Numbers up at CMU
Along with a growing student body, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Man., has growing programs and facilities as well. There are 15 new course offerings for the 1,876 students (up 6.6 percent from last year); 616 on the Shaftesbury campus, 1,260 in programs at Menno Simons College.
A new MA in church ministry is available to the 30 graduate students at the Winnipeg Centre for Ministry Studies. A new office of ministry inquiry offers discernment and discussion opportunities for students to explore their calling and talents for church ministry. In June 2009, CMU’s Canadian School of Peace Building summer institute successfully launched; June 2010’s offering will be expanded to three sessions.
A new chemistry lab is in the preliminary design stages: funds from the federal and provincial government have been committed and fundraising efforts are underway.
New faces at CMU include Nadine Kampen, director of communications and marketing; Abe Bergen, director of church and alumni relations; and Henry Rempel at Menno Simons College, serving as Esau visiting professor for the 2009-2010 year.
Unique program in disaster response
The Disaster Recovery Studies program, currently in its first year at Canadian Mennonite University, is drawing strong interest from new students as well as professionals already practicing in the field.
“There is a critical need for graduates who are trained as administrative leaders for disaster recovery services in order to better serve communities that experience catastrophic loss through natural disasters,” says CMU president Gerald Gerbrandt.
Three CMU Disaster Recovery students spent eight weeks this summer in California under the leadership of Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), completing the first of two field-work placements required for degree credits under CMU’s unique new program. They learned first-hand how to deliver post-disaster recovery aid to those in need.
“I learned a lot about construction, leadership, and myself,” says Jordan Braun, from Sussex, N.B., who served as a member of the team in California.
“We share the hope with CMU that, in addition to fostering leadership skills in students, we will help to instill an attitude of life-long dedication to service,” says Lois Nickel, Mennonite Disaster Service Region Relations and Program Director.
