The Decree
since 1960 “of, by, andfor the Wesleyan community. ”
May 27, 2022
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Dr. Wyatt Completes Last Year as Provost, College Names Successor
Dr. Molly Wyatt has decided to
step down from her current post as
interim provost and return to her
previous role in the administration.
President Evan Duff praised
Dr. Wyatt’s efforts during the past
three years. “She’s assumed many
leadership roles when the university
needed her most,” he said. “And
she’s done so without hesitation.”
The president singled out her work
during the 2019-2020 academic
year, when she served in two critical
roles, interim dean of students and
academic dean. “The trustees and I
are grateful for her steady leadership
during this transitional time while
overcoming the challenges of a
global pandemic,” he said.
Wesleyan has appointed Joseph
Lane as its new provost. He will take
office in June, and Dr. Wyatt will
resume her post as associate provost.
Dr. Lane, 54, comes to Wesleyan
from Bethany College (WVa.),
where he served as provost and
dean of the faculty. A political
scientist by training, he earned
Wesleyan Profile: Graduating Senior
AJ Upchurch
By Caitlin Leggett
Decree Staff Writer
With her psychedelic “You
Matter” hoodie pulled over her
short haircut, AJ strolled into the
library with a guilty look on her
face. Knowing she was 11 minutes
late, she admitted she had forgotten
about our little interview session,
but her cheesy grin accentuating
her shining septum nose piercing
was apology enough. Completing
the last year here at Wesleyan, I
know the struggle of “senioritis”
and that the motivation to do
anything other than graduate
is slim to none. At first glance,
one may mistake Aydriyan (AJ)
Upchurch for a boy with her
androgynous style of dress and
faded haircut. Upon introductions,
the mistake may be corrected by
the sound of her voice but after a
conversation or two, you may just
label her a question mark. The truth
is, AJ is all these things.
AJ’s pronouns are all of them.
“I was 18 when I figured out that
I was nonbinary and pansexual,”
they said. “Nonbinary meaning I’m
a human, not taking on any gender.
Even the pronouns they and them
don't really resonate with me. I’m
just my name. As far as sexuality,
I’m pansexual which means I'm in
love with a person’s soul. If y’all’s
souls resonate with the same energy
then you're Gucci,” they said.
AJ has known they were
different for as long as they can
remember. Growing up in a single-
parent household with a supportive
mom was helpful. However,
their dad wasn’t as present and
easygoing as their mom. “He’s a
gig-based musician,” they said. “He
was living his dream and truth, but
he wasn’t providing for his family.
We had lots of fights and screaming
matches at the age of only 10.”
AJ describes him as narcissistic in
character which drove a wedge in
their relationship at an early age.
With the strain of that
relationship wearing on them,
AJ was able to appreciate the
relationships they did have even
more. “My mom and I didn’t have
his undergraduate degree from
Hampton-Sydney College (Va.).and
his Ph.D. from Boston College.
“Wesleyan is an exciting
institution on the rise,” Dr. Lane
said in an email. “It is uniquely
well-positioned to do very
interesting work for students
from a variety of backgrounds
with many different reasons for
entering higher education. I am
thrilled to be in a position to advance
curricular innovation and community
engagement for the university.”
Dr. Lane noted that his parents
and his brother and his family
live in Raleigh, while his in-laws
reside in Wilson. “So, this move
brings us close to family,” he said.
The new provost is married to Dr.
Julie Wilson, who served as professor
and chair of sociology at Emory
& Henry College, where both
she and her husband once taught.
More recently she was Bethany’s
Director of Corporate, Foundation
and Academic Grants. The couple
have two daughters-Grace, 16, and
AJ Upchurch Photo courtesy C. Leggett
much, so it was always about the
quality time with us,” they said.
“We even had junk-food Fridays.”
Growing up in a predominantly
Black and brown neighborhood,
where AJ and their mom lacked
monetary wealth, they made up
for it by being rich in love. For AJ
and their mom, this was a way to
bond and ensure they spent time
together eating chips, candy and
all the things one shouldn’t have
as a meal... for dinner.
As AJ’s mom became more
successful in her career as a
microbiologist working in labs to
test medicine, plasma and more,
quality time became more and
more scarce. “By 11, my mom and
I stopped having Thanksgiving
together because of her work... and
Christmases were on and off,” they
said. “I remember the first time
that, after a while, we did spend a
holiday together. I cried because
of how much I missed her.” Even
with this, their mom remained a
pillar of importance in their life.
Even still, they were not alone.
AJs met their' two half siblings from
their dad at around the age of 10 so
strong bonds were formed there.
They recalled aunts and uncles
whose policy was “Don’t ask,
don't tell,” but this didn’t stop AJ
and their mother from being their
most pure selves. “My mom was
always a live-laugh-love type of
person,” AJ said. “She wanted me
to have fun and go for the things I
"See UPCHURCH pg 2
Miriah, 14. The family intends to live
in northeast Raleigh, Dr. Lane said.
Dr. Wyatt, 45, arrived at Wesleyan
in 2006 as an assistant
professor of sociology. In 2012,
she was named associate provost,
a post she held until 2019.
The Decree interviewed Dr. Wyatt
in May for the following profile:
Q. Describe the place where
you were born and grew up?
A. I was born in Jamestown,
New York, a small, rural town in
the southwestern corner of the state.
When I was eight, we relocated to
Albany, the state capital, after my
mom took a job with the state tax
and assessment office.
Q. Tell us about your family.
A. I’m the youngest of my four
siblings. I have two older brothers and
an older sister. Both my parents came
from working class backgrounds-my
mother’s heritage markedly British
and my father’s German and Swedish.
My parents met at Hobart and William
Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.
My father was a political science major
who eventually went to law school
at Syracuse (around the same time
as Joe Biden did!), and my mother
earned a degree in European history.
In the 1980s, after my parents’
divorce, my mom went back to school
to get a computer science degree,
which eventually qualified her for the
job in Albany. I’m the third female
in my family to earn a Ph.D. My
aunt Judith Weise earned a PhD. in
English from SUNY Binghamton and
taught at Potsdam College for 30-plus
years. My sister, Beth Moeller, earned
a Ph.D. in rhetoric and technical
communication from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute and has owned
a web development business for
25 years. My brothers, both math
majors at SUNY Potsdam, taught
me everything I ever needed to know
in high school to pass New York
state exams in math. They’re now a
network engineer and a jazz guitarist.
Q. Describe a lasting memory
from childhood.
A. My first concert was seeing
Melissa Manchester at the
Chautauqua Institution.
Q. What’s the most adversity
you’ve faced in your life?
A. When I was 27,1 was diagnosed
with Lyme Disease. The disease and
its treatment caused some early-onset
health challenges one might not
expect in their 30s, such as chronic
fatigue and autoimmune conditions.
Q. What kind of student were
you in college, at Syracuse, and
what were your primary extra-
curricular activities/interests?
A. I was not the best student in
college. I knew I was capable, but
I struggled balancing the freedom
from being away from home with the
responsibilities and obligations of my
academic pursuits. I loved being at
Syracuse, especially in the marching
band where I played the baritone
horn for four years. I also joined the
sorority Tau Beta Sigma. I did do
well in my upper-level major classes
and upon that success, I was eager to
continue toward graduate school.
Q. As an undergrad, you majored
in public relations. What were you
planning to do with your degree as
you prepared to graduate?
A. I initially wanted to woik in sports
public relations. Between my junior
and senior year, I interned for Ed Lewi
Associates. This firm held accounts
with the New York Racing Association
Dr. Molly Wyatt Photo Tammy Harrell
(horses) and the U.S. Olympic Fencing
Team. I also had internships in radio
promotions and special events planning.
I intended to get a job in my field
somewhere in upstate New York.
Q. Then you worked in business
for a year, at NEC and Barnes &
Noble. What prompted you to apply
to graduate school in sociology?
A. In March of 1999, my father
died unexpectedly. At 22,1 was
reeling from his death and sought
to understand his life and how it
affected our family. He’d been a
recovering alcoholic for 18 years,
and his illness and recovery shaped
quite a bit of our lives. Overcoming
addiction is something that’s so
unfathomably difficult and so
profoundly impactful. It almost
led me to go to graduate school in
counseling for substance abuse.
Instead, I chose a related field -
family studies/human development. I
went to the University of North Texas
to study that and also to be closer to
my oldest brother, who lived there
in Denton. While in my master’s
program, I became interested in
demography and generational
characteristics/influences. This led
me across town to Texas Woman’s
University where I applied to the
Ph.D. program in sociology.
Q. In grad school what was your
specialty area as far as research?
A. My Ph.D. program introduced
me to feminist literature and I actually
spent the first couple years writing and
researching men and masculinity as a
sociology subfield. Post 9/11, and the
Iraq War, I became very interested in
cultural characteristics of populations
and what caused conflict among them.
For my dissertation, I focused on the
confluence of religiosity, biblical
literalism, and political affiliation
and how it impacted the re-elections
of Republican incumbent presidents
in 1984 and 2004.
Q. You joined the Wesleyan faculty
in 2006 as an assistant professor of
sociology. What attracted you to the
college in the first place?
A. I wanted to be at a teaching-
focused institution in the Southeast.
I applied for 46 positions the year I
landed at NCWU.
Q. What have you enjoyed most
about teaching at Wesleyan?
A. Building lasting
relationships with students.
Q. What prompted you to
move into administration, first
as associate provost in 2012 and
then as interim vice president of
academic affairs (2019-2020) and
interim provost (2020-2022)?
A. I felt like I could help the college
in broader ways. I never sought
to be an executive-level officer of
the college, but I did want to lead
collaborative efforts to advance areas
like advising, academic programs,
and accreditation. I opted to serve
the institution in the last three years
because I wanted to help provide
continuity in academic affairs, as Dr.
Duff transitioned to the president’s role.
Q. Describe a typical day for
you as provost.
A. There is no such thing as a typical
day! Much of what I do is try to solve
problems—for faculty and students.
Q. Estimate the number of emails
you receive and send in a typical day.
A. It depends on the time of
year. Probably hundreds per week!
Q. When a faculty member
moves from full-time teaching
to administration, she invariably
must oversee and manage former
colleagues, some of whom are older,
with longer tenures. How difficult
has it been for you to navigate this?
Have the power dynamics ever
become uncomfortable for you?
A. I see myself as a facilitator and
not a manager. Faculty, as a corporate
body, should be self-governing and
there are many “management-like”
mechanisms in place. Very rarely
do issues escalate to me needing to
facilitate or interfere in faculty or
student issues. I have relied heavily
on school chairs to work with faculty
and on student issues as a first line of
response. They’ve all been fantastic at
this. I’ve seen us operating as a team.
Q. What’s the hardest type of
decision you’ve needed to make
in the past three years?
A. At times, students would
come to me with impassioned
appeals to overturn suspensions
or personal conduct decisions.
It’s always hard to sit with an
emotional student while upholding
difficult, but important sanctions.
Q. What have you learned about
yourself in the past three years?
A. Having peace is important.
Q. Why are you leaving
your post and returning to the
associate provost position?
A. The last three years have been
more stressful than I think anyone
could have predicted, not just for me,
but for everyone. It’s most important
to me that I spend time doing what I
enjoy and contribute to the institution
in ways that will help. It was never
my goal to be the provost, but I
stepped into a leadership role during
a transition time.
Q. You husband, Ken, is a
professor at ECU. What’s the best
part of having a spouse who works
in academia? What’s the worst pail?
A. The best part is we can
relate to each other’s industry-
academia is not a normal industry
and it helps to have a spouse that
knows that. The worst part is
when I play devil’s advocate
See WYATT pg 3
Juan Vallejo and the men's
tennis team headed into the
NCAAs after winning their 13th
consecutive conference title.
See sports pages 4-6 SI photo