Alumni News - December 2024
Dr. Leroy Hurt – BGU Alumni Association President
- Passing on of the Baton -

Dr. Hurt has stepped down from the role of President of the Alumni Association, effective December 2024, due to personal issues which require his dedicated attention and which have been affecting the time required to effectively function in the role of Alumni President. This decision which seemed to be a difficult one for Dr. Hurt was shared with the attendees of the December 11th meeting of the Alumni Association which was preceded by a meeting with BGU Chancellor, Dr. Brad Smith and BGU President, Dr. McCabe where a similar announcement was made.

The baton of leadership of the BGU Alumni Association has now been passed on to Dr. Marlene Hines, Alumni Vice-president. She will assume the role of Alumni President effective, January 2025.

The membership of the BGU Alumni Association and leadership of BGU take this opportunity to thank Dr. Hurt for his dedicated, committed and sacrificial service that he has given to the Association throughout his tenure and hope that he will be available in the future to serve as an active member of the leadership of the Association in whatever form possible. Our prayers are with you and your family at this time. A detailed article in honor of Dr. Hurt’s contribution to the growth, development and successes of the BGU Alumni Association will be published at a later date.

BGU Alumni Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2025
– Call for Alumni to Join the Planning Team -

Theme: The Christian Church, the Community and Wholistic Health and Wellness.

(This supports the Alumni Association 2025 theme: Toward flourishing in mind and spirit.)

Presentation Topics:

  • Spiritual Health and Formation

  • Physical Health and the Christian Life

  • Mental Health and Resilience

  • Community Engagement and Health Equity

  • Social and Relational Wellness

  • Faith and Wellness in Ministry

  • Christian Approaches to Healing and Wholeness

  • Intellectual Wellness and Lifelong Learning

The intent is to have one 15-minute PowerPoint presentation from 4-6 of the topics listed above which are reports of related thesis or projects of BGU alumni at both the Masters and doctoral levels.

A formal call for presentations and also for BGU alumni authors who wish to promote their publications during the AGM, will be sent out in January 2025.

Tentative Date: April 26, 2025

We may have two meetings for the day in order to facilitate alumni, associates and friends who are located in different time zones, but this depends on the availability of expertise to assist with the virtual hosting of the event.

Tentative Time:

Asia/Australia/India on Saturday morning (Friday night in Central and Eastern time):

8:00 PM US Central

07:30 AM Myanmar

9:00 AM Singapore

11:00 AM Sydney

USA/Europe/Africa/Middle East on Saturday evening (Saturday morning in Central and Eastern time):

NOTE: Meeting will be on April 26, keeping original times.

11:00 AM US Central

5:00 PM Lagos/London

6:00 PM Budapest

7:00 PM Addis Ababa/Ankara

The hosting of this alumni event on the projected date is an ambitious effort and will only be possible if more members of the BGU community come on board. We therefore are calling on you all to come out to the monthly meetings when possible or just send an email to indicate your interest in making a contribution of your time, knowledge and expertise to the success of this venture at this address bgualumni@gmail.com.

The association meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 2:00pm US Central Time. Our next meeting is therefore scheduled for January 8, 2025 at 2:00pm Central. Please look out for the meeting notice.