News

There’s a new generation of professors at Conrad Grebel University College. With several current professors approaching retirement, the college has been making an effort to hire a younger faculty.

Derek Suderman is the most recent appointment. He will teach religious studies, specializing in the Old Testament and fill the gap left when John Miller retired in 1993. He will also be the only Old Testament professor currently at the University of Waterloo.

Making a difference in this world of technology, paradox, and incredible possibilities, was the underlying message during Conrad Grebel University College’s convocation service on April 9, 2006. Degrees were granted in the Master of Theological Studies program, and achievements of University of Waterloo undergraduates who have participated in Grebel life were recognized.

Jim Pankratz, Academic Dean, commented:

Deemed a “visionary leader” by Conrad Grebel’s Alumni Committee, Nolan Andres has received Conrad Grebel University College’s 2006 Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at 12:30pm and 4:30pm at the Conrad Grebel University College Chapel.

On March 22, 2006 Carol Ann Weaver, Music professor at Conrad Grebel University College, is hosting a benefit concert in response to the AIDS pandemic in Africa, in support of Mennonite Central Committee and the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

For this event, Weaver has composed a piece entitled, “Every Three Children,” that symbolizes the number of children infected with the AIDS virus in parts of Africa. Weaver said,

2006 Bechtel Lectures with Dr. James Urry March 9 & 10, 2006.

Dr. James Urry, Professor of Anthropology at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, is Conrad Grebel University College’s 2006 Bechtel Lecturer. He will address the theme of Time and Memory: secular and sacred aspects of the world of the Russian Mennonites and their descendants on March 9 & 10.

In a letter to the college community on December 12, Dawn Regier, Chair of the Board of Governors of Conrad Grebel University College, wrote:

The Board of Governors is very pleased to announce that we have re-appointed Dr. Henry Paetkau to a 4-year term as president, beginning in January 2007.

The Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre (TMTC) has named Jonathan Seiling as the first recipient of the A. James Reimer Award. This annual award was established in recognition of Professor Reimer, Founding Director of TMTC, and his longstanding commitment to theological education at Conrad Grebel University College and the Toronto School of Theology (TST).

Conrad Grebel University College's 2005 Benjamin Eby Lecturer, Hildi Froese Tiessen, a Professor of English and Peace and Conflict Studies, will discuss her work on Ephraim Weber in a lecture entitled "A Mennonite Novelist's Journey (from) Home: Ephraim Weber's encounters with S.F. Coffman and Lucy Maud Montgomery." This presentation will be held on Friday, November 11th, 2005, at 7:00pm in the Conrad Grebel Chapel.

Sandra Birdsell, author of The Russländer, will read from her new novel entitled Children of the Day at Conrad Grebel University College on Sunday, September 18 at 7pm. The reading, which is free of charge, will take place in Grebel's Chapel.

In Birdsell's new novel, Children of the Day, she has created

On September 1, 2005 Conrad Grebel University College will be the first organization in Canada to offer a non-degree certificate program in conflict management for faith leaders, lay leaders and those who are involved in a faith community.

The program will address issues that are unique to faith communities, some of which stem from deeply held values, identities, group dynamics, and family systems. Other issues include