To more completely address the vocational needs of students and the vocational and leadership needs of regional churches and denominations, Hanover (Ind.) College launched the Center for Church Leadership (CCL) Jan. 1. A $500,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment, matched by the institution’s resources, created the CCL, allowing the college to build on the success of its vocational mentoring program.
“Through this new Center we will serve the college’s historical Presbyterian constituencies and tradition in meaningful and valuable ways,” said Jane Jakoubek, Ph.D., vice president and dean of academic affairs. Under the direction of Michelle Bartel, Hanover College chaplain and associate professor of theological studies, the CCL will develop collaborative programs that provide opportunities for students, clergy and laity in congregations in and around Indiana. The Center will recruit and engage more students who wish to enter Hanover’s pre-ministry program, students who will graduate to serve the church as ordained or lay leaders. At the same time, it will serve the needs of individuals and the church by strengthening relationships with those who recognize the value of producing leaders educated in the liberal arts.
“The Center will be a support, a place of resource,” Bartel said. “It will both deepen and draw on the liberal arts tradition of the college as it supports the life of the church. What we establish here will serve churches in the region with relevance and thereby offer relevance and support to churches across the country.” Bartel is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who has served as co-chaplain at Hanover since 2001. The author of What it Means to Be Human, Bartel earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at Princeton Theological Seminary and served as both a pastor and professor before coming to Hanover.
“The direction of the college is toward explicit collaborative efforts,” said Russell Nichols, now in his nineteenth year as president of Hanover College. “Hanover’s strategic plan, its Academic Vision Plan, the strategy of the Center for Business Preparation, the approach of the Rivers Institute at Hanover, and the recent affirmation by the trustees of the importance of paying increased attention to the college’s ties with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), all encourage significant attention to connecting students to external constituencies in ways that promote growth and build lasting relationships between the college and the society it serves.”
