Montemorelos, Mexico…(Libna Stevens/IAD Staff]
More than 300 administrators and professors from twelve Adventist universities and colleges, met for the first ever Teacher’s Convention at Montemorelos University from June 7-9. Themed “Pursuing Excellence While Presernving the Mission,” the convention was being planned since 2000.
According toe Dr. Carlos Archbold, director of education for the church in Inter-America, the convention was designed to bring educators from throughout the territory together, and re-commit them to preparing students for a life of service in a changing society.
“We wanted to provide opportunities for networking among the college and university professors in our IAD institutions, especially in our culturally rich territory,” says Dr. Archbold.
Educators from Adventist and non-Adventist institutions from North America and the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists came to speak to those participating in the convention with seminars and workshops on Adventist higher education, Ecumenism and teaching, the importance of creationism, and more.
Among other objectives of the convention, was to emphasize the role of the teacher in “relating and maintaining the doctrines of the church, and identifying new ways of teaching higher education according to today’s challenges,” says Archbold.
Dr. Archbold says all administrators of the institutions in the territory signed a contract of mutual cooperation in terms of human resource materials and research capabilities among the institutions and educators.
“This convention definitely sets the tone for the work of the Board of Higher Education at the Division level,” says Archbold. The IAD education department will coordinate the networking of the institutions as they continue to meet their particular academic needs.
“As we become better, it doesn’t mean that we have to abandon our heritage..as we strengthen our faith, we will better represent the church,” says Archbold.
Seminar speakers included Dr. C. Garland Dulan, director for the Department of Education at the General Conference; Dr. Richard Rice, director of the new master’s program in Religion and Science in Loma Linda University; Dr. Angel Manuel Rodriguez, director for Bible Research Institute; Dr. Raul Esperante from the Geoscience Research Institue; Dr. Gail Rice, Gail Rice Professor at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health and School of Medicine; Dr. Donald R. Sahly, president of the Southwestern Adventis University in Keene, Texas; Dr. Edwin Hernandez, director of the Center for Latin Religious Studies at the University of Notre Dame; Dr. Silma Santiago, coordinator and professor of the Program of Health Information Technology in the Antillian Adventist University in Puerto Rico, among others.
Plans are underway for regional meetings among teachers in the coming months and for the second convention to take place in June 2008.
For more information on the Education department of the Inter-American Division, go to www.interamerica.org.
