{"id":461,"date":"2010-10-29T10:41:10","date_gmt":"2010-10-29T15:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/?p=461"},"modified":"2011-02-17T09:33:00","modified_gmt":"2011-02-17T15:33:00","slug":"10th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/2010\/10th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"10th Anniversary Celebrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 2010 Event Featured Reflections on CMU\u2019s First Decade<\/em><\/p>\n

Canadian Mennonite University kicked off its 10th<\/sup> Anniversary year with an October 29 <\/sup>celebration in the CMU Loewen Athletic Centre. Friends, faculty, staff, alumni, and students gathered to celebrate the realization of an exciting vision \u2013 to establish a Christian university in the heart of Canada, open to all, founded on Anabaptist beliefs and traditions. \u00a0A young university had come of age.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we mark 10 years of operation, the atmosphere at CMU is remarkably different from that of the early years,\u201d said CMU President Gerald Gerbrandt. \u201cStudent numbers have grown dramatically; committed faculty, working as a team, offer expertise in a growing number of disciplines; CMU\u2019s financial support remains stable; and internal structures have matured. \u00a0And, as a member of the Association of Canadian Universities and Colleges of Canada, CMU is recognized by sister universities nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

CMU was founded through the coming together of Concord College, Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC), and Menno Simons College (MSC), growing on the spirit of cooperation and a shared vision to create a Christian liberal arts university offering full university accreditation.<\/p>\n

Gerbrandt noted that CMU\u2019s Menno Simons College is increasingly recognized as the premier centre for peace and justice studies in Canada; CMU\u2019s unique Outtatown program provides an amazing blend of international experiential learning; and Shaftesbury programs have grown to include business, communications, the sciences, and pastoral leadership development. \u201cCMU is successfully established as a small, faith-based university serving the Mennonite church and the broader society,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 10th Anniversary Celebration was permeated with a deep sense that we have cause for gratitude,\u201d said Vice President External Terry Schellenberg, who served as master of ceremonies for the October event. \u201cAs Helmut Harder suggested in his Blazer<\/em> article, The Emergence of a Mennonite University<\/em>, the coming together of three colleges into one university and the faithful growth that has followed have not been inevitable \u2013 indeed, we might call it a \u2018miracle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCMU\u2019s commitments\u2013 educating for peace and justice, learning through thinking and doing, engaging in generous hospitality and radical dialogue, and modeling invitational community \u2013 are alive and well,\u201d said Schellenberg.<\/p>\n

Vice President Academic Earl Davey noted that CMU lives out of a commitment to be a university community that seeks God. \u201cCMU provides a place in which one can expect to experience a transformation of heart and mind, a place in which the pursuit of God is the work of the one and the many,\u201d said Davey. \u201cWhat a gift it is to experience this common pursuit in both the extraordinary and ordinary of academic life.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Derksen, Associate Professor in Conflict Resolution Studies, reflected on the significant work of Menno Simons College which he described as being \u2018smack at the intersection of the church and the world.\u2019 \u201cWith my students,\u201d said Derksen, \u201cI get to teach and learn about peace \u2013 peace with God, peace with oneself, peace with our neighbours, and peace in the world. How much richer can this get, than to engage with the youth of the world, the leaders of tomorrow, on the biggest questions of life?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Kroeker, Dean of International Programs and Outtatown Director , viewed the celebration as an opportunity to examine God\u2019s blessing and seek God\u2019s guidance for the years to come. He reflected on the ways in which CMU\u2019s core commitments are mirrored through the vision and mission of CMU\u2019s Outtatown Discipleship School.<\/p>\n

Associate Professor of New Testament Sheila Klassen Wiebe and Assistant Professor of English Sue Sorensen reflected on some of the special qualities that lie at the heart of CMU\u2019s ethos \u2013 seeking God, nourishing transcendence, fostering community, and loving one another.<\/p>\n

Also speaking at the event was founding Board member and long time CMU supporter Art DeFehr who was personally involved in establishing CMU. He reflected that CMU has a future overflowing with possibilities. \u201cMany contributed to CMU\u2019s creation 10 years ago,\u201d said DeFehr. \u201cThere was strong and visionary leadership inside the institutions, the Boards, in the denominations, and from individuals. Those involved in the negotiations and the design for CMU were successful in the creation of a legacy with possibilities well beyond the present.\u201d<\/p>\n

In closing the October anniversary program, Schellenberg acknowledged the contribution of alumni and current students to CMU\u2019s success. \u201cTheir giftedness, integrity, and faith are making a difference for good,\u201d said Schellenberg. \u201cIndeed, they embody the mission upon which CMU is grounded, seeking to \u2018inspire and equip women and men for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.\u2019\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

For further information and reflections, refer to CMU\u2019s Special 10th<\/sup> Anniversary Edition \u2013 CMU\u2019s <\/em>The Blazer, Fall 2010.\u00a0 Refer to CMU\u2019s Events listings for details on other Anniversary events.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 2010 Event Featured Reflections on CMU\u2019s First Decade Canadian Mennonite University kicked off its 10th Anniversary year with an October 29 celebration in the CMU Loewen Athletic Centre. Friends, faculty, staff, alumni, and students gathered to celebrate the realization of an exciting vision \u2013 to establish a Christian university in the heart of Canada, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25,5],"tags":[58,90],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions\/994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}