The evaluation of Washington Adventist University (WAU) by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which culminated with a site visit, March 25-28, ended with a final report affirming that the University has met the standards for all of the criteria that it was evaluated against.
Danette Howard, Ph.D., Maryland Secretary for Higher Education (MHEC), will serve as commencement speaker at Washington Adventist’s University’s summer commencement scheduled for July 26 in Sligo Church.
A distinguished higher education professional, Howard was appointed to the position by Maryland’s governor Martin O’Malley in June. She served as interim secretary from August, 2011.
In a statement, announcing her appointment, O’Malley said Howard’s “dedication to creating innovative programs and years of expertise in higher education are essential to helping more Marylanders attend and complete college.”
Returning students, faculty, and staff will be greeted with a new look dining hall when they return to campus this fall. This major facility upgrade, the first since the construction of Wilkinson Hall, will see dramatic changes in both the aesthetics and functionality of the space.
Chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages and WAU alumnus, Susan Comilang (pictured far left), is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) summer seminar award for college and university teachers.
The seminar, part of the NEH’s Division of Education Programs, is open to 16 participants to explore “Tudor Books and Readers, 1485-1603” in Antwerp, Belgium; London; and Oxford, UK. Comilang is currently in Europe on her fellowship.
For more than three decades, Walter Dorn served as the volunteer host of “Musical Memories” at WGTS 91.9, a two-hour long program aired on Saturday nights that revisited songs from the 30s and 40s. After his passing in 2009, the Walter Dorn Scholarship was established by the station to support communication students at Washington Adventist University, WGTS 91.9 parent company, and to continue Dorn’s legacy.
Young Missionary Returns With Brand New Attitude
Kellie Dehm, Washington Adventist University’s first missionary in six years, is back from Tanzania with a slew of new experiences, new perspectives and new attitude. Dehm, who left the United States in August last year, determined to answer the call to service, spent the last 10 months at the Havila Village Orphanage in Arusha, a facility sponsored by the Emmanuel Brinklow Seventh Day Adventist Church in Ashton, Maryland.
It may come as a surprise to some that Washington Adventist University, previously known as Columbia Union College, had more structures on campus than it does today. One such structure was Columbia Hall, an administration building dedicated on February 20, 1919. It occupied the space on Flower Avenue, across from Sligo Church that is now used as a parking lot.
Washington Adventist University (WAU) alumnae and fifth grade teacher at John Nevins Andrews School (JNAS), Kimberly Terry, is one of 10 teachers selected this spring by the Alumni Awards Foundation to receive a 2012 Excellence in Teaching Award. Terry’s award includes a medallion and $2,000 sponsored by WAU. The Alumni Awards Foundation supports Seventh-day Adventist schools in North America.
Projects included continuation of the work on the Russian Bible Translation, the construction of a new media center, and a student mission outreach initiative. A cultural tour of Red Square on May 15, punctuated the group’s tour and gave new promise to the University’s effort to reach an ever-widening international audience.
Washington Adventist University (WAU) has tapped two of its alumni to return to the campus as chaplains as a part of a reorganization of the Department of Ministry, designed to serve the campus community more effectively, according to Vice President Baraka Muganda. Muganda introduced his two newest hires at General Assembly on May 16, lauding them for personal and professional attributes, which he said persuaded him to hire them.
“They are both outstanding young people,” he said. “We are pleased that they have accepted the call to serve and we are expecting great things from them.”