WCIU Celebrates 45 Years
Dr. Peter McLallen
Dr. Winter envisioned a university in the best traditions of scholarship and influence that would serve the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) community with flexible graduate programs designed to meet the needs of workers in the field. In addition, during his time in Guatemala he recognized the need to provide education within the context of where people were living; to provide access without relocation.
Since the founding of WCIU in 1977, the world has changed significantly and so have the needs of the NGO community. Information is increasing rapidly with some suggesting that knowledge is doubling every 12 hours.* Advances in communication technology allow people to communicate all around the world at speeds measured in fractions of a second. Educational technology allows for people to engage and learn together from many different places at the same time.
The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that change can be unpredictable, and flexibility is needed. It has exposed, in new ways, entrenched problems around the world rooted in oppression and inequality. It has allowed creative insight into how we can use communication technology to adapt and continue to find solutions. It has reminded us of the importance of human connection and even physical touch in our daily lives.
Dr. Peter McLallen is our Acting President.
In this context, the mission of WCIU to provide “innovative distance education programs to enhance the effectiveness of scholar practitioners as they serve with others to develop transformational solutions to the roots of human problems around the world” is needed more than ever before. We continue to leverage the advances in education and communication technology to reach out and support to scholar practitioners in the NGO community. Our student body comes from 15 different countries and are taking classes from 13 of those countries. We continue to enhance their effectiveness by developing programs that meet their needs and deliver them in ways that allow them to stay engaged with their work.
As we work to realize our vision of a verdant and flourishing world, ripe with wholeness and peace for all people we recognize that we benefit from the vision and hard work of many people over the last 45 years. We are grateful for that legacy and commit to continuing in excellence for the next 45 years or until the Lord comes again.
*This is based in part on Buckminster Fuller’s “knowledge-doubling cure”. This Blog post by Marc Rosenberg provides a perspective. It is questionable if it is true knowledge but there is no doubt that data and information is increasing rapidly.
