Chaplain Guy Brewer — the towering, bearded man known campus wide simply as “Chap” — will be leaving Sweet Briar this summer for a faculty position at Anderson University School of Theology in Anderson, Ind.

Since he arrived on campus in August of 2001, Brewer has strived to incorporate the chaplain’s office into the campus community in ways, he said, that emphasized the “diversity of traditions and world views here on campus, [using] a model that focused more on spirituality than on religious life.”

He did this by founding the peer mentoring group Sweet Spirits; serving as the Ethics Bowl faculty sponsor; teaching business management labs and senior seminar, and overseeing student internships, most recently one that involved event and wedding planning. Doing this, he said, has resulted in a “much expanded involvement” with the chaplain’s office, “certainly among students, but also among faculty and staff.”

Chaplain Guy Brewer enjoys a reception held in his honor on April 26.This total immersion into campus life is one thing Brewer will miss when he leaves Sweet Briar. “I love working with students,” he said. “I have really enjoyed them. … I understand the college years, eighteen to twenty-two, as being the most formative years of life. People make lifelong decisions about core values, friendships, [and they] meet and marry spouses, so I consider it a great privilege to be a part of that formative time in folks’ lives.”

Around campus, however, some would say the privilege has been all theirs.

“My friendship with Chap began the first day I arrived at Sweet Briar,” Heidi Trude ’07 said. “He was the first person I met when I arrived to Grammer [residence hall] with a car and truck filled with all my things. From the moment I saw Chap’s welcoming smile, I knew he would be a special person and friend.”

Like many students, Trude’s first year was tough — so tough, in fact, that she thought about leaving Sweet Briar. Through it all, Brewer was a rock in stormy seas. “Chap was there, encouraging and supporting me the entire year,” she said.

Not only did she stay at Sweet Briar, but Trude applied and was accepted to the Sweet Spirits program. “Once Chap accepted me to be a Sweet Spirit, my life at SBC changed for the better,” she said. “I know I would not be the woman I am today if I had not met Chaplain Brewer.”

Brewer’s kind and generous spirit will be remembered by others as well. “Chap is one of the nicest people I have ever met,” Michelle Badger ’06 said. “Every time he sees you he just makes you feel special and important. He has a kind word to say about everyone. … He is such a supportive person and willing to help out in any way he can. Sweet Briar has been very lucky to have a chaplain like him.”

In a memorandum to faculty, staff and students detailing Brewer’s departure, SBC President Elisabeth Muhlenfeld wrote, “Guy Brewer’s legacy to Sweet Briar will be not only the kindness and good counsel he has shared with so many members of our community but also the extent to which he has served as mentor and coach, engaging students in the work of the chaplain’s office, and in leadership development.”

She went on to praise Brewer’s “open-door approach” and “his sensitivity to and welcoming of students of all faith traditions.”

Rev. Adam White, interim chaplain.Filling Brewer’s big shoes, as interim chaplain, will be the Rev. Adam White. White was pastor of Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Amherst from 2000-2005 and recently served as pastor of Charlottesville’s Mount Moriah United Methodist Church.

“[I have] known Guy as both a friend and colleague for a number of years [and] I am delighted for him in his new venture into teaching,” White said. “His gifts and passion for teaching are evident. Guy will continue to serve God and the church as he trains new clergy for ministry.”

While at Emmanuel, White and his family were no strangers to Sweet Briar. As well as participating in many on-campus activities, White’s wife, Angela, was one of Sweet Briar’s first Master of Arts in Teaching graduates and sang in the Sweet Tones. Their daughter, Hannah, also attended the campus pre-school.

In addition to “continuing much of the good work begun by Chap during his tenure,” White said he looks forward to “experiencing again the natural beauty of the Sweet Briar campus and to renewing my commitment to jog the dairy route, a good habit I have fallen out of since my move to the Charlottesville area.”

White earned his Master of Arts in religion (concentration in Hebrew Bible) from Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 2004, his Master of Divinity in 1998 from Drew University Theological School, and his bachelor of science from Eastern Mennonite University in 1995.