Africa University
This fund supports the only United Methodist, degree-granting university on the continent of Africa and the first private university in Zimbabwe. In March 1992, Africa UM University opened for business with 40 theological and agricultural students, 16 faculties. They met in renovated farm buildings for classrooms. In April, 1994 the University was officially opened, dedication services for several building were conducted, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor were inaugurated, and a Cokesbury bookstore was
opened.
As of 2000, there are 871 students (372 women, 499 men); 62 faculty members. There are four disciplines taught at Africa University: Education, Theology, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Management and Administration.
The Zimbabwe Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church was the first contributor to Africa University with its gift of the site: the 1,545-acre Ngabi Estate in Old Mutare, 155 miles from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Since that time more than 10,000 generous donors have forwarded monetary gifts to the endowment fund of Africa University, either through World Service Special Gifts or directly to Africa University. The success of each phase of the university’s development was accomplished by the equally
generous support of thousands of United Methodist churches that paid their Africa University Fund apportionments every year.
Africa’s University’s mission is “to provide a higher education of excellent quality, to nurture students in Christian values and to help the nations of Africa develop the leaders of the future.”
January 19 2010 03:37 pm