Thirty Baptist colleges and universities from around the world gathered on the Anderson University campus Sept. 25 for a three-day meeting to discuss taking higher education to every continent. Approximately 125 people attending the conference.
Chao Jiang, president of China Star and official of the ministry of education of China, speaks to the attendees at the Consortium on Global Education Conference with the aid of an interpreter.The Consortium for Global Education, or CGE, partners Baptist universities with colleges in other countries for meaningful exchanges of cultures, instruction and ideas. Not only did the South Carolina Baptist universities – Anderson, Charleston Southern and North Greenville – participate in the Anderson meeting, but Baptist universities such as Baylor, Samford, Missouri Baptist, California Baptist, Union, and Dallas Baptist participated as well. This was the first time the organization has held its annual conference in South Carolina.
The participating schools heard from leaders of institutions and educational enterprises from China, several countries in the Middle East, Thailand, and North Africa about joint ventures that would allow the institutions to exchange faculty – and in some cases, students – to bridge the culture gap between the U.S. and the world. CGE has formed dozens of partnerships around the world that have already made it possible for Baptist educators to teach in nearly every continent over the past few years.
The group elected Anderson University president Evans Whitaker its chair-elect for the coming year.