A new phase in the strategic development of Adventist
post-secondary education has begun, with leaders of the South Pacific
Division's (SPD) accredited higher education providers signing a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU).on February 19.
The MOU “recognizes the value of working together for the
advantage of the students and staff, the support of each institution, and the
benefit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific region.”
Signatories of the document included SPD President Barry Oliver,
Avondale College President Ray Roennfeldt, Pacific Adventist University (PAU)
Vice-chancellor Ben Thomas, Fulton College Principal Steve Currow, Mamarapha
College Principal David Fletcher, and Atoifi Adventist College of Nursing
Principal Humpress Harrington.
Joe Ponduk, education director for the Papua New Guinea Union
Mission, signed the MOU on behalf of Sonoma College Principal Isako Esekia, who
was unable to attend.
“The MOU is the first of its kind for the Adventist Church in
the South Pacific,” said education director Ken Weslake. “The signing
formalizes the working relationship between our higher education institutes and
their willingness to support one another moving forward.”
The period of the MOU is five years, with the duration and scope
able to be extended by mutual consent. The document was signed on during the
inaugural meeting of the SPD¹s Higher Education Committee at division headquarters
in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia.
The SPD Board of Education also affirmed a proposal for Atoifi in Solomon Islands to
become a full campus of PAU.
