When the Rev. Nile Harper took the position of director of The Ecumenical Center and International Residence about a decade ago, he immediately began implementing his renovation and expansion plans for the residence. Now, less than a month before his retirement, Harper said he has reached his goals.
Harper plans to retire Jan. 3 to pursue other interests, including writing a book.
"Although I have absolutely loved my time here, there are a few things I want to do and see," he said.
One of Harper's notable accomplishments as International Residence director is the $1.3-million renovations he worked to fund and develop.
"He created something that will last," said Associate Director Shirley Lewis. "It has and will continue to help the organization financially and otherwise."
Another of Harper's initiatives is the Tuesday Global Village in the International Residence lounge, where Harper organizes a speaker to come and discuss an international topic each week. Residents add to the event by cooking a meal from their own part of the world.
"It gives the residents an opportunity to get to know people and other cultures while enjoying good food and lively conversation," Harper said.
Harper organizes a similar program for all University students called the Tuesday International Forum. Each week, people gather for lunch at the University's International Center to hear a speaker and discuss important happenings outside the United States.
Continuing his focus on diversity, Harper, who is also a Presbyterian campus minister, brings residents to local churches to speak about their culture.
"Although (the program) is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church, only a few people in the residence are actually Presbyterian," Harper said.
Lewis, who has been appointed by The Ecumenical Center Board of Directors as interim director beginning Jan. 4, spoke highly of Harper and said Harper will be greatly missed. "He is a visionary person who has made a tremendous contribution to this organization," she said.
Kristel Buysse, an economics graduate student from Brussels, Belgium, has spent the past four years living in the International residence. She said the program will be different after Harper is gone.
"I do not think there will be any more camping trips or traveling with the group," she said. "He was pretty much the leader of all of (them)."
Residents agreed that Harper was a driving force in the program as well as an effective manager. "He has gotten a lot of things done," Buysse said.
Buysse said her only concern is that there is not currently a replacement for Harper. Although his position will be filled, there will be no immediate addition to the Board of Directors.
"If someone new came we would get some new ideas," she said.
While Harper has been in Ann Arbor, he has served as adjunct professor in the University's School of Education and at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit.
Prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Harper served for five years as Presbytery associate executive for 100 Presbyterian churches in the East Iowa Presbytery. For 17 years, he was professor of church and society at New York Theological Seminary and in the Schools of Theology in Dubuque, Iowa, as well as serving eight years in churches in Michigan and Iowa.
In the future, Harper would like to write a book on accounts of organizations he believes deserve recognition.
"I want to tell about the positive stories I find in this world of mostly negative news," he said.
He is also planning to visit a church in Moscow that he finds interesting, and to become a consultant for a new language institute in South Korea.
"I like to go to places of life and vitality," he said. "They are great sources of creative ideas."