Throughout its history, the United Board has been a forward-looking organization, endeavoring to introduce new approaches to higher education. Our Centennial Initiatives are an expression of this outlook, as they aim to bring creative thinking, new collaborations, and additional resources to a particular issue, problem, opportunity, or need. It is our expectation that Centennial Initiatives will have a significant, even transformative effect on the field or topic that they address and on institutions in the United Board’s network.
A number of Centennial initiatives in leadership development, faculty development, campus ministry and digital ethics are taking off. For example, good progress has been made to establish hubs for selected institutions to help develop their capacity in leadership development training. Meanwhile, discussions have been held with the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges & Universities (ACSCU) group in the Philippines to establish teaching and learning consortia to equip students with skills and competences over and beyond what conventional academic programs and curricula could give them.
Discussion has started with Ateneo de Davao University in the Philippines to host the Asian Academy for Campus Ministry at the end of the year. Efforts are also being made to establish a consortium of community colleges in Sri Lanka to help the underprivileged youth there to regain a purpose and confidence. These signature initiatives will drive and foster deeper collaborations between the United Board and its friends and partners in the Centennial Year and beyond.