Mandeville, Jamaica…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
Northern Caribbean University (NCU), an Adventist institution located in Mandeville, Jamaica, recently celebrated its centennial anniversary, an event that drew the attendance of over 3,000 students, alumni, faculty and special guests to the campus on Sabbath, Oct. 27. NCU currently distinguishes itself by having the largest enrollment, almost 6,000, of any such Adventist institution in the world.
Herbert J. Thompson, PhD., NCU’s president for the past 17 years, said he is proud to be part of the institution’s success.
“It makes me feel happy because I am privileged to be part of the workforce here [at NCU], joining forces with others who have over time participated in the enlightenment of people,” said Dr. Thompson, who is a product of NCU himself.
Pastor Patrick L. Allen, PhD., president of the church in the West Indies and chairman of the NCU Board of Governors, welcomed guests to the thanksgiving service to commemorate the historic achievement of the institution.
“This is a service of praise and thanksgiving to God for a century of blessing, a century of His purposeful leading through the crucible, a century of achievements, a century of good leadership in the institution, a century of vision, a century of support from the membership and stakeholders, a century of preparing young people for the kingdom of God and service to humanity, a century of existence and intentional witness of Northern Caribbean University,” said Dr. Allen.
Joining the celebration was Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Adventist World Church, who flew in for the occasion as the guest speaker.
“I want to congratulate you on having reached this age of your illustrious history,” said Pastor Paulsen. “One hundred years and almost half of that you have been a degree granting institution, and you have trained generations of servants of God not only in this island but elsewhere.”
The Adventist world leader extended congratulations for the achievements in technological skills that NCU achieved recently when the institution’s software design team took third in the Microsoft’s Imagine Cup world finals in Seoul, South Korea.
Pastor Israel Leito, president for the church in Inter-America, also attended the celebration.
The two-hour special program which included a 100-member choir, aired live on cable television as part of the launching of Hope TV in Jamaica. An estimated thousands viewed the event on their televisions at home on the island and around the world.
Northern Caribbean University is currently the largest of the 13 Adventist universities in the Inter-American Division territory, and is the first to celebrate a centennial anniversary.
Formerly known as the West Indies College, NCU began as the West Indian Training School in 1907. Today, NCU offers dozens of undergraduate degrees and several master’s and doctoral degrees to its more than 5,700 students on the main Mandeville campus and three other extension campuses in Kingston, Brownstown and Montego Bay.
For more information on Northern Caribbean University and its degree programs, visit www.ncu.edu.jm
To view photo gallery of the NCU centennial event click here.
