wfn.org | United Methodists discuss education with Castro

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

Oct. 28,  1999  News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville,
Tenn.  10-32-71B{576}

By Kathy Gilbert*

A group of United Methodist educators met for five hours with Cuban
President Fidel Castro to explore the possibilities of shared educational
programs between church-related universities in the United States and in
Cuba.

Members of the churchwide Board of Higher Education and Ministry and four
university presidents went to Cuba Oct 18-21 to discover ways of working
together to prepare a new generation of Christian leaders for the new
millennium, said the Rev. Roger Ireson, top executive at the agency. The
programs might include student and faculty exchanges between the two
countries as well as shared seminars, he said.

Meeting with Castro, the group discussed the importance of education as well
as the history and organization of the Methodist movement worldwide. The
importance of values in education and society was a major topic of
discussion, Ireson said.

"The Methodist Church has been committed to education for 250 years and now
has 123 institutions in the U.S. and an association of 636 institutions in
59 countries," Ireson told the president.

Castro expressed interest in learning more about Africa University, the
newest United Methodist-related school. He was particularly interested in
the faculty of medical services, which is scheduled to open in 2003.

Cuba has placed a major emphasis on medical education, he said, and it has
sent more than 6,000 medical doctors to Central and South America and Africa
in a humanitarian effort to help the poor.

This area of medical service to the poor may present a strong opportunity
for cooperation between the Methodist church and Cuba, Castro said.

The delegation included Benjamin Ladner, president of American University,
Washington; Michael Lomax, president of Dillard University, New Orleans;
William Chace, president of Emory University, Atlanta; Shirley Lewis,
president of Paine College, Augusta, Ga.; and Thom White Wolf Fassett, top
executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, Washington. 

In addition to Ireson, four other board staff members also accompanied the
delegation: Joaquin Garcia and John Harnish of the Division of Ordained
Ministry; Raul Alegria, Office of Administration; and Ken Yamada, Division
of Higher Education.

The delegation visited the University of Havana, the University of Matanzas,
the Medical Sciences Higher Institute of Havana, the School for the Blind,
Latin American Medical University, the Methodist Church in Cuba, and the
Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas.

The delegation also met with the heads of the ministries of education and
higher education. Top priorities for Cuba include providing higher education
for graduate students and more research opportunities for doctoral students.
The minister of higher education strongly favored developing high-level
exchange programs, Ireson said. 

Ireson added that he hoped a delegation of Cuban educators would soon visit
some United Methodist-related educational institutions.

"The first educational mission of the General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry to Cuba was successful and meaningful," he said. "It has created a
positive climate and potential for cooperation in higher education.

"GBHEM will continue to develop opportunities for United Methodist-related
colleges and universities and those institutions in Cuba as well as other
countries in which we are developing similar exchange programs."

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*Gilbert is a staff member in the Office of Interpretation at the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

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United Methodist News Service
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