Photo by Tony Cece

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Education Students Present Research in UAE

By Amanda Morad
April 5, 2012
Clarinda Cole and Sara Lockett enjoy Middle Eastern culture.
Clarinda Cole and Sara Lockett enjoy Middle Eastern culture.
Photo courtesy of Clarinda Cole
 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) might be the last place one might expect to find Regent University School of Education students presenting at a women's conference. But that's exactly how Clarinda Cole, a Ph.D. in education student, and Sara Lockett, doctor of education candidate, spent March 13-15 as they globetrotted to the Middle East to present their research on sustainability and leadership strategies at the Women as Global Leaders Conference (WAGL).
The WAGL Conference celebrates socially responsible leaders and their capacity to impact the "sustainable future development of communities and organizations across the world," according to the conference website.

Held at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the event attracted attendees from 34 nations, primarily women in the Middle East, and gave undergraduate and graduate students the rare opportunity to interact with global professionals interested in leadership and sustainability strategies.

Lockett's paper, "Leading the Movement for Sustainability in 21st Century Educational Settings" focused specifically on what Virginia Beach City Public Schools are doing to support sustainability education. Cole's research, "Sustainable Leadership Principles to Empower Vision Fulfillment," focused on the leadership skills it takes for women to articulate and realize dreams in the modern age.

"The work of Clarinda and Sara helps achieve the university and school missions by stressing leadership principles informed by a Christian perspective and extending those principles to a global audience," said Dr. Alan Arroyo, dean of the School of Education. "We know we will hear a lot more about Clarinda and Sara's respective leadership and scholarly impact on the field of education in years to come."

Regent's participation in the event extended beyond the research presented. "We brought a western and Christian point of view to a predominately eastern and Muslim event," Lockett said. "I was so thrilled to find that we had so much in common with women leaders from all 34 countries."

Featured speakers included media personalities from CNN and the BBC, British and Emerati officials, and even actress and activist Sigourney Weaver. Other speakers and presenters included graduate and post-graduate students from around the world.

"Listening to these speakers gave me a truer understanding of the lives these women lead and the real impact they have in their communities, religious organizations and families," said Lockett. "It was wonderful to see such strength and passion for the world we live in from women who outsiders may see as oppressed."

Beyond the conference, Cole and Lockett had the opportunity to immerse themselves in Middle Eastern culture at its finest. They attended a formal banquet at the Sheikh's palace in Abu Dhabi and went on a safari trip that included camel rides, four-wheeling over sand dunes, and experiencing local customs including falconry, henna tattoos and Emirate dress.


Another View of Dubai.
Photo courtesy of Clarinda Cole


"This trip challenged many of my preconceived ideas about life there for the general population and particularly for the women," said Cole. "The former president of the UAE was passionate not only about bringing the 13 Arab communities together under one unifying vision but also about educating women, which he determined was a significantly better investment than educating men alone.

"It was important that Regent gain an understanding of [the UAE's] agenda and spiritual need from a first-hand account," she added. "I left with a much improved understanding of how to specifically pray for the people and the nation."

A small contingent of Regent women from the School of Education, School of Divinity, and School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship presented at the conference in 2008, leading sessions on leadership, purpose and shared values.

Learn more about the School of Education.
PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations

Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu

Regent to Offer Training Opportunities in China

By Rachel Judy
April 13, 2012
Values based, ethical leadership training. Regent University is taking its reputation for these concepts and applying it to training and relationship-building activities in China.
"The future of business in China is based upon the opportunity for every individual Chinese person to use his or her gifts and talents in areas of leadership and entrepreneurship," explained Dr. Paul Bonicelli, executive vice president. "Through a number of opportunities and initiatives, Regent is helping the Chinese people learn best business practices from a new perspective."

In March, Bonicelli, Julianne Cenac, assistant vice president for professional and continuing education, and Clare Huang, director of operations for the Professional & Continuing Education (PCE) division, traveled to China to meet with a number of business and education leaders interested in bringing more of Regent's values-based training to their students and employees. The first trip for Bonicelli and the third for Cenac, both were struck by the opportunities to exchange ideas with the people they met.

These opportunities include leadership and business training programs, student summer exchanges, a virtual conference on global leadership and executive leadership development programs.

China is in its 20th year of a period of high economic growth, with a rapidly expanding economy. Until recently, the Chinese government and the private sector haven't taken time to study and educate themselves on issues such as best business practices, corporate responsibility, efficient government and servant leadership. This is where PCE comes in. "There is no one better suited to provide instruction in these areas than a Christian-based institution of higher education such as Regent," Bonicelli said. "Christianity enables us to understand the whole human person, ethics and morality in order to encourage employees and employers to do their best for an organization."

One of the most notable exchanges to date came in summer 2011 when Regent hosted three groups of scholars from China. Representing a number of ages and areas of interest, the groups spent several weeks studying leadership, American culture and the English language on campus in Virginia Beach, Va.

Ten college students and one accompanying teacher came from the China Youth University for Political Science. Regent also hosted 16 faculty members from the Lanzhou University for Finance and Economics and 15 students and an accompanying teacher from Jiaxiang High School.

"The Chinese are eager to work with universities like Regent, who emphasize values and who walk in exactly who they are with excellence so that people are drawn to it," Cenac explained. "They know it's going to make an effective change in their organizations and that it's what the Chinese business leaders and organizations need. It's a privilege for Regent to represent that."

The important thing, Bonicelli and Cenac stressed, is that, in its training programs for these Chinese organizations, Regent has not changed its faith-based curriculum. The principles and values of scripture are still integrated. "Every bit of our Biblically based foundations are still there. Regent is taking those foundations and helping them learn how use their abilities and positions of leadership," Bonicelli explained. "It's good for the Chinese people, it's good for relations between China and the United States, and it's good for the world.

Learn more about Regent's Professional & Continuing Education efforts in the United States and worldwide.
PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations

Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu

Regent Continues South African Expansion



A Regent student facilitates group discussion at the Empowerment Academy Conf.
A Regent student facilitates group discussion at the Empowerment Academy Conference for Future Business Leaders of South Africa.
Photo courtesy of Julianne Cenac
By Amanda Morad
April 17, 2012

Ten years of relationship-building and partnership between Regent University and South African businesses, churches and organizations are reaping extensive dividends across the board today.
"I cannot overemphasize the significance of Regent's success in South Africa," said Julianne Cenac, assistant vice president for professional and continuing education at Regent.

The success she's referring to includes partnership with one of the nation's largest churches, Grace Bible in Soweto, South Africa (pastored by esteemed evangelical leader, Pastor Mosa Sono), and training programs for South Africa's current and future business leaders.

"As a result of dedicated Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship faculty over many years and the recent program leadership of John Jones '10 (Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship), Regent's Professional & Continuing Education (PCE) division in South Africa is poised to grow at levels we could not have predicted," Cenac said.

John Jones , PCE's program manager on the ground in South Africa, has been busy facilitating strategic connections, as well as marketing PCE programs in leadership development for government agencies, churches and other organizations there.

On a recent trip to South Africa, Cenac joined Dr. Antipas Harris, assistant professor in the School of Divinity, and Dr. Corné Bekker, professor in the School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship (GLE), at Grace Bible Church for the second annual Christian Leadership Conference. This year, the two-day event drew more than 5,000 people each day for leadership training and teaching.

Bekker also had the opportunity to preach at Grace Bible for their Sunday service before a congregation of 17,000 people across 12 church campuses.

Partnership with Grace Bible means that Regent is establishing more programs like the Christian Leadership Conference and helping to train South African entrepreneurs and business leaders from a holistic, Christian perspective. It also means that Regent will attract some of South Africa's best and brightest to its academic degree programs—including several prominent CEOs as potential MBA students. Regent has similar partnerships with Hatfield Christian Church in Pretoria, and Lewende Woord (Living Word), in Brummeria, two other influential congregations in South Africa.

Also during the trip, Cenac, Bekker and Harris held a two-day training conference called the Empowerment Academy Conference for Future Business Leaders, in partnership with the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) initiative—an organization purposed to close the economic equality gap between Caucasian and black South Africans.

They trained 85 emerging business leaders from some of the most prominent companies in South Africa. A number of Regent GLE students worked as facilitators for the event.

Regent's work with the BEE initiative culminated in a visit by Regent president, Dr. Carlos Campo, who spent several days in March meeting with Pastor Mosa Sono and also with leaders of the BEE.

"Because [South African] businesses are required to spend a certain amount each year on BEE initiatives, including training and further education, Regent can become a trusted provider of transformative education in the days ahead," wrote President Campo on his trip blog.

In addition to the conferences and leadership training programs being implemented with church and non-government organization entities, Regent is also fostering relationships with major corporate bodies in South Africa to provide values-based leadership training. From international food franchises and rugby teams to one of the world's biggest diamond distributors, PCE is making strides toward training and mentorship.

"What excites me most," Cenac said, "is that this is only the beginning."

Read more about Regent's programs in South Africa.
PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations

Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu