Presidential Perspectives on Houghton

Summer 2008

Houghton has always been a gateway to the world. This might not be obvious to anyone who looked only on the map at this small college in the middle of Western New York! Furthermore, this claim is not mere presidential rhetoric. Almost half of our graduates have completed part of their Houghton education in an off-campus program—in England, or Australia, or Tanzania to name just a few of the options. Many of our students also participate in overseas summer mission or service projects during their college years.

At Houghton, this global involvement is not new. Long before it became trendy to speak of being "global citizens," Houghton graduates took very seriously the call to make a difference for God's Kingdom, not only here at home, but in the far reaches of the planet.

We celebrated this tradition at our 2008 Commencement. Ambassador J. Brady Anderson, former American ambassador to Tanzania, spoke to our graduates about the power of Hope and the fact that there is no limit to what can happen where there is hope. Ambassador Anderson's own life of involvement in Wycliffe Bible translators, as well as USAID, certainly testifies to this reality. We also honored Congressman Amory Houghton with the first Houghton Medal for his work on behalf of Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone. This medal is given to an individual who embodies the commitment of our founder, Willard J. Houghton, to "fix up the world" in the name of Jesus Christ.

Shortly after graduation, I traveled to Sierra Leone with nine of our faculty. We went as an interdisciplinary delegation to explore possible next steps in the long history of connection between Houghton College and this country. Our graduates have been working in Sierra Leone since the 1890's in church planting, education and medical care. Given their recent war and the central role of the Christian Church in post-war recovery efforts, we as a college want to partner with these fellow believers in their efforts to bring renewed hope to their homeland. We were led in this venture by one of our trustees, Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, the CEO of World Hope. World Hope is one of the non-government organizations most involved in this post-conflict situation.

During our time, we were welcomed into a rich network of Sierra Leonean leaders from every part of their society—education, church, government ministries, the press corps, business, and non-governmental organizations. They are all seeking to rebuild their country after the recent civil war and are working out of a deep sense of God's calling on their lives.

One sharp contrast stood out in the midst of the poverty and destitution of the country: the many purported "Quick Fixes" versus the "Legacy of Faithfulness." If you were to believe the ubiquitous advertisements, a cell phone, any of various beers, or the lottery could make your life better in an instant. I was much more persuaded of the hopefulness grounded in the network of five young men—all of whom came to know each other and found their calling in the youth camps headed by Houghton alumnus, Dr. Paul Shea, when he was in Sierra Leone in the 1970's and 1980's. During the Civil War and without the support of missionaries, the faith of each man was strengthened—each through a different journey. Today, one of these men is the President's Press Secretary; one heads up World Hope International—Sierra Leone; one is a specialist in Human Development working with the United Nations; one is the Deputy Minister of Finance and Development; one manages a micro-enterprise venture that serves over 23,000 clients in Freetown alone. These friends, deeply committed Christian believers, are critical links in the lively network of Sierra Leone citizens committed to the long haul of hard work and self sacrifice that it will take to meet the huge challenges of hunger, poverty, unemployment, and disease that interfere with human flourishing in this country. They know that there are no quick fixes! When we asked one of these friends what gave him hope, he said that it was the knowledge that he could make a difference, even as one person.

Houghton is not in the tradition of quick fixes! As a Christian liberal arts college, we know that producing graduates of conviction, compassion and competence—people of substance who can move into all arenas of our society and in all parts of the globe—is the work of an educational community and, ultimately, the work of a lifetime. Our visit to Sierra Leone affirmed again that our God is at work in this world, faithfully stewarding His Word and the work of His servants. It also made us eager to continue the partnership between God's work at Houghton and God's work in Sierra Leone in the days ahead as we seek to prepare graduates whose view of the world is as large as our Heavenly Father's.

Shirley Mullen
President

Past Perspectives

Fall 2007