Veatch to Chapman University
Jack Veatch has been the daily face of DDH for students for the past year and a half as Director of Student and Alum Relations. A MDiv alumnus and ordained Disciples minister, he has served the Disciples Divinity House full-time as Director of Student and Alum Relations. His care for community and especially for Monday dinners and programs made him an essential and beloved member of DDH’s full-time staff.
On July 15, Jack becomes the new Director of Church Relations at Chapman University in Orange, California. His new position combines campus chaplaincy, young adult leadership development, and relations with the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ (UCC) denominations. Nancy Brink, Executive Director of the Fish Interfaith Center at Chapman, commented, "Rev. Veatch brings a passion for young adults and the foundational role chaplains play in spiritual formation. He is attuned to student loneliness and the need for belonging and connectedness that comes from fostering an environment that supports deep relationships."
This is an exceptional opportunity in undergraduate chaplaincy for Jack - and a bittersweet but proud moment for the Disciples Divinity House. Jack's last day at DDH will be Friday, June 21. A farewell celebration for Jack and Aneesah is planned for that day beginning at 2:00 pm.
Not only his work at DDH, but also Jack's background in ecumenical campus ministry and his experience as minister of the Evergreen [Colorado] Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) recommended him to Chapman. As an undergraduate at Kent State University, he was a leader in ecumenical campus ministry, an experience was also invited him to ministry. He interned with the Interreligious Task Force on Central America and participated with the Christian Peacemakers Team in Mina, Columbia. After earning his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Kent State University, he was part of the National Benevolent Association's XPlor program where he worked with the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry. He has also been a student of the ecumenical movement, studying at the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, and participating as a GETI scholar at the 2022 WCC Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany.
He and fellow DDH alumna Aneesah Ettress were married in the Chapel of the Holy Grail. She has been the Academic Engagement Coordinator for the Feitler Center at the University's Smart Museum of Art. Jack and Aneesah have been resident heads of an undergraduate dormitory at the University of Chicago.