Notable Manitoba presidents set to retire next year
WINNIPEG, MB - Two prominent presidents of Manitoban Christian post-secondary educational institutes are retiring.
Gerald Gerbrandt, president of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) and Gus Konkel, president of Providence College and Seminary will make their exits next summer.
Gerbrandt has been the president of CMU since its founding in 2001. Earlier he served as the Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) president from 1997 and prior to that as the CMBC Academic Dean since 1982.
By the time he retires, Gerbrandt will have spent 15 years as president for CMU and its predecessor.
Because his work has been stressful as an executive administrator, Gerbrandt says he plans on taking the first six months of his retirement to finish writing a Bible commentary for the Believers Church Commentary Series on the book of Deuteronomy. After that, he says he has made no concrete plans.
CMU is in a good place to undergo this change, Gerbrandt says.
“We have excellent senior administration. That's a good time to make a transition," he says.
After he leaves, Gerbrandt says he hopes CMU will continue to grow in contributing within the church and within the community. He also hopes that less developed programs will become more prominent.
When he first started at CMU, Gerbrandt heard a great deal of skepticism, people who thought CMU couldn't possibly be successful because they wouldn't be able to acquire enough funding or bring the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches conference and the Mennonite Church Canada conference together peacefully.
“I hope that I contributed towards developing a community of people who have worked together towards fostering a culture, an atmosphere, and a people that believe in the vision of Christian education...a culture where we worked together as a team to support the church and its mission," he says.
Konkel has been at Providence since 1984 as a professor, but became the president in 2001, while continuing in his teaching role.
Though Konkel isn't formally retiring, he is retiring of executive administration work. He and his wife plan on moving to Brantford, Ontario to be a bigger part of their daughters' and grandchildren's lives. And, he has some book contracts that he is planning to work on.
“Research and writing are hard to do when you're in a president's role," he says. “If I don't transition pretty soon, then the writing tasks will get pushed back even further."
As for Providence, Konkel hopes that in his absence, they can go far with the great number of international students and international learning expeditions. He sees great potential in the counselling program that is done in partnership with Ambrose University College in Calgary, Alberta.
Konkel is also keen to see more Christian students choose Christian higher education.
“Approximately 10 per cent of Christian high school graduates choose actual Christian university.... It's our goal to somehow increase those numbers," he says.
During Konkel's presidency, Providence has made great strides in becoming eco-friendly, has moved to becoming a university college and has its degrees are fully recognized by provincial universities, among other highlights.
“Hopefully I've had some role in some of these things," he says.
Though Konkel is leaving Manitoba, he hopes to do the occasional module at Providence as adjunct faculty.
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