Nathan Baptiste to Take on Role at Metro; Angela Buck Named Interim Director of IME

Nathan Baptiste, director of Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement, will depart Lewis & Clark to become a diversity program manager at Metro, Dean of Students Anna Gonzalez announced today. Angela Buck will become the interim director, effective May 1.

“I know we will all greatly miss Nathan–I will miss him,” said Gonzalez, “and I thank him for his years of exceptional service to our community. I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes in his significant role for our entire city and state. At the same time, I’m delighted that Angela Buck is taking on the interim role. She is a rising leader in our field and a strong, open-hearted advocate for our students.”

At Metro, the regional government encompassing much of metropolitan Portland, Baptiste will be part of a seven-member team that leads development, facilitation, and education work on issues of diversity and inclusion. He joined Lewis & Clark in 2013 as an assistant dean of admissions in charge of multicultural recruitment.

“I’m sad to be leaving Lewis & Clark, but I’m reassured that the work will be in Angela’s capable hands. And you haven’t seen the last of me, as I know that I can still be a partner with the college in my new role at Metro,” said Baptiste.

Buck, currently the assistant director of IME, first came to Lewis & Clark in 2013 as an area director for Campus Living in Stewart, Odell, and Akin. A linguistics major who graduated from  the University of California, San Diego, Buck was a resident advisor and active member of the Filipino organization, Kaibigang Pilipino. She completed her graduate work at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, where she studied higher education administration with a focus on student affairs.

“I’m honored to lead the IME office,” said Buck. “Our students are creative and brilliant, and I love working to be responsive to their identities and needs, creating conditions where they will thrive.”

There will be a going-away party for Baptiste on Wednesday, April 19, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the IME/ISS suite in Templeton.