of our new mission, vision, and institutional values. She holds a Master’s in Executive Leadership from Georgetown University and Bachelor of Arts in Education from Antioch College.