New Vice President of Formation and Director of Community Formation
Donna T. Covington—New Vice President of Formation
We are delighted to welcome Donna Covington to the community as the Vice President of Formation on the Kentucky Campus. Covington lives a life of personal formation, exhibited through an infectious passion for Jesus Christ and a love for students. Covington officially joins the community July 1, 2018.
“I am delighted that Donna is joining the Asbury team,” Dr. Timothy Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary, said. “She is a high-level systems thinker who can bring our formation to a whole new level, yet also has the capacity to compassionately work one-on-one with students. Her experiences and expertise within the corporate world, church and academic world are great assets to our community and will help us meet our goal to integrate the academic and spiritual dimensions of a worshipping, serving and learning community.”
Covington spent most of her life in the corporate world, serving in managerial positions at Texas Instruments and IBM from 1979-1991. From 1991-2007, she worked at Lexmark International, Inc., in a succession of positions from director to Vice President of Customer Service. After an early retirement in 2007, she worked as Executive Director at Bethel Harvest Church (Nicholasville, Ky.) and as Administrative and Leadership Development Director for Consolidated Baptist Church (Lexington, Ky.), while pursuing an M.A. in Christian Leadership with an emphasis on spiritual formation from Asbury Theological Seminary.
In 2010, her son, a former Division 1 football player, was killed in an altercation over a racial slur. Covington decided she wanted to spend the rest of her life helping in the spiritual and professional formation of future leaders. As a first-generation African-American college student, Covington prioritizes student success through student-focused initiatives. From 2010-2014, she worked at Kentucky State University, enhancing the university’s commitment to academic excellence, research and community service.
In her role as Dean of the College of Business at Delaware State University, Covington developed a model for student success that included paid internships, mentoring, business competitions, conferences and professional development activities. She increased paid internships for qualified students by 315 percent in three years.
“Donna brings to the Seminary a host of gifts to help us serve the global church, train leaders and equip pastors for missional engagement in diverse regions,” Tennent said. “Her proven global experience in strategic leadership, organizational development and people management, as well as her expertise in guiding high-performance teams will be a great fit for Asbury Seminary.”
Covington has been trained in Design Thinking at Stanford University, chaired Lexmark’s first Diversity Initiative, as well as the Black Achievers for Central Kentucky, and was recognized nationally by the President’s Award for Women of Color in Technology.
Nicole Sims—New Director of Community Formation
Asbury Theological Seminary welcomes Nicole Sims to the community as the Director of Community Formation on the Kentucky Campus. Sims has a shepherd’s heart and has given her life to making disciples for Jesus Christ. Sims officially joins the community on July 1, 2018.
“Nicole has served both the local and global church in a variety of capacities,” Donna Covington, Vice President of Formation, said, “and we are delighted to have someone with her experience and heart for people in such a crucial role in the life of the seminary.” President Timothy Tennent, commented further saying, “Her compassion for others, pastoral ministry experience, gifts of preaching and teaching, as well as her vision for the Church will be a wonderful asset to further our formational goals at Asbury Theological Seminary.”
Following graduation with her M.Div. from Asbury in 1999, Sims served nearly two decades in various ministries. As an elder in the United Methodist Church, she pastored in Georgia before turning her energies towards missionary service though TMS Global (formerly, The Mission Society). After working alongside denominational leaders in Ghana, she later served in equipping capacities in England before moving to Germany where she was the pastor of an intentionally intercultural congregation, Hamburg International Church. From her extensive cross-cultural and pastoral service, Sims brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to formation at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Peg Hutchins, the current Director of Community Formation, will continue to serve the mission of the Seminary in a reduced, but more focused, role as Spiritual Care Coordinator.
I served with Nicole at Lewis Memorial for almost 3 months (I know, a drop in the bucket) before she left us for maternity leave and the mission field. In that short time (and her visits to follow) I was blessed by her spirit. I am glad that she is so close and serving our Asbury community.
Nicole is a wonderful addition to the ATS team. Her experience in and beyond the local church will allow her to her to be a mentor to ATS scholars who are seeking to renew, revive, and start local churches globally. Nicole’s leadership at The Mission Society (now TMS Global) allowed the Board to better understand the work of cross cultural workers.
Fabulous new hires!! Yay Donna and Nicole!!