Report of the President of Ambrose University · Ambrose University, consisting of the Faculty of Arts and Science, a Faculty of Education and the ... Stephen and Annette Ford were

Report of the President of Ambrose University

Ambrose University 2018 Report to General Assembly

Report of the President of Ambrose University to General Assembly 2018 | 1

Report of the President of Ambrose University to General Assembly 2018 Ambrose University, consisting of the Faculty of Arts and Science, a Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Theology which includes the School of Ministry and Ambrose Seminary, is an official school of The Christian Missionary Alliance in Canada. We value this relationship highly and welcome this opportunity to communicate with the Alliance constituency.

In the report that follows, we highlight a number of key threads in the fabric of Ambrose: mission, academic programming, finances, alumni relations and governance.

Ambrose Mission: “Both…And”

When I meet with constituents I often encounter assumptions about what Ambrose is, or is not, in this current iteration – perspectives like, “Ambrose is a university, no longer a school for ministry preparation” or, “Ambrose is focused on academic excellence and not so much on Christian discipleship or formation”; or, “Ambrose is a Calgary institution and not a Canadian school or a school with a global orientation.” While these may seem like logical conclusions to some, given the many changes that have taken place over the last fifteen years or so, I would respectfully disagree and suggest that, in fact, Ambrose is “both…and” in each case.

Yes, Ambrose is a university with liberal arts programs in business, education, the humanities, natural sciences and behavioural sciences. It is also a School of Ministry bringing to bear the best of the Bible college movement within the university context. And the Seminary is a vibrant and essential part of the Faculty of Theology. I would estimate that around 40% of our current student body, across all programs, is in preparation for ministry in the church or international ministry. The future of global ministry will be a partnership between ministry and business leaders, recognizing the power of education to train people to serve in public schools, law, medicine, business, and many other disciplines. Ambrose is at the forefront of training men and women to serve in this way.

Academic excellence does not exclude Christian discipleship and formation. Rather, academic excellence at its best is about the formation of the whole person. The supposition that academic excellence will only focus on the head and that for nurture of the heart Christian discipleship and formation is required, and that the two cannot comfortably co-exist, is simply not true. The academic disciplines at Ambrose include the cultivation of virtue, and maturity, and character, and a mature religious identity, all the while adhering to the rigorous academic standards required for a recognized degree.

Calgary is, indeed, the geographical location of Ambrose University. And, to echo Jeremiah, we are committed to “…seek[ing] the peace of the city” in which we are located. But we are committed not


Report of the President of Ambrose to General Assembly 2018 | 2

just to Calgary, or even just to Alberta, but we are committed to our country and to our world. The issues that affect Calgary are global issues, and we encourage our students to think locally and globally and to recognize that you cannot be one without the other. However much we are local, we also have a vision for what God is doing in the world.

So in each of these polarities, where the perception exists that we must either be one or the other, but cannot be both, I would suggest that it is a false polarity and that Ambrose can – and does – fulfil each of these mandates.

Personnel Appointments and Transitions

There have been fewer appointments and transitions over the past two years, partly because of stability within the institution, and partly because of austerity budgets that have necessitated the deferment of some hires. Nevertheless, there have been a handful of appointments over the period of this report:

Christina Conroy, PhD – Assistant Professor of Theology Jim Cresswell, PhD – Associate Professor of Psychology Jennifer Singh, PhD (ABD) – Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies Irene Tran, PhD – Principal, Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Ambrose Seminary Tim Vanderpyl – Associate Professor of Business Christopher Wang, PhD – Associate Professor of Biology Ryan Wilkinson, PhD – Assistant Professor of History

Each year we are privileged to have International Workers in Residence on our campus. Stephen and Annette Ford were with us for 2016-2017 and Dan and Melodie Ibsen for the year just ended.

Within the senior management team, we were delighted to welcome Dr. Pamela Nordstrom as Vice President for Academic Affairs in August, 2017. Even in the few short months she has been in post she has made a significant impact on the academic division.

At the end of this academic year, we will bid farewell to two long-serving faculty members:

Rod Remin, Associate Professor of Biblical Languages will retire after almost 40 years with Ambrose and its former iterations on the Alliance side. And Don Quantz, PhD, Professor of Music and Program Chair, moves into retirement following 25 years of service with Ambrose.

Unfortunately, the position of Vice President for Advancement was both filled and vacated within this reporting period. Christopher Primeau joined Ambrose in November, 2016, but decided to return to his entrepreneurial roots and pursue a new venture in the spring of this year. As such the



position is, once again, vacant. Core responsibilities of the Advancement division will be maintained by the very capable departmental directors with oversight from the president’s office.

Wally Rude, who has served as the Vice President for Student Development for the past twelve years, advised me earlier this year that he had accepted a position in Whitehorse, Yukon starting in the late spring. Wally has served the institution well during his time here, and I, and the whole Ambrose community, wish him well as he and his family transition to a new season of life.

Church Relations

In January, 2018 I was pleased to sign a new, five-year Memorandum of Understanding with The Christian & Missionary Alliance Canada. Based on the Policy on Official Schools (Post-Secondary) in the Manual, the MOU simply reiterates the commitments that the school and the denomination already undertake – governance, funding, teaching.

The Ambrose Bylaws – and the aforementioned MOU – state that the Ambrose Board of governors will include the president of The Christian & Missionary Alliance Canada (the C&MA); one District Superintendent appointed by the C&MA president; and six additional governors appointed by the Board of Directors of the C&MA.

Following Rev. Anita Leung’s appointment to the C&MA board at the 2016 General Assembly, she stepped down from the Ambrose board, thereby creating a vacancy. After due consideration, the Ambrose board recommended the appointment of Ken Tsang of Vancouver which was approved by the Board of Directors in the spring of 2017.

At that same meeting, the Board of Directors approved the re-appointment to a second term of Kenneth Stankievech of Calgary who currently serves as our board chair.

Rev. Brent Trask, District Superintendent of the Western Canadian District reached term limit in 2017 and Rev. David Hearn, as president of the C&MA, appointed Rev. Errol Rempel for a four year term.

The six C&MA representatives currently serving on the Ambrose Board of Governors are: Wayne Bernakevitch (Regina, SK); Christopher Perumalla (Toronto, ON); Lawrence Stalder (Calgary, AB); Kenneth Stankievech (Calgary, AB); Keith Taylor (Edmonton, AB); and Ken Tsang (Vancouver, BC).

In November, 2017 Ambrose, the C&MA, the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, Rocky Mountain College, Calgary, AB, and Emmanuel Bible College, Kitchener, ON entered into an agreement that facilitates recognition of and collaboration with each denomination and school in



Alberta and Ontario. I am grateful to President Hearn for his diligent work over a number of months to ensure that agreement was reached between all parties.

Additionally, we are very pleased with the partnerships we have formed with other denominations that view Ambrose as their school of choice for liberal arts studies, or studies in education and business or, of course, ministerial formation. This includes the Church of the Nazarene – valued partners in this university enterprise. But we are also grateful for the positive points of connection with the Calgary and Edmonton dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada, the local dioceses of the Catholic church and the connections we have with various Evangelical and mainline denominations.

Ambrose@Large is an online seminary initiative that provides a platform to curate vital knowledge and good practice for the benefit of pastors and church leaders across Canada: conversations in a micro-blog format to share experience and wisdom on any number of challenges in ministry; a place for dialogue and learning. Content is generated by Ambrose professors, but we also invite resources written by pastors, for pastors. More information can be found at the website atlarge.ambrose.edu.

Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Ambrose Seminary

Dr. Irene Tran was appointed Principal of the Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Ambrose Seminary (CCSTAS) in mid-September, 2017. Dr. Tran was most recently the Chinese Academic Dean at the Biblical Seminary of the Philippines and has already shown a superb understanding of how CCSTAS fits within the institution and the ways in which it contributes to the overall mission of the university.

Work is currently ongoing to revise the Memorandum of Understanding between the three parties that constitute CCSTAS: Ambrose University; the Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association (CCACA); and the Association of Canadian Chinese Theological Education (ACCTE). Over time it has become apparent that there are certain aspects of responsibility and governance that are not clearly or adequately addressed within the terms of the current MOU. I am grateful to Drs. Badley (Ambrose), Tang (CCACA), and Tam (ACCTE) for their work in this regard.

Academics Full-year Enrolment (Unduplicated Headcount) 2014 – 2017

Discipline

Year

Arts &

Science

Education

School of

Ministry

Open

Studies

Seminary

Grand Total

Undergraduate Graduate

2014-2015 489 53 142 105 271 1060 2015-2016 536 63 136 96 309 1140 2016-2017 589 71 119 91 290 1160



‘Full-year’ refers to the September – June period, incorporating the fall, winter, and spring semesters

As noted in previous reports, in order to provide the best overview of annual enrolment, rather than a snapshot of one point in time, we now report enrolment on an annual basis. The table on page 4 provides total, unduplicated headcount for the past three academic years by faculty, undergraduate, and graduate.

Enrolment for the current academic year will not be known until the end of June, 2018 when the spring classes are complete. Overall, fall and winter enrolment was similar to that of the 2016-2017 academic year, but we have increased and diversified our spring offerings this year so it will be interesting to see the impact of that on final numbers.

We are also very encouraged as we look to the Fall of 2018; so far projected new student enrolment looks very good across the board, but particularly in the School of Ministry, Business, Biology, Behavioral Science and Education.

Increasing student numbers is a positive, no question, but it does create space issues on campus. Through the generous provision of donors who have a desire to fund specific projects rather than provide operating funds, in the past couple of years we have been able to convert a classroom into a multiuse classroom/laboratory space for the biology program, create some additional office space, and make some minor improvements to student spaces. In the coming months, it is hoped to provide the business program with its own dedicated space by use of a portable facility. If this comes to fruition – again, costs covered by a designated donation – the space will house classrooms, offices, and a student lounge. The benefits will be two-fold: it provides cohesive space in which the expanding business program cohort can grow and develop together, much like the education program, and it frees up space in the main academic building for others to use.

In March, 2018 “Ambrose Arts” was launched. Although this initiative does not include any new programs (or removal of existing programs), it signals a reorganization of the existing music and theatre programs into one arts department. The retirement of the music program chair was the catalyst for the change, and the process was ably led by Dr. Pamela Nordstrom, VP Academic Affairs, and Dr. Linda Schwartz, Dean of Arts & Science.

Other noteworthy changes and developments: we hope to launch a BA in Psychology, in the Fall of 2019, under the programmatic leadership of Dr. Jim Cresswell. And, in Education, the Education program now has an Associate Dean who reports directly to the VP Academic Affairs. Under consideration is the very real possibility that we will do the same for our Business program – for the Fall of 2019.



Events

There are four significant annual events in the Ambrose year: Spiritual Emphasis Days in late September, where we set aside two days for a deliberate, concentrated focus on Christian formation and discipleship; the Downey Lecture series later in the fall; the Ambrose Research Conference in the spring; and, of course, the pinnacle of the academic year, our graduation activities.

In September, 2016 we welcomed James K A Smith, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, who spoke on the theme of “You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit”. The 2017 Spiritual Emphasis Days featured Rev James Paton, lead pastor of First Alliance Church in Calgary with his call to “purity of heart.” The second day of each is designated as “Ambrose Serves Day”, where students, faculty, and staff take the opportunity to participate in service activities as local social agencies.

The October, 2016 Downey Lecturer was Ephraim Radner, Professor of History and Theology at Wycliffe College in Toronto. He brought two evening lectures on the theme of “What is the Bible really? Taking seriously an Ontology of Scripture”, as well as speaking in Chapel.

And it was very good to welcome Dr Ruth Padilla DeBorst on to campus for our 2017 Downey Lectureship. It was particularly good to have what is likely the leading theological voice of Latin America on our campus.

The Ambrose Research Conference showcases student, faculty, staff, and alumni research and scholarly activity, through a series of conference presentations and poster exhibits. It is remarkable to see the quality and diversity of research presented each year and to have watched this event grow from a simple 2-3 hour series of talks to a full day conference.

The Class of 2017 numbered 194 taking into account arts and science, School of Ministry, Education, and the Seminary. The Right Reverend Mark MacDonald, First Nations Bishop of the Anglican Church addressed the undergraduate cohort. Our education graduates received words of encouragement and commendation from Dr Charles Salina, Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Administration at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington; and our seminary graduation speaker was Rev Dr Deidre Brower Latz from Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, England.

And graduation 2018 saw a similar number of graduates and exceptional speakers for all three ceremonies: Sandra Manning, a former Ambrose governor, and a successful businesswoman for arts and science; Dr Keith Walker, education faculty of the University of Saskatchewan and also a former Ambrose board member for Education; and our seminary graduands heard from Dr Minho Song, Senior Pastor of Young Nak Korean Presbyterian Church of Toronto.



Institutes

Ambrose University and Seminary sustain three distinctive inter-disciplinary “institutes.” The Flourishing Congregations Institute – led by Joel Thiessen with three colleagues – is doing seminal and critical research in what it means for a church community to thrive in a post-Christian society. Ambrose is increasingly coming to be seen to be a key voice in what it means to be the church in this social and cultural context.

The Canadian Poverty Institute, under the leadership of Derek Cook, is a vital research and study centre – with faculty in business, education, pastoral ministry and behavioral science invested in both the conversation about poverty, its causes and what it will take to reduce poverty both locally and globally.

And the Jaffray Centre, under Charles Cook, continues to be a vital vehicle for critical reflection on the character of global mission – on various fronts, but of late with particular attention to the diaspora communities around the world.

We take great pride in the work of these colleagues – Thiessen, Cook and Cook – and the impact that they make, with others, in fostering the mission of the university.

Finances

Finances remain an on-going challenge for the university and this will continue to be a challenge as long as we are carrying the debt that we have had from the beginning when the new campus was established on the SW corner of the city. The university is thriving: new, quality faculty and continued enrolment growth. But, the operational drag is clear: we are carrying more debt than we can sustain and servicing the mortgage has severely compromised our capacity to maintain our mission-critical programs and activities.

Of course, we continue to lobby the Government of Alberta for additional funding. But we have been assured that funding from that source is frozen at current levels. We also know that with changes in the Canadian Ministries funding, we might actually experience funding reductions from our Canadian districts as they choose to re-allocate funds that, until now, have been part of their support for the university. And we continue to cultivate a relationship with our alumni and support base to increase charitable giving to scholarships and the operational costs of the university, and yet, this is coming slowly.

We have a tremendous asset in Ambrose University – the full complement of arts/science majors, two professional programs (Education and Business), a school of ministry (undergraduate) and a leading theological Seminary. In some respects it is our greatest asset as a denomination. The Alliance



has always had a profound commitment to higher education as an essential dimension of our engagement in global mission. The question: can we find the financial resources such that our university/seminary not only survives but actually thrives as a dynamic and essential partner with our churches and our districts in the work of reaching our world for Christ?

Alumni Relations

Marva Goertzen joined our staff in the Fall of 2016 and in the last 18 months has done a terrific job cultivating the relationship of the university to its diverse alumni. She has planned and hosted a series of alumni gatherings – Victoria, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, Hamilton and, upcoming Whiterock, BC. As I write this I can confirm that these have been in each case a very positive time of conversation and reflection on the mission and vision of the university.

For the seminary, we planned a special Canadian Theological Seminary and Ambrose Seminary event on May 7, in connection with our annual pastors’ conference. And then this Fall, as we celebrate ten years in this location in SW Calgary, we have scheduled a home coming for those who studied at Ambrose in any one of our various ‘schools’ and iterations. As dates are announced, we would be very pleased if you would note the dates and plan to join us if you were a student at WCBI, CBC, CTS, AUC or Ambrose.

Faculty Scholarship

We are proud of our Ambrose faculty and their accomplishments. Most conduct scholarly research and writing alongside their teaching responsibilities, and represent Ambrose well at conferences and symposiums. A smaller cohort has had books published in the past two years. We list a selection of articles and books written by Ambrose faculty here, and commend each one to you:

Ayer, H. D. Sandy, Pierre Mavuemba Tuvi, and Thomas Mfu Ntsankete. “Threats to Migrating Common Terns Sterna Hirundo on the Atlantic Coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Malimbus: Journal of West African Ornithology 39, no. 1 (March 2017): 22-24. (Peer reviewed)

Charter, I. Choral setting of Laudate Dominum for SATB Choir, Organ, Brass, and Timpani. Chicago, IL: H.T. FitzSimons Company (2017).

Hileman, B. Playwright: Canadian Badlands Passion Play (summer 2016; script review fall 2016/spring 2017)

Gibbons Kroeker, C. Does size really matter? A comparison of class size and student outcomes in Introductory Physiology Courses, Submitted to Advances in Physiological Education, 2017.



Mishra, RC*, Mitchell JR*, Gibbons-Kroeker C, Wulff H, Belenkie I Tyberg, JV, Braun AP. A Pharmacologic Activator of Endothelial KCa Channels Increases Systemic Conductance and Reduces Arterial Pressure in an Anesthetized Pig Model. Vascular Pharmacology. 79: 24-31, 2016. * Co-first authors.

Santokh S Dhillon MD, Nee Scze Khoo MD, Timothy Colen MBBS, John V Tyberg MD PhD, Carol A. Gibbons Kroeker PhD, Jeffrey F. Smallhorn MBBS. A Novel insight Into the Effect of Loading Conditions and Contractility on Mitral Valve Function. Submitted to Journal of Echocardiography.

Goossen, J. Jonson, Shakespeare, and Aristotle on Comedy. New York, NY: Routledge. 2017.

Ho, A. (2017). Local Motion Integration Determines Global Kinetic Pattern Perception. Abstracts of the 27th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Sciences, p.29.

Anstis, S., Kaneko, S., & Ho, A. (2016). Motion-Driven Transparency and Opacity. i-Perception, 7(5), DOI: 10.1177/2041669516667629

Ashida, H., Ho, A., Kitaoka, A., & Anstis, S. (2017). The “Spinner” Illusion: More Dots, More Speed? i-Perception, 8(3), doi.org/10.1177/2041669517707972

Jantzen, K. George Bell, Bishop of Chichester: Church, State, and Resistance in the Age of Dictatorship, by Andrew Chandler [Review]. Contemporary Church History Quarterly 22 no. 4 (December 2016). https://contemporarychurchhistory.org/2016/12/review-of-andrew-chandler-george-bell-bishop-of-chichester-church-state-and-resistance-in-the-age-of-dictatorship/.

Morris, MRJ. Threespine stickleback. Journal of Fish Biology. 2018.

Allen B, Bowles E, Morris MRJ, Rogers SM Loss of SNP diversity following population collapse in a recreational Walleye (Sander vitreus) fishery. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and

Aquatic Sciences. cjfas-2017-0164.

Sanderson, A., McKeough, A., Malcolm, J., Omstead, D., Davis, L. & Thorne, K (2016) The Life Stories of Troubled and Non-Troubled Youth: Content and Meaning Making North American Journal

of Psychology (18) 3, p. 439-464.

Smith, G T. Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 2017

Institutional Intelligence. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.. 2017.

Generation To Generation: Inter-Generationality And Spiritual Formation In Christian Community. Journal Of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care. Fall2017, Vol. 10 Issue 2, P182-193. 12p.



Teach Us To Pray. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 2018.

Snow, Robert S. Daniel’s Son of Man in Mark: The Redefinition of the Jerusalem Temple and the Formatiom

of a New Covenant Community. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2016.

Stovell, B. “Jesus is God with Us: Applying Porter’s Criteria for the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament to the Theme of Divine Presence,” in The Language and Literature of the New Testament: Essays in Honour of Stanley E. Porter’s 60th Birthday. Edited by Craig Evans, Lois Dow, and Andrew Pitts. Novum Testamentum Supplements. (NovTSup) Leiden: Brill, 2016.

“C. H. Dodd as New Testament Interpreter and Theologian.” In Pillars in the History of New

Testament Interpretation: Old and New. Edited by Stanley E. Porter and Sean Adams. McMaster New Testament Studies Series. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2017.

“The Courage of Kindness in Biblical Scholarship.” In A Little Book For New Biblical Scholars. Edited by E. Randolph Richards and Joseph R. Dodson. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2017.

“Oned and Grounded in Love: Julian of Norwich and the Johannine God of Love.” Didaskalia

(Summer 2016): 1-28.

Toffelmire, C. A Discourse and Register Analysis of the Prophetic Book of Joel. SSN 66. Brill, 2016

Van De Walle, B. Rethinking Holiness Grand Rapids, MI: Baker (2017)

“The Radical Holiness Movement and The Christian and Missionary Alliance: Twins, Perhaps, but not Identical,” International Journal of the Global Institute for Fourfold Theology, 2017, 91–98.

“The Christian and Missionary Alliance,” in Barry Callen, ed., The Holy River of God: The Rich

Currents and Contributions of the Wesleyan-Holiness Stream of Christianity. (Azusa, CA: Aldersgate Press, 2017).

Vanderpyl, T.H. (2017). The end is where we start from: Mission and the farewell discourse In Matthew 28:18-19. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, 7(1).

Wong, Arch Chee Keen. (2017, May). Review of the book Character formation in online education: A

guide for instructors, administrators, and accrediting agencies. International Journal of Christianity &

Education, 1-2, DOI: 10.1177/2056997117699556



Wong, Arch, Thiessen, Joel, McAlpine, Bill & Walker, Keith (Eds.). (2017). A preliminary look

at flourishing congregations in Canada: What church leaders are saying. Calgary: Turning Point Global.

Wong, Arch Chee Keen, Sweat, A., & Gardner, R. (2017). Pedagogy of the spirit: Comparing

evangelical and latter day saint youth self-reported In-class spiritual experiences. Religious Education,

1-23

Conclusion

I began this report by noting how much we value our relationship with the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Canada; I conclude with a number of expressions of gratitude: Thank you to those of you who enter into dialogue with Ambrose, support us in prayer, and support us financially. Thank you for invitations to preach in your church, to host alumni gatherings, and to provide opportunities to engage with prospective students and their parents. This is a critical time in the history of the denomination and Ambrose University. As the culture of our day attempts to sideline Christianity and its institutions, may we navigate together what it means to be Christian institutions in a secular society.

Respectfully submitted

Gordon T. Smith President

Documents

Report of the President of Ambrose University · Ambrose University, consisting of the Faculty of Arts and Science, a Faculty of Education and the ... Stephen and Annette Ford were