wfn.org | Work progressing on creating Methodist university in Malaysia

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Sept. 16, 1999	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-33-71B{474}
 
By Kathy Gilbert*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)-- The Methodist Church in Malaysia is moving closer
to its goal of establishing an affiliated university in that country, thanks
in part to help from a United Methodist agency.

Organizers hope to establish the university in time to mark the centennial
celebration of the Sarawak Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in
Malaysia in 2000. The celebration will be a yearlong observance.

The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville is
providing encouragement and expertise.

"The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry first became involved in
the process at the invitation of the Methodist church leaders in Malaysia,"
said the Rev. Roger Ireson, the board's top executive.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the board and the Malaysian
church's Council of Education in March. The board agreed to serve as a
technical consultant to help set up a Methodist university in Sibu, Sarawak.
Unlike Africa University in Zimbabwe, the Malaysian school would not be
United Methodist related.

The Board of Higher Education was invited to provide expertise and guidance
in part because of the success of Africa University and because of the
board's relationship to the National Association of Schools and Colleges of
the United Methodist Church (NASCUMC) and the International Association of
Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities, Ireson said. 

Ken Yamada, staff executive in the Division of Higher Education, and Bishop
Peter S.C. Chio, bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, have been the
key initiators of the plan to establish the university.

The agency's assistance to the Methodist Church in Malaysia has come in two
phases so far, Ireson said. 

The first phase involved a visit to Malaysia by Ireson; Yamada; Benjamin
Ladner, president of American University; Stuart Gulley, president of
LaGrange College; and Carlito Puno, president of Philippine Christian
University. They met with government officials and the Malaysian church's
Council of Education. The team also visited Methodist College in Kuala
Lumpur and Methodist Pilley Institute in Sibu.

The Methodist Pilley Institute was started by two Methodist missionaries,
John and Muriel Pilley, in 1967. Muriel Pilley lives in Nashville, Tenn.,
and is an active member of Calvary United Methodist Church, Ireson said.

The Methodist College in Kuala Lumpur was established in 1983 by the
Methodist Church in Malaysia and offers secondary education. The college has
more than 800 students, according to Yamada.

The greatest challenges facing the plan are obtaining government approval of
a license and faculty enhancement toward the master's degree level. Almost
all institutions of higher education in Malaysia are government sponsored,
and students are only able to obtain a bachelor's degree at those schools.

The second phase of the plan occurred when another U.S. team visited
Malaysia in June. The group consisted of David Dolsen, special assistant to
the president of Southwestern College; David Nichols, vice president for
academic affairs and dean of the faculty, Southwestern College; David Seyle,
academic dean, Andrew College; and Jay Simmons, vice president for academic
affairs and academic dean, LaGrange College. Out of that meeting, a plan was
developed for an American college transfer program for the Methodist College
in Kuala Lumpur and the Methodist Pilley Institute.

The Methodist Church in Malaysia delegation, headed by Bishop Chio, met with
members of NASCUMC at their annual meeting in July in Santa Fe, N.M. The
purpose of the July meeting was to develop working relationships, provide
advice on curricular and faculty development, develop agreements for
Malaysian students to study at United Methodist institutions in the United
States, and to identify other ways the United Methodist Church could support
Malaysian Methodist colleges and universities.

Goh Keat Seng, education secretary for the Western Malaysia Methodist
Church, said the alliance between the Board of Higher Education and
Ministry, NASCUMC and the Malaysian churches would help them obtain a
government license to establish a university.

Support by the board and NASCUMC are needed to help establish curriculum,
get teachers' master's degrees, and encourage faculty and student exchange,
Goh said.
		# # #
*Gilbert is a staff member in the Office of Interpretation for the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

______________
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