Leslie Diaz-Perez Adds Senior Director of Enrollment to her McCormick Role
07-01-2022
Building on McCormick’s reputation for transformational experiences, a diverse culture, and a connected community, Dr. Leslie Diaz-Perez joins the seminary’s admissions team in August as senior director of Enrollment.
“There’s a lot you can learn about McCormick just by looking at our website,” begins Rev. Dr. Leslie Diaz-Perez (M.Div.’06, D.Min.’12), “you’ll find that we have world-class faculty, innovative initiatives, like SBI [Solidarity Building Initiative] and the Trauma Healing Initiative. Our centers provide academic programs to strengthen the formation of Black and Latinx church leaders and congregations.”
However, the seminary’s greatest strength, she emphasizes, is the vast community called McCormick. “McCormick is its alums, faculty, staff, students and the friends of McCormick who see the work we do as critical to the flourishing of our world,” says Dr. Diaz-Perez who will continue to serve as director of McCormick’s El Centro when she adds senior director of Admissions to her responsibilities in August. “Being part of McCormick – as both a student and a staff member – I’ve come to know McCormick as an interconnected community that is continually working in tandem and making strides toward helping our students be change makers…to grow and lead beyond traditional limits.”
Diverse Cultures and Connected Community
This summer, Dr. Diaz-Perez will share the strengths of McCormick at Avance, a theological education and training conference that will be held in Panama and draw religious leaders from more than 40 countries across the globe. Jonathan Garcia (M.Div.’21), is a co-creator of the bilingual (English and Spanish) event that aims to raise awareness of challenges to the church and provide contextual and practical responses to those challenges.
“Many church models today include a commitment to moving outside the church walls and getting involved in different facets…different needs of the community,” says Dr. Diaz-Perez who will speak at the conference and share with attendees the benefits of a theological education at McCormick. “Our sermons must have shoes…we have to take justice to injustice, food to the hungry, and truth to power.”
The issues facing the church today, Dr. Diaz-Perez points out, are not just national, but also international. “That’s one reason diversity is a core value of McCormick…that we strive to have a learning environment that mirrors the diversity of the world in which we live,” says Dr. Diaz-Perez. “Students who leave their homes, families, and cultures to further their theological education want to find community, friendships, and support as they navigate a new environment. I and so many others have experienced McCormick’s commitment to offering the kind of support that leads to belonging and achievement. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to invite people from all corners of our world to become part of the McCormick community.”
Dr. Leslie Diaz-Perez
A dual-degreed alumnae and director of McCormick’s El Centro, Rev. Dr. Diaz-Perez brings a fresh focus on new pathways to enrollment through broadening the strength of McCormick’s cultural diversity.