The document discusses support for Africa University from the Wisconsin Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. It describes how the conference has consistently met or exceeded its financial goal for the university through investments and personal commitments of time and service from clergy and lay people. Individuals highlighted include Rev. Dr. Chomingwen Pond who served on the theology faculty, Rev. Dr. Earl Lindsay who fundraised for 25 years, and Mary Beth Byrne who volunteered on campus for two years and designated scholarships in her trust. The conference demonstrates long-term commitment to the vision and growth of Africa University.

1. The people and churches of the Wisconsin
Annual Conference have supported Africa
University’s vision to become a world class
university for leadership development for years,
by not only investing funds, but also making
personal commitments to serve.
For more than a decade, the annual
conference’s investment in the Africa
University Fund apportionment has exceeded
100 percent of the asking. Even as episcopal
leaders have come and gone, the conference has
maintained an unwavering commitment to the
university’s establishment and expansion.
“Bishop Hee-Soo Jung is one of our most
deeply connected ‘connectional’ bishops. He
believes that we are one global church and will
do everything to support world-changing
projects,” said Rev. Dan Dick, assistant to the
bishop.
Nearly 500 churches in the conference meet
their annual apportionment for the university
in Zimbabwe, which was founded in 1988 and
now has over 1,500 students enrolled.
e vision of building Africa University
caught the Rev. Dr. Chomingwen Pond’s
attention immediately, and the Wisconsin
native and first woman ordained as an elder by
the conference wanted to go there and serve.
Her dream came true when she served on the
faculty of theology from 1995-1997. In
addition, she has continued to provide
financial support and maintain relationships
with former students who are now church
leaders in Angola, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Rev. Dr. Earl Lindsay, former pastor of First
UMC in West Allis, Wisconsin, is also
committed to sustaining and expanding Africa
University. “When I heard about the university,
I saw a new opportunity for the denomination
to witness to Christ,” he said. After spending
nearly 25 years fundraising for the school, the
85-year-old retired clergyman took a 23-hour
trip to see for himself what God has done in
Zimbabwe.
Mary Beth Byrne, a retired deaconess,
recently returned from volunteering as a
counselor for two years on the Zimbabwe
campus. She and her late husband, Alan,
designated a percentage of their trust to
scholarships for AU. “Every United Methodist
should be proud of this quality institution of
higher learning that they have had a part in
building,” she said.
Still Building the Dream: Wisconsin Conference Supports Africa University
100%SUPPORT
Summer/Fall2015
Thank you for supporting Africa University through
your 100 percent remittance of the Africa University
Fund apportionment in 2014. Here is the listing of
Annual Conferences with 100 percent or more in
2014 (with 2013 performance for comparison):
North Central Jurisdiction 2014 2013
Dakotas 100%
East Ohio 100% 100%
Illinois Great Rivers 100% 100%
Iowa 100% 106.5%
Minnesota 100% 100%
West Michigan 100% 100%
West Ohio 100% 100%
Wisconsin 130.46% 131.68%
Jurisdiction Total Support 91.25% 95.36%
Northeastern Jurisdiction 2014 2013
Baltimore-Washington 100% 100%
Greater New Jersey 100% 100%
New England 100% 100%
New York 100% 100%
Peninsula-Delaware 100.43% 100%
Susquehanna 100%
West Virginia 100% 100%
Western Pennsylvania 100% 100%
Jurisdiction Total Support 95.76% 93.75%
South Central Jurisdiction 2014 2013
Central Texas 100% 100%
Oklahoma Indian Missionary 100% 100%
Rio Grande 100%
Southwest Texas 100% 100%
Jurisdiction Total Support 89.22% 89.04%
Southeastern Jurisdiction 2014 2013
Florida 100% 100%
Holston 100% 100%
Kentucky 100%
North Carolina 100% 100%
Red Bird Missionary 100% 100%
South Carolina 102.98% 100.39%
Tennessee 100% 121.89%
Jurisdiction Total Support 91% 91.70%
Western Jurisdiction 2014 2013
Alaska United Methodist 100% 100%
California Pacific 100%
Desert Southwest 100% 100%
Oregon Idaho 100%
Rocky Mountain 100%
Jurisdiction Total Support 91.78% 86.25%
CELEBRATING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN AFRICA UNIVERSITY AND UNITED METHODIST CONGREGATIONS

2. The Pacific Northwest Conference Jubilate!
Choir Endowed Chair in Music at Africa
University has awarded a grant of $10,000 for
music training at AU during the 2015-2016
academic year.
e first annual distribution of funds from
the endowed chair marks the realization of a
long-held dream for the members of the Jubilate!
Choir, which was organized by the annual
conference 47 years ago. e choir made the
pledge of an endowed chair in music at the
official opening of Africa University in Mutare,
Zimbabwe in 1994.
“e music of Africa has touched us so
deeply,” said Patty Jones, a choir member and
driving force behind the effort. “To be able to
know that training in music at Africa University
will continue to grow through this chair is
wonderful and exciting.”
Over the past 20 years, choir members and
local congregations in the Pacific Northwest
Annual Conference have regularly added to their
original gift of $31,118 to fund the endowment.
“is is the first campaign that successfully
utilized planned giving vehicles – two gift
annuities, one life insurance designation and a
will bequest – to meet its goal of $400,000.00,”
said Elaine Jenkins, director of planned giving in
the Africa University Development Office. She
noted that planned gifts accounted for more than
half of the total funds raised for the endowed
chair in music.
“is endowment is an enduring legacy from
the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference for
Africa University,” said Tom Richardson, director
of four Jubilate! Choir tours to Africa University
from 1992 to 2013. “e Dream is Alive is both a
song and a reality [thanks to the endowment].”
Jubilate!, which began in 1978, has been the
source of summer worship/arts events, world
choir tours and currently the weekend
workshops of the Jubilate! Worship Arts
Institute, headed by the Rev. Carol Mariano.
e Pacific Northwest Conference Jubilate!
Choir Endowed Chair in Music at Africa
University remains open to contributions and
planned gifts made through the Pacific
Northwest Conference Treasurer’s Office and
the Africa University Development Office.
Jubilate! Choir Awards Music Training Grant
Africa University Today — Summer/Fall 2015
How You Can Help
Located at Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, Africa University
is the first fully accredited United Methodist-
related educational institution in Africa, established by
action of the General Conference. The university offers
bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in six
faculties of learning: agriculture and natural
resources, education, health sciences, humanities
and social sciences, management and administration,
and theology. The Institute of Peace, Leadership and
Governance offers post-graduate diplomas and
master’s programs.
Africa University continues to be the evidence of faith,
hope and belief in the visions of dreamers. We are
counting on you! Encourage your church to set a 100
percent apportionment remittance goal. Sending a
portion of your goal each month makes it easier to
reach full remittance by year’s end. Your church’s 100
percent apportionment remittance means 100 percent
Continued next page.
Longtime friends and colleagues of Dr. Magnolia
(Maggie) Jackson are working to honor her
leadership contributions and voluntary service
within and beyond e United Methodist
Church by endowing a scholarship in her name
at Africa University.
Dr. Jackson is a professor emeritus at
Cleveland State University and former director
of the school’s social work department.
e scholarship endowment effort is being
spearheaded by the Rev. Dr. William L.
McFadden, a fellow member of the East Ohio
Annual Conference, who has served with
Dr. Jackson on the Africa University Advisory
Development Committee.
e goal of the campaign is to invest
$150,000 to provide the income for one
annual scholarship in perpetuity for a student
enrolled at the university.
Launch gifts totaling more than $25,000
have already been received. For more
information or to make a gift to the endowed
scholarship fund in honor of Dr. Jackson, visit
www.support-africauniversity.org.
New Endowed Scholarship to Honor Dr. Maggie Jackson

3. Africa University (AU) expects to increase the
number of African countries comprising its
student body through a partnership with the
African Leadership Academy (ALA).
e leadership academy is helping to enroll
and financially support academically talented
African students at Africa University.
ALA, the continent’s only pan-African high
school, seeks to transform Africa by developing
the next generation of African leaders.
Professor Munashe Furusa, Africa
University's vice chancellor, says the schools’
relationship is a rewarding one.
“Our partnership with the African
Leadership Academy (is) an ideal initiative and
opportunity for Africa University to secure the
brightest scholars from the academy and
provide them with a quality education,” Furusa
said. “We have a shared mission to develop
leaders for Africa. …e partnership allows us
to maintain and enhance our diversity.”
Six students sent by the academy currently
are enrolled at AU. By 2017, AU anticipates an
enrollment of 20 students from ALA.
Shared goals, such as leadership development
and fostering cooperation to create lasting
positive change in Africa, are the foundation of
the collaboration.
“Our expectation is that they (the students)
will be serious-minded individuals, ready to
learn and excel in their studies so that they can
rise and shine in their communities and give
back to their nations,” said Soladoye Ajiboye,
registrar of Africa University.
Partnership with ALA to Strengthen Diversity
Graduate Attributes Success to His AU Training
support of Africa University’s operational budget, for
costs such as utilities, equipment and faculty salaries.
Consider these additional ways of helping the university
educate new leaders for the nations of Africa:
Planned Gifts are the foundation for the long-term
survival of Africa University. As you make your estate
plans, consider leaving a gift or bequest to Africa
University in your will. If you have already included the
university in your estate plans, please let us know so
we may welcome you to the Richard E. “Dick” Reeves
Legacy Society.
Usahwira—This word in the Shona language means
“a beautiful friendship.” Encourage your local church to
become a partner with Africa University by supporting
one student at the university for four years. The annual
cost of supporting one undergraduate student is just
under $6,000. Local churches may provide full or
partial scholarships.
Endowment Fund—Give to the Africa University
Endowment Fund (World Service Special Gift #03-01-
88). The interest income from the endowment provides
scholarships for our students.
For more information about giving opportunities or to
make a gift, visit us at support-africauniversity.org.
To learn about Africa University and its impact, visit
africau.edu.
Let’s work together to
continue the transformation
of lives and of Africa. To
order resources to help
tell the story of the Africa
University Fund
apportionment, visit umcgiving.org or infoserv.um.org.
Or, call United Methodist Communications, toll-free
(888) 346-3862, during normal business hours.
Available resources include:
• Africa University: A Place of Peace, Learning and
Hope DVD (600115)
• Africa University Fund:
Pieces of the Dream DVD (600512)
• We are Africa University (600611)
How you can help... continued.
Africa University Development Office
P.O. Box 340007
Nashville, TN 37203-0007
(615) 340-7438
audevoffice@gbhem.org
www.support-africauniversity.org
Ezequiel Marcos Nhantumbo
is using his Africa University
(AU) education to resolve major
challenges in Mozambique.
A 1996 graduate of AU,
Nhantumbo was born in rural
Mozambique, the fifth of six
children in a devout Methodist
family. roughout his early life,
Nhanthumbo’s parents struggled economically,
but showed an abundance of faith.
As a youth, Nhantumbo worked on the
family farm, but he knew the only way to get
ahead and secure his future was to earn his
college degree. AU was his number one choice.
“When I got to Africa University, I made the
decision to major in agriculture and natural
resources since I knew a great deal about
farming,” he said. “It was important that I learn
how to solve problems of food security for
people in my own land.”
He remembers his time at AU fondly. “As a
student, lecturers conducted discussions on
multi-cultural and multi-racial perspectives,”
Nhantumbo said. “What I
particularly enjoyed was how the
professors included students in
their lectures. e fact that
professors could learn a great deal
from their students was a
blessing!”
Today, Nhantumbo is the
representative of the
Mozambique-Missouri Initiative with the
United Methodist Church in Mozambique.
“AU taught me how to be proactive, adaptable,
a good communicator, respectful, resourceful,
organized, and capable of initiating things. I
will always be thankful to AU for instilling in
me these keys to my success,” he said.
He is putting his degree to good use.
“rough infrastructure I have helped to create,
congregations are worshipping in decent
chapels; communities and churches are being
supplied with potable water; malaria is on the
way to being eradicated; and the majority of
children and elderly people now have shelter,
food and clothing,” Nhantumbo said.

4. General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
Africa University Development Office
e United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 340007
Nashville, TN 37203-0007
Cheryl LaTanya Walker
is in her 11th year as
Director of African
American Ministries at
Discipleship Ministries,
formerly the General Board
of Discipleship. Her
portfolio includes leadership
formation and resource
development. A film project
produced under her
leadership, Reflect, Reclaim, Rejoice: Preserving
the Gift of Black Scared Music, won a regional
Emmy for best documentary.
Born in Chicago, and a third generation
United Methodist, Cheryl has always been
active in congregations where she held
membership – Fernwood UMC in Chicago and
Ben Hill UMC in Atlanta, her current church.
Cheryl earned a bachelor’s degree in
psychology and master’s degree in counseling
from Chicago State University. Because of her
life-long activism within the
denomination, she received an
Honorary Doctorate of Humane
Letters from Gammon eological
Seminary/Interdenominational Center
in May 2014.
Cheryl’s involvement with AU
began in 1991 when she chaired the
missions work area at Ben Hill. She
led a Volunteer in Mission team to
Kenya and Zimbabwe in 1992 and
became an outspoken and effective advocate
for AU. Partly in response to her advocacy,
Ben Hill built a dormitory on campus in 2002
for female students.
Cheryl has been a member of the AU
Advisory Development Committee since 1998,
cultivating friends and raising funds. In 2002,
she was one of the first to make a planned gift
to the university, designating AU the
beneficiary of a life insurance policy. “Africa
University is a place where dreams and hopes
are being realized every day, not only for Africa
but also for the world. I am proud to be a part
of this transforming institution,” Cheryl said.
Africa University Spotlight: Dr. Cheryl LaTanya Walker
Africa University Today — Summer/Fall 2015
The AU Today is published
by the Africa University
Development Office, in
partnership with the Office
of Communications, General
Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM).
For more information, contact the:
Africa University Development Office
P.O. Box 340007
Nashville, TN 37203-0007
Tel: (615) 340-7438
Fax: (615) 340-7290
Email: audevoffice@gbhem.org
support-africauniversity.org.
Elaine Jenkins, Director of Planned Giving
Africa University
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