Inauguration Reflections from the Board Chair
Dr. Monica Mitchell, WCIU Board Chair
When I first joined the WCIU Board of Directors at the beginning of 2020, at my first board meeting I was told at the time that the university was in a liminal state ~ evoking uncertainty, ambiguity, and disorientation. Derived from the Latin word “limen”, meaning threshold for any point or place of entering or beginning, liminality represents the middle passage needed to get through to the other side. Thank God we have gotten through to the other side! The Inauguration of the 10th University President, Dr. Paul Premsekaran Cornelius, an unprecedented milestone in installing the first president of the university from the Global South, is testimony to the Lord bringing us through to the other side!
We are grateful for our beginnings, our heritage, and the great legacy of this University established by our founder, Dr. Ralph D. Winter, and those who have worked alongside him for decades to bring the vision of this unique university to reality. We are grateful for those who have contributed to the work of the university and persevered during the liminal season ~ our faculty, staff, administrators, students, board members, volunteers, prayer warriors, partners and friends.
The rejoicing, celebration, worship, and even solemnity of the occasion was responsive to what God has done in seeing us through to the next chapter as we inaugurated Dr. Paul Premsekaran Cornelius as the new University President. The Inauguration was a magnificent occasion for the entire university community, including esteemed colleagues: Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley – President, Fuller Theological Seminary, Dr. Ravi Jayakaran – President, Medical Ambassadors International, Dr. Emmanuel Bellon – Vice President, ScholarLeaders International, Dr. Todd Johnson - Professor & Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Dave Datema - Frontier Ventures, and Beth Gill of the Winter Family. Our hearts were made glad, as together we celebrated how far we have come as a university community to arrive at this historic moment as a new era in the life of the university was ushered in. Thank you to those who joined us and gathered for the Inauguration, and to those of you who also joined virtually.
We are especially grateful to our friends at Lake Avenue Church for welcoming us to hold the Inauguration at their great church. Thank you Rev. Dr. Mathew John, Senior Pastor of Lake Avenue, for your hospitality and graciousness in opening your beautiful church and campus to us. Together, WCIU and Lake Avenue have a long history spanning back to the beginning of the university. We very much appreciate our partnership and look forward to continued relationship.
For those present at the Inauguration and for any portion of the celebratory events, thank you for joining us to affirm what God is doing in this season. We were so very heartened to have past University board members and presidents with us, members of the Winter family, representatives from the University community ~ locally, regionally, across the nation, and from those around the world, our friends from Frontier Ventures, students from across the globe, alumni, friends from the missional community, each person, family, and individual ~ your presence was truly a blessing and encouragement!
We are extremely grateful to the Inauguration Committee, co-chaired by board directors Drs. Greg Parsons and Richard Gunasekera, who provided impeccable leadership in stewarding event planning and organization, and all members of the Inauguration Committee. The efforts of the Steering Committee were truly outstanding. Their tireless efforts took care of every detail, even the smallest detail was attended to with great care, love and competence. I especially want to extend heartfelt thanks to Dr. Peter McLallen, Dr. Andrea McAleenan, Theresa Babbitt, Sean Curran, and Kirsten Feldman, as well as all the volunteers who gave their all to make the event special in every way. There are too many to name, but every person who staffed tables to showcase the programs and work of the University, every person who facilitated sessions, those who blessed us with their musical artistry, individuals who brought greetings, comments, prayers, each and every person we are grateful for your presence with us, your support, and contribution. Finally to all of the donors who helped defray the costs of the event: our friends at the Podley Real Estate Group - William Podley, Jennifer Stanley, Monica Hsu, and Enrique Lizarazu; our friends at Missionwell - Doug and Kathy Swain; and supporters John and Ruth Chiu. To our anonymous donors, your sacrifice made the difference in enabling us to hold the event and we thank you for your belief and trust in us. We are so very grateful.
In the immediate aftermath of the Inauguration, great things are happening at the university whether it is the approval of a pilot PhD program or new partnerships around the world. Our new President will share more about these developments soon, so stay tuned.
Moving forward, our confidence is strengthened and emboldened that God will allow us to fulfill the vision he has given us ~ for a verdant and flourishing world, ripe with wholeness and peace for all peoples.
Dr. Monica Mitchell began serving as Chief Governance Officer (CGO - also known as Board Chair) in July of 2021. She is the founder, President and CEO of MERAssociates, LLC an educational research and project evaluation consultancy specializing in broadening participation of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational ecosystem at every level. Prior to starting her organization, she served as a program director at the National Science Foundation in a variety of areas related to technology, systemic reform, and workforce development, and served as a faculty member at a number of institutions. Active in mission mobilization, she served as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director with the Perspectives Study Program for several years and helped to increase diverse participation in mobilization efforts for the Great Commission community in the U.S. Dr. Mitchell holds an Ed.D. in Mathematics Education and M.S. in Operations Research from Columbia University and a B.A. in Economics (African Area Studies minor) from the University of California Los Angeles. She is certified as a Governance System Professional (GDP) by Policy Governance, which is the governance model used with WCIU.