CONTEXT VISION MISSION VALUES CHARACTER

Cities and Mega-Cities. Populations of 25 million-plus.

Home to 2/3rds of all human beings.

New York City.America’s global city.

Host of the world’s governments, economy, culture.

Inspiring people’s dreams everywhere.

Nyack College.Its home: Manhattan.

Its character: Christian.

Its mission: Change the world.

Nyack University.College becomes University.

3000 students from 60 nations, 80 faith traditions.

Hungry for learning. Bound by love. Committed to serve.

ONLY MANHATTAN

ONLY NYACK

NYACK COLLEGEin Context with

Vision, Mission, Values and Distinctive Character

Summer 2014

NYACK COLLEGE

MANHATTANNEW JERSEY

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32NYACK COLLEGE • CONTEXT & COLLEGE

We are entering a future of intense global urbanization in which ethnic, religious, economic and cultural differences will distinguish but no longer separate us physically or geographically from others – a future is already present in New York City.

CONTEXT & COLLEGE

“What has been will be again,

What has been done will be done again;

There is nothing new under the sun.”

Eccl. 1:9 (NIV)

differences will exist, but not in isolation. Insulated

institutions will shrink in value and importance;

institutions that welcome diverse cultures and

speak multiple languages will become dominant.

The alternative to community in such settings is

unacceptable hostility (magnified from what we

see in the “Arab Spring”). Diversity will be ordinary.

Communication will be global, instantaneous, and

pervasive. Privacy will be a memory. Cooperation

across every human boundary will be imperative.

We will live, or we will die, in communities of

intimate difference.

Explosive growth of charismatic Christianity,

especially in the Global South (Africa, China, India,

Latin and South America), is already the world’s

largest religious movement. It rises from the bottom-

up; it is not imposed from the top-down. It promotes

the value of religious experience over religious dogma,

the equality of women, and the urgency of engaging

human suffering with a prophetic call to justice

while diminishing the institutional and intellectual

sway of Western Christianity. It accounts for one

observer’s note that “Africa is now one of the Christian

heartlands.”

New York City holds a unique position in this emerging

global context. It is the largest American city (8.5

million) with the largest immigrant population. Its

immigrants are no longer passing through, as they

did in previous generations that filled the American

West. New York City has transformed itself from a

“gateway city” into a “global city.” What lures the

African immigrant or Argentinian student is what

also brings the millionaire Kuwaiti entrepreneur or

French film director: Manhattan is the center of the

world’s economy (Wall Street), host to the world’s

governments (United Nations), teeming with creative

energy from Harlem to Broadway, reporting on world

events through the Wall Street Journal, New York

Times, and networks now including Al Jazeera.

This is the City made famous by the promise that all

who come will be welcome, even those bringing the

fewest possessions (“Give me your tired, your poor…”).

No American needs tour the world to experience the

culture of every tribe and hear the sound of every

tongue. They need only to get on the subway in New

York City. Or they may come on a Sunday morning to

worship in the more than 150 congregations of African

Christians within the City.

Nyack College’s earliest history was written in the social

ferment of New York City in the late 19th Century’s

tidal wave of immigration. For the ensuing century,

it relocated mostly to a nearby town from which it

took its name: Nyack. When it returned full-force to

Manhattan in 1997, it immersed its long tradition in

the river that brings the modern world to America.

With this move, and the subsequent commitment to

stay, Nyack became one with the global trends that

flow to our collective future.

Its presence now firmly rooted in Manhattan, Nyack

is a recognized Christian college on the Island. The

challenges that confront all American higher education

are here as well: relevance in a constantly changing

world, excellence in an arena of intense competition,

costs which increasingly burden the poor and middle

class. With its faculty and staff already 50% women and

minorities, its student body already representing 60

different nations and scores of faith traditions – Nyack

is uniquely positioned to equip global leaders from

every nation for service in the 21st century. It is

at home in the shadow of Ground Zero, a stone’s throw

from Wall Street, within sight of Ellis Island. When

students come to Nyack’s Manhattan campus, they

come through the power and the brokenness. They

hear the craving for hope and see the carnage of 9/11.

They experience, in the words of Mark Gornik, “New

York as global city…a place where charismatic joy and

witness have come to flourish.”

This is where Nyack College will become Nyack

University. This is where Nyack will demonstrate the

power of love in action, where the Gospel will be

incarnated as good news, where we will welcome the

stranger and send her out a graduate who knows that

she – like Nyack itself – is called (in the words of St.

Francis of Assisi) to “…preach the gospel and,

if necessary, use words.”

This is the world God loves. This is the future in

which we are called to be healers. This is Nyack

College gathering strength in the global future’s

American home: New York City.

In a world called into existence by the voice of God,

that same voice pursues us relentlessly. Generation

to generation, the call is undiminished and unchanged.

It is never new, nor can we resist it. We are restless in

a world that knows more suffering than forgiveness,

seasons of agony more than moments of comfort.

Seeing this world, we hear that familiar voice

whispering with the quiet affection of love or

shouting with the urgent demand of The Preacher:

“Tikkun olam…heal the world!”

But if the Divine voice stands above time, calling us

to make whole what has been broken, within time

change is our constant companion. Sociologists and

demographers label our generations by what differs

and distinguishes us: Baby Boomers, Generation X,

Millennials. Change is everywhere, from global social

trends to the details that define our families; the change

is deep, hugely transformative, and coming faster than

ever. Already we see the shifting cultural patterns,

demographic waves and social patterns that will define

the world into which those entering college in 2015 will

graduate. With us, they will either lead or react, but

none of us can avoid the change.

Above all else, it will be a world of increased, intense

urbanization. Three-quarters of the human race will live

in mega-cities with populations of more than 20 million.

If cultures of the past were apt to have borders around

them – the family, the village, the congregation, the

tribe – in mega-cities where the poor are stacked and

packed together, where people from every tribe and

tongue struggle for the resources that will make them

“middle class,” the distances among cultures will be

measured in inches, not miles. We will not be able

to escape those who are most unlike us; we will

live with them.

To serve wisely and well in a world of such global

concentration, universities and their students will

need to be prepared for, even comfortable with,

intimacy with difference of every kind. Religious

symbols and dress may identify and shape us,

but they will not separate us. Racial and linguistic

54NYACK COLLEGE • VISION

In a world of intense urbanization and heightened communication, shrinking isolation and remarkable challenges, Nyack will become a diverse, loving community, a network of academic and supportive programs and partnerships designed to promote learning through action as well as ideas, service through leadership and innovation as well as charity, and God’s forgiving love as the source of human meaning and belonging.

VISION

collaboration with others whose passion and values

we share. We will seek lessons and equip leaders that

enable us to bring hope to the hopeless, demonstrate

purpose to the purposeless, and give voice to those

silenced by oppression.

Ours will be a community that invites partnerships

with institutions whose missions align with our own.

We will seek partnerships across the spectrum of

higher education and Christian innovation, both in the

U.S. and globally, and will look especially to partner

with those who share a tradition of and passion for

learning. We may differ in doctrine or emphasis from

our partners, but we will welcome our partners’ gifts of

insight and embrace our common service so that – in

our partnerships as in our community – we continually,

humbly learn to love and serve others.

We will be unashamed of our vigorous search to instill

love in our relationships and learning, our research

and service, our partnerships and our graduates. We

will strive to understand the world in all its richness,

revealed through science and the Scriptures, so we may

better love the world as God has taught us to love.

Nyack College will soon become Nyack University, a

uniquely Christian uncommonly diverse community

rooted in the love of God and of our neighbors. Some

members of the community will be American-born and

native to New York City. But immigrants, the children

of immigrants, “adult” and “non-traditional students”

will constitute the majority of new members in our

community. Many will be women with dependent

children; some of these women are themselves

inspiring stories of courage born of suffering and

oppression. Many will come from groups heavily

impacted by charismatic and experiential traditions.

Some will still be in prison when they first

experience Nyack.

The University will be a community within New York

City in which we are all learners – faculty, staff,

students and friends. All who join the community

will be teachers; all will be learners. Learning in this

University will be a whole-life experience blending the

rich inherited traditions with the urgent need for

action in a world crying to be healed.

The University will maintain and improve on Nyack

College’s record of graduating nearly 50% of low-

income students who enroll, a higher percentage

than five of the six CUNY colleges to whom it can be

compared. The almost one-half of Nyack’s students

who come from other colleges where, in many

instances, they struggled to advance, will be especially

well-served by this University, not only because Nyack

has a substantially higher success (graduation) rate

with low-income transfer students than most other

New York City colleges but also because the graduate

students may benefit most from being part of a

community which is at once global and local.

Both as an institution, and as individuals, we will learn

and serve as neighbors. We will reject the safety of

isolation to embrace the City that is our home. Our

testimony to the Gospel will be most evident in our

rigorous commitment to love our neighbors, not judge

them; to serve, not to oppose.

The University will be committed to the healing of

the nations and the transformation of every human

enterprise. The economic divides that separate rich

and poor will call us to explore and expand models

of justice and mercy. We will invite those burdened

by wealth to find joy in a community of giving. The

call to be stewards of God’s creation will bring us into

76 NYACK COLLEGE • VALUESNYACK COLLEGE • MISSION

Love.

American higher education famously shows reverence for intellectual achievement and athletic

prowess. Nyack believes there is a better way. We aspire to follow in the footsteps of our founder,

A.B. Simpson, who held that love is the seed of wisdom that flowers best not in philosophy

alone but also in behavior (“It is impossible to have faith without love, or to have Christ alone

without the fullness of fellowship,” he wrote). Love is a gift, given by the Giver who is Love. Love

is an action, shown when care for the neighbor exceeds concern for self. It calls us to serve with

gratitude and to lead with courage, no matter the cost. Above all else, it is love that weaves

diversity into community and nurtures the humility that makes room for learning.

Truth.

Truth is more than accuracy. A thermometer may accurately report the temperature but it cannot

tell us the meaning of heat. Truth, by contrast, speaks to us of what has meaning, what matters,

what gives value to our days and purpose to our lives. Nyack is not a repository of truth, as if

it could be contained in a library. Rather, Nyack is a community of seekers, motivated by love

to find that truth which can make us free to serve in science and art, business and technology,

government and healthcare, charity and education.

Humility.

It is humbling to acknowledge how little we know, how imperfectly we understand and how

falteringly we lead. But humble hands are needed to open the doors to learning in the classroom,

in the community, in the world. We begin by acknowledging that we do not know; therefore, we

must learn. We learn by listening, including hearing ideas we do not hold. We learn by asking

what others need, and how we might bring them joy or comfort. We learn through exhausting

work, by the struggle to do and be better. We learn by hearing ideas and acting on promises,

within and far beyond the classroom. With great learning will come great wisdom and, with

wisdom, great humility.

Faith.

Our lives are not our own, nor are they given for ourselves only. Nyack is a community that hears

God’s call to walk the Way, know the Truth and fulfill the Life embodied in Christ Jesus. We will be

open and willing, ready to follow wherever service calls, as an institution and as individuals, joyful

servants of the Servant who has called and fed us.

Community.

The institutional model for Nyack College and University is not that of a school, nor of a church,

nor of a business or charity. Nyack is modeled on a community of committed individuals and

institutions, a community recognized not for its sameness but for its diversity. It is a gathering

of people persuaded that they share a common purpose, which is service. It is an assembly of

young and old, drawn from many nations and traditions, who come together in New York City to

learn and practice the truth. What motivates this community is a broken, pain-riddled world in

need of healing. What binds this community is love.

Nyack College exhibits, and Nyack University will embody, a set of historically ingrained values that give testimony to our character including Love, Truth, Humility, Faith and Community.

VALUESNyack University will be a community of individuals and institutions that create messages and models which, in imitation of Christ, seek to transform human relationships, heal the world, inspire lifelong learning and develop global leadership.

MISSION

Nyack will become a community called into a healing

relationship with all of creation. It will be a global

community within a global setting, New York City.

It will be a community of great diversity that finds its

oneness, its cohesion, in its transforming purpose and

restorative love. Its consuming passion will be

the missio dei, God’s mission to heal the world.

Nyack will become a community rich in partnerships

with other institutions and individuals. Partnerships

remind us to be humble, to recognize that we do not

possess all truth or all resources, that wisdom and

gifts have been given to others from whom and with

whom we may learn and serve. Partners provide a

path to strength we cannot create alone, and bring an

opportunity for celebration of the diversity of God’s

gracious gifts. Partnering is itself a servant strategy

enabling Nyack to become a catalyst enabling others

to grow stronger for the good of all.

Nyack’s partnerships and graduates will extend the

University’s reach from the campus in Manhattan to

the great cities of the world: London and Rome, but

also Manila and Jakarta, Delhi and Lagos, Sao Paolo

and Mexico City. No community on earth will be beyond

the reach of this community based in New York City.

Nyack will create transforming messages by pursuing

truth while remaining grounded in love. Some

messages will take the form of words; others will be

expressed most clearly in deeds rather than words

alone. Such messages will speak to the human spirit

as well as the human mind, will draw knowledge from

sources as diverse as modern science and ancient

Scripture. Nyack will develop transforming intellectual

models which bring together truth and love, and social

models that demonstrate the strength of diversity

in communal life, that give evidence to the power of

justice and hope in economic and political systems.

Nyack will equip its graduates with knowledge based in

experience as well as intellect, enabling them to work

and communicate respectfully with people of many

races and religions. Nyack’s graduates will know they

are stewards of God’s creation, servants in God’s world,

called to lead in every sphere of human activity with

wisdom, gentleness and compassion. The spirituality

of this community will be marked by its embrace of

whole people, body and soul, all created imago dei

[“imaging God”]. It will welcome the suffering, knowing

that to suffer is to be human. It will affirm the rightness

of justice and the need for mercy. It will see itself as

swept into the missio dei [“mission of God”]

in which it was founded a century-and-a-quarter ago.

Nyack University will be a community that knows

learning has no beginning and no end, and has no

geographic borders. This community will be filled by

those committed to learn so long as they live. The

Nyack community will welcome partnerships that

broaden our learning, from daycare centers to hospices,

from the markets of Wall Street to the market in Lusaka,

from artistic performances to science labs, knowing

that partnerships inspire deeper learning and greater

global leadership.

98

Nyack College has grown from a 19th Century Missionary Training Institute toward what it will soon be, a great University. It is unique among institutions of higher education including, but not limited to, Christian higher education.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER

NYACK COLLEGE • DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER

Nyack is a diverse, urban community.

When the people of Nyack College

assemble, they understand dozens of

dialects, represent scores of nationalities,

and represent life in mega-cities around

the globe. Our unity in diversity is

cherished evidence that love can unite us.

Nyack is at home in the “global city,” New York City.

Nyack University will not merely be

located in New York City; it is an integral

part of the global community. Nyack

is a fellow-citizen committed to the

neighborhoods and businesses, hospitals

and congregations, families and social

service agencies of New York City.

Learning is universal at Nyack.

Every member of the Nyack University

community is a learner, seeking the truth

and acting in love. Learning occurs in the

classroom and in the community, through

listening and through acting. Learning is

a result of thought and action, reflection

and implementation.

Learning is a strategy at Nyack, not an end.

Although Nyack is an educational

community, research and learning are

not the ultimate purpose. Learning is a

strategy in service to this community’s

goal: transformation, the healing of the

world. We learn by serving, and we learn

again so that we may serve more wisely.

Nyack is welcoming to all.

The laws and standards for colleges and

universities are observed at Nyack. But

every effort is made to open the doors to

all who could and would come, whether

they come from immigrant homes or

nearby apartments, the cells of a prison

or homes of prestige. All who wish to

belong to this community are wanted,

and we will do all in our power to make

learning accessible.

Nyack’s structural model is communal.

Most institutions seek autonomy; Nyack

seeks partnerships. It actively courts

other institutions to join in the mission of

transforming the world. Its partnerships

are not extraneous; they are intrinsic

elements of the institution (community)

itself, a part of who Nyack is as well as

how it serves.

Nyack embodies the radical Christian tradition of A.B. Simpson.

Late in the 19th Century, Nyack’s founder,

A. B. Simpson, was persuaded that the

good news shared with him included an

urgent call to ancient practices: feeding

the hungry, caring for the widow and the

homeless, bringing to all who are lost a

message of hope and transformation.

Simpson’s gospel, radical as it appeared

to some, was designed to trouble those

who were comfortable and to comfort

those who were troubled.

His was a plan in which worship was

“much more than an association of

congenial friends who listen once a week

to an intellectual discourse and musical

entertainment and carry on by proxy a

mechanism of Christian work.” He sought

an institution “that can be at once the

mother and home of every form of help

and blessing which Jesus came to give

to lost and suffering men, the birthplace

and the home of souls, the fountain of

healing and cleansing, the sheltering

home for the orphan and distressed, the

school for the culture and training of

God’s children….” (A Larger Christian Life,

Simpson, 1890).

ONLY NYACK

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