Vice-Chairman, Dr. Ken Alberts - It was the first week of March 1978 when my wife, Marian, and I arrived at what was then known as the Institute of Holy Land Studies. Little did we know the three week short term program was going to impact our lives indelibly. With a lifetime of attending Sunday school, three year's of study at Providence Bible Institute (now Gordon College) and four years at Northwestern University, the prospect of finally seeing the land of the Bible was very exciting. The legacy of that trip, after arriving back home, was a completely reorganized "database." A new wealth of visual images and information brought added riches to our life experience and enhanced our ability to serve the Church of Jesus Christ beyond words.

In 1988 I was asked to serve on the Board of Directors. Though the school was very small and struggling at that time, its mission was clear and the vision to see it fulfilled was firmly in place.  The impact that Jerusalem University College has had on the life experience of past students and the present student body is very real.  And the impact of JUC on Christian education continues to be felt in many contexts.  One can scarcely examine the faculty credentials in the academic catalogs of most Evangelical Christian Colleges and Seminaries and not find someone who has had training at JUC/IHLS.  And Bible translators in many different agencies have enhanced their ability to understand and translate as a result of their studies of biblical backgrounds, history and the geographical context of Scripture at JUC.

Jerusalem University College has needed to adapt to the changing political, economic and cultural realities of the Middle East and of Israel many times throughout five decades of service to the church and Christian Education.  However, that special and unique mission, to provide Christian students an opportunity to study and enhance their understanding of the Bible by actually being in the land of the Bible and taking advantage of the incredible resources found there. And also to grow their understanding of the cultures of that land, by studying and interacting with the people of those cultures, remains as clear today as it has been throughout those decades.  I can assure you that the vision to see this mission fulfilled is firmly in place among an outstanding Board of Directors.