Erma Wolever is the new director of human resources at Multnomah Bible College

She took the position in mid-December after Virginia Keller retired.

Mrs. Wolever said she became the director because she needed a new challenge. "At my age, you've got to keep your brain cells working," Mrs. Wolever said.

Her new office is in process. Rips in the wallpaper reveal the white wall underneath. Messages, written in different colored inks, cover the bald places. Mrs. Wolever, smiling, said that until the wall gets painted, it's a place where everyone in the office can take out aggressions.

Despite the havoc, Mrs. Wolever seemed calm and smiled readily.

The position is familiar to Mrs. Wolever. When MBC hired her in July of 1984, Mrs. Wolever worked with former alumni director Chris Repsold and set up a personnel office.

In 1988, Mrs. Wolever began working for former MBC president Joseph Aldrich as an executive administrative assistant.

She continued working with the personnel department part time until the technicalities and demands of the job forced her to give it up in 1993.

The job has grown since Mrs. Wolever worked in the department. Many laws have changed.

She also establishes personnel profiles, makes sure health benefits are in place, checks to see if employee compensation is equitable, checks that employee salaries follow salary indexes of similar colleges and provides employee enrichment seminars.

"The job grew a lot. It could overwhelm me if I allowed it to," Mrs. Wolever said. But she said she focuses on what needs to be done today and allows the rest to fall into place.

Mrs. Wolever wants employees to know that she is their advocate. She has an open-door policy where employees can come and tell her their concerns. "I want to serve Multnomah well," Mrs. Wolever said.

Mary Aguilera, a Multnomah senior and Mrs. Wolever's assistant, said, "She is honest. She has a lot of integrity, and I feel that I can learn a lot from her. She really cares about the staff and faculty of Multnomah."