DBU's Global Community Virtual Forum Supports 26 Partnering Schools Around the World

When the COVD-19 pandemic struck, DBU was prepared to adapt its educational delivery to continue serving the educational, professional, and spiritual needs of its students. The University also remained undeterred in its desire to be a culture-changing intellectual resource in partnership with local and global communities. On July 15-17, 2020, DBU hosted its inaugural three-day Forum Broadcast with 26 Global Community school partners in lieu of the canceled on-campus conference.

In 2019, DBU established the Global Community to serve as an international consortium that strengthens partnerships around the world with educational entities who are striving to produce the next generation of leaders. As of the Spring, the Global Community now represents 14 countries and 34 school entities which encompass a student population of over 490,000.

Led by Jon Dooley, Director of Strategic Initiatives for International Admissions and Immigration, and with subtitles in Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Indonesian to serve online participants joining in from around the world, the Forum hosted by DBU provided three days of rich resource training in school education and administration. Examples of virtual sessions included the following by DBU faculty and staff:

• Transformational Education - Dr. Adam C. Wright, DBU President
• Biblical Integration in Curriculum - Dr. Brent Thomason, Program Director, Master of Arts in Global Leadership
• Financial Sustainability - Dr. Matt Murrah, Vice President for Financial Affairs
• Modern Teaching Skills - Mrs. Karla Hagan, Assistant Professor of Education
• Leaving a Legacy - Dr. Gary Cook, Chancellor

Every morning, the Forum began with time devoted to Scripture and prayer provided by Micah Raies, Director of Global Development, and Abhinav Lal, who is a current student worker at DBU and a recipient of a scholarship provided through the Global Community.

"On the final day, I closed the three broadcasts with a live Zoom meeting for all in attendance," says Jon Dooley. "There were around 65 school leaders in total who were asked to share their feedback or insights gained from the Forum with fellow teachers in their world region. The positive feedback was overwhelming!"

With the expectation that next year's Forum in 2021 will be held on the DBU campus, the overwhelming majority of participants said they hoped to attend. "Many of the schools expressed a desire to connect further with DBU on a variety of levels." says Dooley. "A few even requested some of the videos to add to their new teacher orientation, while others asked if we could be willing to help train their staff. A couple schools expressed interest in continuing education at DBU, and others requested more information about Global Community programs for their students."

Overall, the Forum was a great success and continued to position DBU as a thought resource bringing Christ-centered support to the development of leaders and their communities around the globe.