wfn.org | Black colleges seek stronger partnership with African education

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct.  3, 2002  News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-31-71B{451}

By Andra Stevens*

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)  -  Presidents of the historically black United
Methodist colleges and Africa University are seeking opportunities for
collaboration, as well as a stronger partnership between African and
American schools.

In November, the denomination's Council of Presidents of the Black College
Fund will hold its regular fall meeting at Africa University. Eleven
presidents, seven current and four emeriti, will meet in Mutare and
participate in celebrations marking Africa University's 10th anniversary. 

The meeting will be the group's first on the continent, but the council's
connection with the university is a longstanding one.

 "Members of the Council of Presidents have been with us from day one," said
Rukudzo Murapa, vice chancellor of Africa University.  "As mentors and
technical advisers, they've helped to set up various faculties and
administrative units. With their assistance and advice, we've put in place
world-class academic programs, structures and policies."

Council members have served on Africa University's board of directors since
its inception. Samuel Dubois Cook, president emeritus of Dillard University
in New Orleans, was a member of the university's site selection committee.
Shirley A.R. Lewis, president of Paine College in Augusta, Ga., provided the
model for the faculty of education, which enrolled its first students in
1996. Thomas Cole, president emeritus of Clark Atlanta University, is the
current chairman of the board's academic affairs committee. 

"Clearly, this meeting is an historic event, one which celebrates
achievement, mission and commitment," Lewis said.  "As a member of the
Council of Presidents, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to interact
with our counterparts at Africa University, and to share and build upon our
experiences, hopes and dreams. I am thankful for our church's continued
commitment to mission, which has spearheaded the development and sustenance
of these very important institutions."

Africa University opened in March 1992 as the first private, international
university in Zimbabwe.  The pioneer group of 40 students came from a dozen
African countries to pursue bachelor's degrees in agriculture and natural
resources and theology.

The school is a United Methodist-related project supported by church members
from around the world. 

As part of the 10th anniversary celebration, the presidents and Africa
University have developed a symposium on the theme, "African Higher
Education in the New Millennium: Challenges and Prospects." The one-day
symposium, scheduled for Nov. 15, will bring African and American scholars
together to share experiences from the development of the historically black
colleges and the only United Methodist-related university in Africa. 

The symposium features a keynote address by African scholar Eldred Durosimi
Jones, emeritus professor from the University of Sierra Leone, followed by a
panel presentation by Lewis, Walter Broadnax of Clark Atlanta University and
Johnetta B. Cole of Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., among others.
Symposium participants will focus on such topics as the role of the church
in African higher education; private sector participation in higher
education; building partnerships between historically black colleges and
universities and African higher education institutions; and the role of
women in higher education.

"Our institutions and communities confront very similar challenges as we
develop. We have expertise and success strategies to share, and our faculty
and students have much to benefit from interacting with each other," Murapa
said.

This year, Africa University has a total enrollment of more than 1,000
students in undergraduate and graduate programs in five faculties or
departments: agriculture and natural resources, education, humanities and
social sciences, management and administration, and theology. The university
is debt-free and boasts 880 alumni working in communities across Africa.

The school will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a series of events
scheduled for Nov. 15-17. Besides the symposium, activities will include the
African Arts and Cultural Gala Nov. 15. The guest of honor will be Graga
Machel, former minister of education of Mozambique and chairwoman of the
National Organization of Children of Mozambique, an organization that places
orphans in village homes. She has worked on efforts to rehabilitate
children, empower Mozambican women, and promote worldwide literacy. 

Other activities at the university will include building dedications and
naming ceremonies Nov. 16 and a worldwide worship service Nov. 17. 

For more on the celebration, visit www.umc.org and scroll down to Africa
University: Celebrating Ten Years.
# # #
*Stevens is coordinator for the Africa University 10th anniversary
celebration.

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United Methodist News Service
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