Since last December, finding a new vice president for Financial Administration has been at the top of the prayer list at Union Adventist University. While the campus prayed and searched for the right person, Robert Decker noticed a small advertisement for the position in his copy of the Southern Tidings. Decker lived in South Carolina where he was CFO for a large non-profit that provides care for the intellectually disabled.
The ad caught his attention because running finances for an Adventist university was his dream job. Early in his career he served as controller for Washington Adventist University, then Columbia Union College. “I’ve always wanted to come back to an educational institution,” he said. He likes being around students and helping build their skills and influence their careers.
Decker’s wife, Christy, whom he met on a blind date, is the reason for his first contact with Union. He remembers attending graduation in 1995 when she completed her nursing degree here. Currently a nurse practitioner, Christy agreed that providence was leading them to Lincoln.
The Deckers have three children. Their oldest son, Nicholas, is attending a different Union — Union Theological Seminary. Two teenagers, Jessica and Thomas, are currently at College View Academy. Three German shepherds and a min pin round out the family.
Up for the challenge
Decker is a car guy and will miss the winding roads of the Blue Ridge Mountains. But he’s energized about his new job. “I like a challenge,” he said. “I like to drill down into the finances. Every organization has challenges and you have to navigate through them.”
He describes his management style by saying, “I like communicating with people. Finance is not out there by themselves. I like to make connections or relationships with people and work through things. It’s a team effort.”
The kind of relationships Decker fosters at work was evident recently when he was sworn in as a United States citizen. Born to a Korean woman and an American serviceman, and later adopted by an Adventist family in the States, he had never finished up the paperwork to formalize his citizenship.
The day came when he had to travel to Greer, South Carolina, for the swearing in ceremony. When he arrived there, he was surprised to see a crowd of 40 friends and workmates who had made the journey to welcome him as an official U.S. citizen. “This is the most people we’ve ever had in this room,” said the official in charge.
“We’ve had two answers to prayer in this process,” says university president Yami Bazan. “One is the heroic service of Elaine Hagele, a former trustee, who stepped in to serve as the interim vp for seven months. Robert’s arrival is the second answer to prayer. He brings an important leadership competency of collaboration as well as a credibility and practice in financial administration. His departments and his colleagues have already experienced his ability to manage difficult decisions with thoughtfulness, patience and intention.”
