Staff Specialist Mary Jo Clancy has left the Center for Reconciliation for the Dean’s office.

Clancy is the new administrative assistant for Duke Divinity School’s Dean Richard Hays. She will also provide administrative support for Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts.

“I am grateful for the opportunity I had to work as part of the CFR team,” Clancy says. “There were many glimpses of God at work in the midst of brokenness. Everyone I encountered had a story that gave me the imagination to see a vision of God’s new creation. I’m looking forward to continuing to work towards that vision at the Divinity School in my new role.”

During her six-year tenure at the Center for Reconciliation (CFR), Clancy oversaw record-keeping for the organization, including managing detailed financial records of donations, coordinating logistics for key student programs and recruiting students for special center initiatives — such as the Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope. The program gives students the opportunity to explore what it means to be ambassadors of reconciliation by spending a week traveling to diverse communities on the East Coast and learning from leaders already at work in the ministry of reconciliation.

But Clancy’s work did not end with recruiting students for the pilgrimages. Believing that pilgrimage is not a one-time event, Clancy gathered students together for weekly meetings to continue reflecting on their pilgrimage experience and to help them apply those lessons to their academic and ministerial contexts.

“Mary Jo has lived into her love and passion for students,” says Abi Riak, manager of operations and programs. “They consistently name Mary Jo as one of the bright lights at the Divinity School.”

Chris Rice, senior fellow for Northeast Asia at Duke Divinity School and co-founder of the Center for Reconciliation, says that Clancy consistently found creative ways to bring hospitality into her work at the center — from her energetic personality to the deep friendships she formed with students on their journey through divinity school.

“She’s all about the team. She’s not about Mary Jo. She’s about the mission. It’s never a job with Mary Jo. It’s a mission,” Rice says.