Jerusalem Campus
3 Aravnah HaYevusi
Hebron Road,
P.O. Box 1276, Mt. Zion
91012 Jerusalem, Israel
voice: 972-2-671-8628
fax: 972-2-673-2717

North American Office
4249 E. State St., Suite 203
Rockford, IL, 61108
toll free: 1-800-891-9408
voice: 815-229-5900
fax: 815-229-5901
admissions@juc.edu


 

CURRENT NEWS, GALLERIES AND COMMENTARY

September 20, 2011 - From Dr. Paul Wright

The first three weeks of our fall semester have already sped by and it is high time that I send out a quick update of happenings at Jerusalem University College. 

I suppose that the first thing I should note is that even though “votes and rumors of votes” are filling the air, with uncertainty as to what the response in Israel and the Palestine Territories will (or should) be to actions taken  (or not taken) at the UN later this week, the current tenor of things here is very quiet. As an example, I had originally scheduled the Samaria trip for our Physical Settings of the Bible class to be this coming weekend, which would have ended up being just after the anticipated UN vote on Palestinian statehood. Not wanting to cancel the trip yet feeling the need for prudence and precaution, I moved that trip up one week so that it would happen prior to the vote. So yesterday nearly the entire student body visited Shiloh, Mount Gerazim, the sites of Shechem and Jacob’s Well in Nablus, and Samaria/Sebaste. We saw no sign of unrest or concern anywhere, and simply had a wonderful day.  

Our enrollment this semester is a healthy 75 students, half graduate students, half undergrads. Associated schools sending students this fall include Colorado Christian University, Columbia International University, Fuller Theological Seminary, Geneva College, Gordon College, Indiana Wesleyan University, Kuyper College, LeTourneau University, Messiah College, Northwest Nazarene University, Northwestern College, Philadelphia Biblical University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Taylor University, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Westmont College and Wheaton College.  

About a third of our semester students are involved in off campus ministries of various kinds. We place high value on service-learning opportunities in the community, and are pleased that so many of our students are helping to make a real impact in the lives of others.
 

Many of you are familiar with our efforts over the past few years to renew the lease of our campus, the Bishop Gobat property, on Mount Zion. I am pleased and grateful to announce that in August I was able to sign a contract extending our rights to the property through the year 2029. Praise God! His faithfulness is evident in the many generations of servant-leaders, students and benefactors who have given tireless and sacrificial efforts over the years to encourage build and sustain Jerusalem University College – Institute of Holy Land Studies on Mount Zion. With a sound budget, a firm reputation and a location that is literally rooted in the bedrock of Jerusalem, by the grace of God and your faithful support we look forward to generations ahead. 

We are pleased that Dr. Byron Curtis of Geneva College is this semester’s visiting professor. He is teaching the class Judah’s Exile and Restoration and working on a sabbatical project on the history of the interpretation of the book of Zechariah.  

Among our course offerings this academic year are Canaanite Dialects (in the Fall semester) and Comparative Semitics (next Spring). Both are taught by Dr. Eldon Clem.  

This fall no less than nine of our MA students are working on, or preparing to work on, theses. This is nearly an unprecedented number for the graduate program at JUC. Here are some of their titles or topics. As you can see, they span the fields of archaeology, geography, history, literature and language, during both the Old Testament and New Testament periods and beyond.

• Sang Yeup Chang—Methods of Fortification Systems in Israel in the Tenth Century BC
• Chris McKinny—A Geo-political Analysis of Jehoshaphat’s Alliance with Ahab
• Seth Hague—A Catalog and Analysis of Directional Terms in Biblical Hebrew
• Emily Thomassen—Geographical Movements of Elijah and Jesus
• Justin Kelley—A Catalog and Analysis of Iron Age II Black Juglets
• Amanda Kelley—Roman Glass in Jerusalem
• Ben Burandt—The State of Scholarship regarding the Pharisees and their Relationship to the Sages and Rabbis in the Taanatic Period

In the process of organizing our library holdings we ended up with two rows of empty shelving in the reading room, too high to use for books but not too high to create a new archaeological display. Next time you are on campus stop by the library to have a look at a nice representative collection of jars, plates and bowls from the Early Bronze Age through the Byzantine Period.  

Cameron Simon, who is the point person in Jerusalem for our Short-Term programs, is on the road these weeks visiting several schools in our consortium. To all who have received him with such grace and hospitality, I thank you very much! He reports to me that interest in Jerusalem-based study programs remains high. We, the oldest and best positioned Evangelical school for higher education in the area, are ready to help you meet your goals for off-campus study programs in Israel. 

On a personal note I would like to mention (again!) the wedding this past August of Diane and my oldest, Jessica, to Kenneth VenOsdel, in Willmar, MN. I had the privilege of conducting the ceremony. Congratulations to the happy couple! 

With blessings from Jerusalem, 

Dr. Paul Wright
President, Jerusalem University College

OUR CLASSROOM - click picture for gallery