From the President

I am delighted to announce that our new website has been launched. Here you will find resources, success stories, and updates on our work of promoting whole person education and supporting our network institutions. It is vibrant and engaging. I invite you to visit the site, discover its features, contact us through the means provided, and help us make the site a vibrant hub for the United Board community.

We have also expanded our presence on social media by setting up platforms on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Please follow us on these to stay informed about our latest activities and news. Engage with us, share our posts with your friends, and invite others to join our digital community. Your participation will help expand our impact and inspire meaningful connections.

In the last months of 2023, the United Board engaged in a number of programs aimed at advancing Christian higher education in Asia. One notable example is the Whole Person Education Academy (WPEA), which focused on infusing teaching, research, and service with a holistic educational philosophy. Scholars across 11 institutions participated in the WPEA 2023 which emphasized humanizing higher education through whole person learning.

The United Board Fellows Program continues to make an impact by nurturing young scholars and administrators from various institutions across Asia. The latest five-day-long capstone leadership seminar saw scholars representing 28 institutions and 9 countries across Asia participate, and provided a platform for learning and sharing university management and leadership skills and for empowering participants to implement positive changes in their home institutions.

To further strengthen our commitment to leadership development in the region, we etablished two leadership development hubs, one at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines and the other at Christ University in India. These centers launched inaugural events at roughly the same time last November, attracting hundreds of educators from across Asia who were eager to impact the future of higher education at their institutions and beyond.

In January and February, I traveled to India and the Philippines, engaging with key stakeholders from our network institutions and gaining insights into the opportunities and the challenges faced by Christian higher education institutions in the region. These interactions will help shape our future programs and initiatives to strengthen Christian higher education in India and across Asia.

Your support inspires all of us at the United Board.

As we move into the future, let's remain steadfast in our commitment to enriching lives and elevating the standards of Christian higher education throughout Asia. Together, we can build a brighter tomorrow.

Pareena Gupta Lawrence

President



Humanizing Higher Education

The Whole Person Education Academy (WPEA) was formed in 2016 to address the need for higher education in Southeast Asia and to improve knowledge creation, education, and learning over time. Previous offerings have covered topics such as educational leadership and management, service-learning, research, and pedagogical competencies.

Thirty-two scholars from 11 institutions participated in the Whole Person Education Academy (WPEA) 2023 – “Humanizing Higher Education through Whole Person Learning”. The Ateneo Teacher Center at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines designed and conducted the online portion and the residential Train-the-Trainers part of the event.

The online portion (14 August—25 September 2023) examined the United Board's mission and the institutions' vision of Whole Person Education along with other related frameworks. The residential trainers' portion (16-20 October 2023) held in Manila focused on how the institutions' problems in practice could be addressed through action plans that aligned WPE to their missions and visions.   

“WPE supports students as multi-faceted, multi-dimensional beings—not simply as future members of the workforce,” said Dr. Patricia Licuanan, Vice Chair of the United Board. “An important part of WPE is social concern and involvement with emphasis on a commitment to the poor. Happiness and student well-being should also be part of WPE in view of pressures from market forces and the race for global rankings.”

[See more photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PijnmG6ZoZfPtWWr5]



Seven United Board Fellows

Seven Gifts to Take Home

The United Board Fellows Program 2022-23 concluded with a leadership seminar at the Singapore Management University last November. Thirty-two young scholars and administrators from 28 institutions engaged with each other and with experts on university management and leadership. The seminar was designed to open eyes, inspire thinking, and encourage participants to carry ideas back to their home institutions. We look at a sample of what the Fellows took home with them.

The Fellows practiced using strategic thinking and critical leadership skills to steer a university in an increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world; they also devised strategies based on institutional purposes. Anne Beryl Catherine, Dean of Academic Affairs at Women’s Christian College (WCC), was determined to build a strong leadership team to drive WCC’s mission and vision and to identify actionable steps to implement the college’s strategy.

Mingee Go, a political scientist at Ewha Womans University, also wanted to strengthen vision and purpose among her team members. While doing so, she worked to assure the strategy was flexible and built a network of alumni and sponsors for fundraising.

Tran Thi Thanh Hue, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Language at An Giang University, said, “I have been made aware of the art and science of fundraising by Mr. Ricky Cheng [Executive Vice President of the United Board] and I will share those ideas with my colleagues and look for opportunities to implement them in my Faculty.”

Winta Tridhatu Satwikasanti, head of the Centre of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Duta Wacana Christian University, discovered the importance of using the alumni network in empowering ways. She recognized the value of beginning a pilot program to gather insights into the needs of alumni and discover new opportunities for them to be engaged.

Ronald Allan Lopez Cruz, chair of the Department of Biology at Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), lost no time in applying what had learned. He has already begun to implement interdisciplinary approaches to education and is inspired to launch an MD-PhD program at AdMU.

The impact of the seminar is spreading. Seok Chang Ryu, an engineering professor at Ewha Womans University, said he plans to share what he had learned with his graduate students. He believes they can become the next generation of female leaders in robotics, one of the most male-dominated fields in engineering.

Joseph Ernest Mambu, chairperson of the faculty senate of Satya Wacana Christian University (UKSW), took copious notes at the session on building a leadership team which was facilitated by Dr. Pareena Gupta Lawrence, President of the United Board. He intends to share his insights with his fellow senators at the next faculty senate meeting.

Related story: [Guided to Lead]

[See more photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iYpAbbdPZMx8d4fd8]



A Giant Leap Forward in Leadership Development

In its commitment to nurture leaders who will drive change in higher education across Asia, the United Board has invested significant resources to establish two leadership development institutes, one at Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) in the Philippines, and another at Christ University in India. Both hubs hosted their inaugural events in November last year.

The AdMU hub's inaugural event, the "Inaugural Round Table Discussion on Current Issues and Opportunities in Asian Higher Education", took place on 21 November. Nearly 200 educators from across Asia participated in this hybrid event. Prof. Eng Chye Tan, President of the National University of Singapore, delivered a keynote speech on "Lifelong Education for a Fast-Changing World". A panel of distinguished leaders – a former commissioner of education and four university presidents – discussed major challenges in educational leadership and how they as leaders promote lifelong learning in their institutions.

Following this event, the hub will offer an intensive 12-week certificate course titled "Inward, Outward, Onwards: A Course on Whole Person Educational Leadership". This course is designed to strengthen leadership skills, promote sustainability in schools, and encourage creativity and innovation.

The Christ University Higher Education Leadership Institute (CUHELI) conducted its inaugural workshop on 27-28 November. Dr. Pareena Gupta Lawrence, President of the United Board, presided over the inauguration ceremony and the three-day residential workshop. Over 35 senior leaders from colleges and universities across India attended. Dr. Fr. Jose C C, Vice Chancellor of Christ University, stated that this event was the beginning of a transformative journey towards academic excellence and leadership development. He expressed appreciation for the United Board's role in nurturing leadership as a cornerstone of growth for Christ University.

Pareena was pleased to witness the success of these inaugural events. She said, "The success of these events highlights what we can accomplish when we collaborate and share our collective knowledge. These events are a significant milestone in our mission to develop strong leadership in Asia."

[See more photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3AAHm6JXUBjeHTVr9]



A Passage to India

In January 2024, Dr. Pareena Gupta Lawrence, President of the United Board, made a three-week trip to India with consultants from the Chennai office. Their first stop was in Delhi where they met with 25 principals from member institutions of the All India Association for Christian Higher Education (AIACHE). Pareena gained valuable insight into the challenges faced by Christian higher education institutions in India today.

Their next stop was Salesian College in Silliguri. Here they had the opportunity to meet leaders of the Digital Infrastructure Project which was funded by the United Board to improve the technological infrastructure of the college. They met with students, faculty members, United Board Fellows, and other program participants at Scottish Church College in Kolkata.

The visitors then took a southward course and met with members of Union Christian College in Aluva, Kerala; Lady Doak College and The American College in Madurai, Tamil Nadu; and Madras Christian College in Chennai. Discussions with prinipals from Stella Maris College, Women's Christian College, and Loyola College in Chennai and with Trustee Dr. Paul Appasamy, were particularly fruitful. These conversations were the breeding grounds for ideas on how to design experiences that inspire a culture of innovation and collaboration.

Pareena summed up the trip: "Opportunities to have meaningful conversation with leaders in Indian higher education are invaluable as we evaluate existing programs and imagine new ways to strengthen Christian higher education throughout Asia."

[See more photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KtkHAwCysXFJEWMD9]



New Staff

Welcome to Dr. Jemmy Suthandiradas who assumed the role of Consultant and Assistant Director for Administration and Rsearch in January. Jemmy is based in the Chennai Consultancy Office where she oversees office admistration and leads research initiatives for the organization. Prior to joining the United Board, she was Assistant Professor of Psychology at Women's Christian College in Chennai for nine years. With an MS in Health Psychology from the University of Leeds, UK, and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Madras, India, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her work.