InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has announced a new partnership with The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities aimed at nurturing Christian faculty members at both Christian and secular campuses.
The two organizations have agreed to join efforts in three areas:
- Spiritual formation and the practice of spiritual disciplines
- Faith and learning in higher education
- Mentoring through InterVarsity’s Emerging Scholars Network and the CCCU Virtual Center for Faculty Development
“Spiritual formation, faith and learning in higher education, and mentoring are three priority items we’re going to be working on over the next three years,” said InterVarsity’s Faculty Ministry director Stan Wallace. “I’m excited about this partnership.”
As an example of the type of cooperation the partnership will bring about, Stan mentioned a summer institute planned for 2007 on the campus of Calvin College. Younger faculty will be invited to meet with senior faculty from a variety of institutions to focus on their development as Christians and as scholars.
CCCU President Bob Andringa noted that his institution and InterVarsity share a common commitment to developing Christ-centered leaders in higher education. “The unique strengths of our organizations promise to enrich our work together in the years ahead,” he said. “This new partnership will impact faculty, administrators and students across the higher education landscape—both in Christian higher education and in state and private higher education where InterVarsity has a strong presence.”
InterVarsity president Alec Hill taught for sixteen years at Seattle Pacific University, a CCCU institution. “I have high regard for both the vision and faith integration of these schools,” he said. “This partnership between InterVarsity and the CCCU is an exciting step forward, bringing to bear the strengths of both organizations in faculty mentoring and spiritual formation.”
The partnership between the CCCU and InterVarsity is intended to equip and encourage Christian faculty in the integration of their professional roles and their personal walks of faith. In addition to joint conferences and workshops the agreement provides for sharing of InterVarsity’s Emerging Scholars Network, which is established to identify, encourage, and support the next generation of Christian scholars, and the CCCU Virtual Center for Faculty Development, which provides selected resources designed to encourage teaching, learning, scholarship and service that transforms lives.
CCCU has 105 member campuses in North America and all are fully-accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities with curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. In addition, 71 affiliate campuses from 24 countries are part of the CCCU. The Council’s mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help its institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.
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