For AU School of Theology students, Dr. Robert Langat of Kenya hopes to shine a new light on perceptions of missions work.

During his year-long residency at AU, Langat will teach three classes: African Religion and Culture, History of Missions and Biblical Theology of Poverty. In addition to teaching, he will offer two public lectures: “Understanding Leadership in a Culture Not Our Own” and “Theology of the Poor.”

With one semester already under his belt at AU, Langat is enthusiastic about interacting with students. “I ask them to compare African and American culture and then ask them what they learned,” he said.

He hopes that his classes will illuminate new perspectives about the role of missions for seminary students. “I hope that the History of Missions class will help students know how to do it better. They don’t want to make mistakes that have already been made. Historically, many have condemned culture without considering what is Christian and what is cultural,” Langat said. “There is a new way to do missions work: Partnership. Missionaries must understand the culture they are in.”

Many students are anticipating Dr. Langat’s class, Biblical Theology of Poverty. According to Dr. Langat, the course will explore the relationship between God, people and property from a biblical standpoint. “All material things were created by God. However, God did not want people to be poor. The idea of property was created by people. However, there is a distinction between theology of poverty and the prosperity gospel.”

Dr. Langat came to AU through a relationship with a former SOT student who visited Kenya and stayed at their house for several weeks. Through this relationship Dr. Langat became connected to AU. “I got invited by Dr. Sebastian to be a professor in residence,” he explained. “I am happy to be here. My colleagues are well informed. During our discussions we share our experiences and share our culture as we sit around the table.”

—David Hynds is the Web Content Specialist for Anderson University.

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,750 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology.

Ben Randel says he sincerely enjoys going to work each morning.

Ben is a student in the Residential MBA program at Anderson University. For his internship with the RMBA program, Ben works as a quality consultant at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis.

Anderson University has received the designation “College of Distinction” in the newly-released 2008-2009 edition of Colleges of Distinction. Unlike traditional numeric-based college guidebooks, this book recognizes and appeals to students’ unique interests, realizing what may be “the best” college for one student, may be vastly different than the best for another.

The School of Theology needs an update more than any other building on campus, and now alumni and friends can help made a huge difference. Dr. James and Elizabeth York, longtime friends of the School of Theology, have promised to match $100,000 in donations made to the seminary. “What a great opportunity that the Yorks have given to the alumni and friends of the School of Theology to step forward and make a gift knowing every dollar they give will be matched by the Yorks,” says Don Taylor, the advancement officer who partners with the School of Theology.

The total $200,000 will be used to upgrade the School of Theology building. The list of improvements includes new windows and refinished pews in Miller chapel, new glass panel doors to the entrances of the building, a refinished and repainted steeple, and a new roof.

For the seminary, the relationship with the Yorks has been transforming, says David Sebastian, dean of the School of Theology. Elizabeth’s parents, Harry L. and Henrietta Harp, were longtime Church of God ministers. For years, Harry and Henrietta’s family have supported the Harp Lecture Series. James and Elizabeth have also given in other tremendous ways, such as establishing a scholarship for non-Church of God students and financing the York Seminary Village. For the second year in row, the Yorks have sponsored a visiting professor. This year it is Dr. Robert Lang’at from Kenya. He is teaching in the field of missiology, offering evening classes in African religions, the history of missions, and the biblical theology of poverty. He is also teaching a class in the Doctor of Ministry program on leadership in different contexts.

“We feel that being on the campus is one of our best recruiting tools,” says Sebastian. “When we get prospective students into the classroom and with faculty and students, that’s always a positive experience.” But sometimes the appearance of the building leaves something to be desired. Incoming donations matched by the Yorks would relieve this problem.

Anyone interested in having their gift matched can contact Deborah Lilly.

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,750 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology.

Anderson University recently announced that Dr. Carl H. Caldwell, vice-president for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, will retire at the conclusion of the 2008-09 academic year. Upon retirement, Dr. Caldwell will conclude a distinguished career of 38 years in academic and administrative leadership. He has served at Anderson University since the spring of 1996.

“Carl has been a wonderful colleague in our work together,” said Dr. James L. Edwards, president of Anderson University. “He has cared deeply for our faculty and our students and has demonstrated a love for learning that is inspiring. We hope he will continue to invest his talents in this university even has he pursues other interests in his retirement years.”

Anderson University will host a visit for continuing accreditation October 4-8, 2008. Teacher Education Programs across the nation that are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and are required to host an on-site review every five to seven years. The visit will also bring representatives form the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) on campus as both groups review the teacher preparation programs for continuing accreditation.

“We look forward to the accreditation review and the affirmation of the quality of our programs along with suggestions for improvement,” said Dr. Diana Ross, dean of the School of Education at Anderson University.  “We are proud of the Teacher Preparation Programs offered at Anderson University and believe that the institutional report will build a strong case for continuing accreditation.”

The visit includes social studies, English, and foreign language, science, mathematics, music, art, physical education, elementary education, special education, and English as a New language undergraduate programs. The graduate programs in transition to teaching, music education, curriculum and instruction and school administration will also be reviewed.

All persons involved in these areas have been working diligently to ensure that the teacher education program and the report presented will meet NCATE and IDOE standards.  During the accreditation visit, guests will be meeting with various campus organizations and individuals and on Monday, October 6, the evaluators will be visiting areas schools.  Final decisions about continuing accreditation will be received in the spring of 2009.

The university was granted NCATE accreditation and accreditation from the State of Indiana in 2000 and it is fully expected that continual accreditation will be awarded following this visit.

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology.

Anderson University will welcome Dr. Walter Kaiser, the Colman M. Mockler distinguished Professor of Old Testament and President Emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. for the 2008 Newell Lecture, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Dr. Kaiser served as president of Gordon-Conwell from 1997-2006. The title of the 2007 Newell Lecture is “The Majesty of God: Expositions from Isaiah 40, Daniel 4, Psalm 139, and Jeremiah 32..” The lectures will begin both days at 9 a.m. and will be conducted in Miller Chapel within the School of Theology.

Faculty, staff and returning students are on hand today to unload cars and vans as new students and families arrive on campus.  Across all academic units, Anderson University will welcome a total institutional population of approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students when classes open on September 2.

Although precise numbers are not available until the third full week of classes (week of September 22), the university is projecting an increase of 12-15 percent for first-time freshman over last year.  Within this year’s enrollment are approximately 600 new undergraduate students and a total undergraduate population of roughly 1,850 students.  The AU undergraduate student population includes persons from more than 30 international countries and 47 states.

US News and World Report has again ranked Anderson University among the best universities in the Midwest offering master’s level degree programs. Institutions in this category offer a full range of both undergraduate and master’s level degree programs.  The magazine’s 2008 guide to “America’s Best Colleges” marks the fifth consecutive year that Anderson University has been listed among the best in its class.

Visitors to the AU website can now get automatic news updates through RSS (really simple syndication) feeds. Users can track the latest news about their major or favorite AU sport or see upcoming calendar events by subscribing to RSS feeds.

“This technology makes it easy for anyone to keep track of what’s going on at AU according what interests them most,” said David Hynds, Web Content Specialist.