September 16, 1998

 

Contacts: Harold Brown, San Diego State University (SDSU), 594-6437 Pastor Andre Henderson, Highland Park Church, 267-4948 Marisa Vallbona, Union Bank of California, 467-7990

 

It's Back to School for Black Emerging Church Leaders Thanks to SDSU, Union Bank, Local Pastor

 

As SDSU's campus greeted 11,400 excited and enthusiastic freshmen, it also greeted ten black, hardworking excited church leaders who plan to emerge as Community Economic Development (CED) practitioners for their communities.

What is different about these ten people is that they are working adults and church leaders who have enrolled in SDSU's CED Program, which is a certificate program offered by the University's College of Business Administration.

The ten emerging black ministers along with twenty-eight other class members will complete the year-long program that SDSU started three years ago to give students an understanding of business and economic concepts along with leadership skills, and how to apply that understanding to the development of neighborhoods and communities.

Union Bank of California is paying the tuition costs for the ten minister-bound students who are currently leading members of their respective churches. Bob McNeely, Sr. Vice President for Union Bank of California said, "Union Bank is proud to join with SDSU in offering this unique idea of providing church pastors and emerging pastors with an education in the area of economic development for our communities. The idea is to use this year as a pilot program and then SDSU will offer it to the entire San Diego area."

Andre Henderson, a recent graduate of SDSU's CED Program and Pastor of Highland Park Church, presented the idea to Hal Brown, SDSU Associate Dean and Director of the CED Program, who had been nurturing this idea for a number of years. They approached Union Bank for funding and after a year received the bank's approval of the requested $11,500 for tuition costs.

"Black churches have a history and tradition of being the key resource in providing leadership to their communities," said Henderson, "and SDSU's fantastic program in community economic development will help us pastors be even more effective leaders."

The CED Program began its fourth class on September 12th. For more information about the program, call 619 594-6437.

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