NEWS
October 3-5, 2019
Prince Conference Center, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Announcing the fourth biennial North American conference of the International Network for Christian Higher Education. For the first time, INCHE will co-host this conference with the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning. Click the link for more details https://inche.one/events
To deepen communication options between members of the network, the INCHE network staff have created a closed Facebook group for INCHE members only. The purpose of this group is to share insights and questions about teaching, scholarship, and leadership worldwide. Posts only can be seen by members of this group. If you wish to become an INCHE Facebook member, please send Shirley Roels (https://www.facebook.com/shirley.roels.50 ) a friend request on Facebook and you will be included in the group.
INCHE is pleased to recognize the official opening of the global Society of Christian Scholars (SCS) in March 2019. SCS is a partner network with INCHE to support the work of Christian scholars in many settings, including both public and independent colleges and universities. As a membership organization SCS is a portal for scholarly resources, networking and support. For details about the new Society see their homepage at: https://societyofchristianscholars.org/. Individuals who join both INCHE and SCS receive a discount on both memberships. Please contact office@inche.one for further details.
On November 27, 2018 the IAPCHE Board of Directors adopted a new name of our global network. Effective in January 2019, the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE) will become the International Network for Christian Higher Education (INCHE, pronounced “inch”).
The mission of the network — serving Jesus Christ as Lord by fostering the development of Christian higher education worldwide— continues as the shared purpose. But advancing the network’s mission in a digital and globalized age requires current language to reflect the network’s ongoing purpose.
The name change from IAPCHE to INCHE officially will occur on January 1, 2019, with the launch of the new website, INCHE.ONE, to follow shortly thereafter. Leadership, contact information, and the organization’s purpose all will remain the same. Member access to the IAPCHE website automatically will be redirected to INCHE. Emails to the network office also will be redirected so that there is no loss in communications during this change. In the transition to INCHE, gifts and membership payments made to IAPCHE can continue to be received as either IAPCHE or INCHE.
Substantial research and thought by the Board of Directors and the Executive Director, Dr. Shirley J. Roels, preceded this change. All agree that the name of International Network for Christian Higher Education (INCHE) represents more fully the globalized effort as a network as well as one that stands firmly for Christian higher education worldwide. The acronym INCHE will reflect, with simplicity, clarity, and standard pronunciation, the network’s position as a partner for Christian higher education that is based in Christ’s reign over every inch of creation.
This network began in 1975. Since then, it has operated under four different names. The fourth network name, IAPCHE, was adopted in the early 1990s. The Board of Directors and the Executive Director expect that International Network for Christian Higher Education (INCHE), as the fifth name, will continue for many years.
For more information about this change, during December please email office@iapche.org or director@iapche.org. In January 2019 such emails will be redirected automatically to office@inche.one and director@inche.one.
The INCHE network includes more than 150 institutional, affiliate, and individual members worldwide who are leaders in Christian higher education. The network office is hosted by Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. In partnership with other organizations, INCHE provides global Christian higher education news, conferences, seminars, and resources that deepen institutional and scholarly foundations for faith-based teaching and learning.
As we say goodbye to Ewuraesi Brookman-Amissah and Sung Woo Lee, we welcome two new interns.
Danielle Frempong, whose home country is Ghana, currently studies International Development Studies and International Relations. She is looking forward to working closely with Shirley to sustain the quality and consistency of the IAPCHE Newsletter as well as bringing new ideas on board. In her free time, she likes to sing and dance.
Nate Herder, joins the team as the Information Technology Assistant. He brings the team strong coding abilities as he is in his third year studying Computer Science. He is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. In his spare time he enjoys playing board games or ultimate frisbees. He’s looking forward to being a part of IAPCHE and using his skills to help maintain the website.
Kaitlyn Kline returns from her summer doing research in Ann Arbor. Her last year in college will summate her double major in International Development Studies and Organizational Communications. While she is originally from Indiana, she is looking forward to working wherever God calls her.
During 2018-2019 five African Christian universities, each an IAPCHE institutional member, are initiating professional learning circles focused on the formation of Christian teachers. The universities selected for this effort include: Bowen University, Nigeria; Christian Service University College, Ghana; Scott Christian University, Kenya; Uganda Christian University, Uganda; and the University of Mkar, Nigeria.
Each university’s professional learning circle coordinator will plan at least five meetings, occurring from September 2018 to early April 2019. Participants will read and discuss journal articles about African teacher education, other selections from the International Journal of Christianity & Education, and three books about the formation of Christian teachers and their educational contributions.
The goal is to engage IAPCHE-member colleges and universities across Sub-Saharan Africa in strengthening the education of Christians to serve children and youth in both church and school settings.
On November 6-8, 2018 the IAPCHE Africa conference will be hosted in collaboration with the Institute for Foundational Studies,the North-West University (Potchefstroom, South Africa campus), the Faculty of Education of NWU, and AROS, a South African higher education institution. Conference organizers issue this call for presentation proposals.
The conference theme is “Integral Christian Scholarship in Africa”. Under this broad theme there will be three streams for conference thinking and engagement: worldview; leadership; and education. Proposals, with 300 words or less, must be submitted to iapcheconference2018@gmail.com. The deadline is August 31, 2018. A fuller description of the conference details is available on the conference website at http://humanities.nwu.ac.za/iapche-africa-2018.
The conference will take place in Potchefstroom, a beautiful green city. The university, second largest in South Africa, is 120 km to the southwest of Johannesburg. All venues are within walking distance of each other. Transportation from and back to the OR Tambo International Airport will be provided upon request. Accommodation options from very simple to upmarket have been arranged for prices ranging from R260 to R870 per room night. The conference fee will be R1000 and will cover all meals, teas and other incidentals. A conference dinner with special South African food can be chosen for an additional fee.
In the last Contact newsletter, IAPCHE reported that program manager Laura Van Engen would be moving to Nicaragua. Below is a brief update about why Laura moved to Nicaragua, what she is doing, and how you can follow her.
Laura arrived in Nicaragua in the beginning of January and plans to stay until November. Her goal in Nicaragua is to prepare for graduate school (to begin August 2019) by improving her Spanish language skills and by getting exposure and experience in community development work in Latin America. She plans to pursue an advanced degree in Anthropology, Community Development, or Peace Studies. She hopes that interviewing practitioners and beneficiaries and participating in community events will help her select a meaningful path of study and practice.
Laura will be living on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, in Bluefields, an historically isolated, ethnically diverse, and under-resourced city. Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region (RACS) and hosts two universities: University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (URACCAN) and the Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University (BICU). Laura has already visited BICU and will be assisting with their English program; she plans to visit URUCCAN soon to learn about their community development and intercultural communications programs.
Prior to her travels to Bluefields, Laura had the unique opportunity to visit an IAPCHE member institution, the Universidad Politécnica de Nicaragua (UPOLI) in Managua. IAPCHE will be reporting about this inspiring visit in the March 2018 monthly update.
Laura has expressed gratitude to those IAPCHE members who have reached out to her or inquired about how she is doing. She can be reached at the email address: laurabluefields@gmail.com and hopes to maintain a blog about her experiences at: www.lauravanengen.blogspot.com.
As you may have noticed, the IAPCHE website has been updated. After several conversations with our members, the board of directors, and events necessitating a transition, we have completed our new website and are excited to share it with you.
Some key differences from our previous website are:
This improvement will make your browsing experience more enjoyable, as well supporting IAPCHE's purpose to inform, equip and connect members.
The 2018 International Conference for Christian Educators, dubbed "Modelling Christ's Love and Hope within Professional Practice" will take place on April 11–13, 2018. It is organized by IAPCHE Asia-Oceania and Bethlehem Tertiary Institute of Mount Mauganui, New Zealand. Practitioners involved in all areas of Christian education such as early childhood education, primary and secondary teaching, social work and other disciplines in the Asia-Pacific region are invited to participate in this action-packed event filled with networking, collaboration, fellowship, and celebrating. It's an opportunity for Christian Educators to:
The conference will be held at the ASB Arena, Mount Mauganui, New Zealand and conference registration is currently open. Discover more information, including registration costs, or view the tentative conference schedule. If you would like to register for this conference, go to the registration page.
Come and be blessed.
The IAPCHE network office is reconfiguring its office staff in this new calendar year. With Laura Van Engen’s move to Nicaragua, she becomes an on-call consultant for director Shirley Roels and the rest of the IAPCHE office staff. The continuing office staff include:
From left to right: Sung Woo, Ewura Esi and Kaitlyn
· Sung Woo Lee graduated from Calvin College this past December, a change his parents celebrated from their ministry post in Jordan. He has worked closely with the director to develop the new IAPCHE website with its integrated membership renewal. Sung Woo completed studies in psychology, philosophy, classics, and international relations. As he moves to other full-time employment, IAPCHE hopes that he will remain an off-site advisor about the website.
· Ewura Esi Brookman-Amissah continues as an intern with principal responsibility for IAPCHE news whose home country is Ghana. Look for her work in the monthly updates and Contact, our quarterly newsletter. Ewura Esi is a Calvin College senior studying international relations, communications, and marketing.
Kaitlyn Kline joins the IAPCHE office as a new intern. During the next month she will coordinate the individual membership renewals and then continue to support the director in the use of network financial resources. Kaitlyn is a Calvin College senior from Indiana who is exploring the field of international development studies.
The IAPCHE network office benefits substantially from the energy and expertise of these current students and recent alumni. They allow each generation to learn from the next!
Want to join INCHE? Inquire at office@inche.one or join below.
