wfn.org | Teacher of the year addresses annual higher education institute

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June 28, 2000 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{304}

By Kathy Gilbert*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- "Education should be filled with awe, wonder, and
reverence, not the mechanical note taking and regurgitation of information
it so often is today," a college professor told educators gathered in
Nashville June 25-27 for the annual United Methodist Institute of Higher
Education.

In his keynote address, Harald Rohlig, the United Methodist Foundation for
Christian Higher Education's Outstanding Teacher of the Year, called for
education that is transformative.  "It should touch a student's soul so that
when he or she leaves a college lecture they are never the same again," he
said.  

Rohling is professor of music at United Methodist-related Huntingdon College
in Montgomery, Ala.  The institute has been held since 1948 to assist
institutions related to the church realize their mission and goals. In the
words of Methodism's founder, John Wesley, the institute has sought to
"unite the pair so long disjoined - knowledge and vital piety."

There are 123 schools, colleges and universities, one professional school
and nine seminaries related to the United Methodist Church. The institute is
sponsored by the Division of Higher Education of the Nashville-based United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the United Methodist
Foundation for Christian Higher Education and the National Association of
Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church.
   
Special attention at this year's institute was given to the role of
trustees. The Rev. James Noseworthy, a staff executive of the board, noted
that the trustees hold "in trust" the financial, legal and missional
direction of their schools.  "They are the ones who assure that the college
is faithful to its roots and in its current vision," he said.  

Throughout the annual event, presentations by authorities and practitioners
addressed the relationship between the church and the college, legal issues
affecting the board and the college; and the support and nurture of boards
and presidents.

College presidents and trustees attending the institute were led through a
morning discussion that included a case study of a fictitious college.
Participants were asked to study the school's profile and decide what
actions a board of trustees would take to help the college.  The exercise
was led by Eugene Hotchkiss and Merrill P. Schwartz, staff members of the
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges in Washington.

"College presidents need to keep their board of trustees informed and
prepared," Hotchkiss said.  "Boards need to trust their college presidents
to carry out the mission of the school." 

The mutually supportive role of the president and trustee was stressed in a
presentation by Arthur DeRosier, president, and Dorothy Metz, chair of the
board of trustees, of Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. "A mistake
can be corrected; doing nothing cannot," he said.

During the June 25 opening banquet, Sherryl Wright was presented the $5,000
Esther E. Edwards Graduate Scholarship for the 2000-2001 academic year. This
annual award is given to a woman pursuing a leadership role at a United
Methodist-related college or university. Wright, the 14th recipient of this
scholarship, is an adjunct faculty member at Saint Paul School of Theology
in Kansas City, Mo., and the University of Denver.
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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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