Fisher to co-lead creation of CCCU program
FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Huntington, Ind.-The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities announces a multi-year grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, based out of Vancouver, Wash., for the creation of a Leadership Development and Spiritual Formation Program. The $248,000 grant, to be allocated over a three-year period, will fund the work of the spiritual formation program in its goal to identify and assess best practices to guide students in their respective spiritual journeys. The program also will further the professional development of campus ministers; aid in the creation of symposiums to learn about best practices; and promote the development of curriculum tailored to careers in campus ministry.
"Spiritual formation is at the center of what our institutions do," said CCCU President Paul R. Corts. "This tremendous grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust will help us strengthen our campus programs for personal spiritual development as we research best practices, disseminate the results, and help faculty and staff with implementation."
The project is led by co-directors Keith Anderson, the senior vice president for Academics at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, Wash., and the Rev. Bill Fisher, dean of Christian faith & life at Huntington University in Huntington, Ind.
"The recently awarded grant from the Murdock Charitable Trust is an initiative that grows out of the creative work of campus ministers across the CCCU. The end product is to raise spiritual formation on CCCU campuses through the professional development of campus ministry leaders but the true destination is spiritual formation for our students. In the CCCU, we do one thing that is unique and distinctive from most others in higher education-the integration of faith and learning and the Christian spiritual formation of our students," Anderson said.
For more information about the Leadership Development and Spiritual Formation Program, please contact Dr. Keith Anderson.
The Mission of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is to enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest by providing grants and enrichment programs to organizations seeking to strengthen the region's educational, spiritual, and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. For more information, visit www.murdock-trust.org.
The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is a higher education association of 180 intentionally Christ centered institutions around the world. There are now 110 member campuses in North America and all are fully-accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities with curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. In addition, 70 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.
