Vice Chancellor of Advancement Starts New Chapter

Staff Writer


   Vice Chancellor of Advancement Katherine “Kathy” Berry will be leaving the University of Arkansas at Monticello to embark on a remarkably exciting new chapter in her life.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Moving On - Vice Chancellor of Advancement Kathy Berry revises building plans for the School of Forest Resources. She said she uses her green pen to edit because it is UAM’s color and is less intimidating than red ink.

   Berry, along with husband Trey Berry, Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Science, and their 10-year-old son Tanner will be welcoming a new addition to the family as they adopt a little girl from China.

   The family plans to travel to China in November or December to meet their daughter for the first time. They will not know any information about her until the end of October or early November but they eagerly await the announcement.

   Trey and Kathy Berry married in 1992 and traveled to China for their honeymoon, a place they both had been to during their college years. While in China, they witnessed the passing of new international adoption laws throughout press coverage. Seeing the many orphanages in the country brought them into awareness of China’s one-child policy.

   They decided when the time was right, they would adopt.

   Thirteen years later, the time came. They began the paperwork process Oct. 2, 2005 and recently celebrated a three-year anniversary of the date the adoption process began.

   Kathy Berry described the process as a cycle of paperwork and money. Trey Berry agreed.

   “Patience and paperwork were important,” Trey Berry said. “Unfortunately she (Kathy) had to handle most of it. It has been a test in patience but we are very excited. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

   “We are so excited,” Kathy Berry said not only for the adoption, but also for the trip in general. She has befriended people through online communities and blogs specifically dealing with Chinese adoption.

   However, deciding to stay at home with her daughter upon return to the United States became challenging.

   “I have always worked in some capacity,” she said. “It has been a difficult decision giving up work.

   She said some things will suffer but “I don’t want my family to suffer.”

   In her tasks of planning events and fund raising across the campus and working with alumni, she will remember one project the most.

   She helped in the beginning processes of the School of Forrest Resources, the only school of Forestry in Ark..

   “It has a real uniqueness that most projects will not have,” she said.

   She said she would like stay involved with UAM and special projects in the future because she has grown to respect the community in her time here.

   Lassiter described her as very organized. He said she moved the advancement program forward in her short time here and hopes she will eventually come back to a position on campus.

   “She has only been here five months but it seems longer,” he said. “We’re going to miss her, but understand her reasons for leaving.”

   The position of Vice Chancellor of Advancement will be advertised in several regional and national publications. Lassiter said he hopes to fill the position by the first of the year.

    Kathy Berry offered some advice to her replacement: “Have a blast. It is the best job and at a great place,” she said. “The opportunities for UAM are incredible.”

   Her last day as Vice Chancellor of Advancement will be Nov. 14.

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