In this issue:

• CUAC Colleges respond to the hurricanes
• St. John's University of Technology, Taiwan, becomes a fully accredited University
• CUAC educational expedition to India

 I begin this issue with a brief message from Don Thompson, the General Secretary of CUAC:

Commentary
When disasters happen, we are revealed...
The natural disasters of last year's tsunami in the Indian Ocean and this year's hurricane on the American Gulf Coast both revealed much about their adjacent societies. They revealed strengths and weaknesses of local communities, assumptions about what larger governments are to do, how much it matters if you are rich or poor, and who in a society immediately goes to help and to heal. In both situations, Christians were clearly amongst those who were there immediately to help - but not universally so.  Governments were less than effective. And in survival, the rich fared far better than the poor. Is there not something to be learned here, about ourselves, our societies, and our faith? Even before the latest disaster, CUAC was planning an expedition of students to go to India, the site of the tsunami, and study the event and its aftermath. Especially since the American hurricane, the similarity of both disasters and the comparison of response will reveal much about both ourselves and our societies around the world. Look at the program "from Hurt to Health" on our web site. –Rev. Dr. Don Thompson

  CUAC Colleges respond to the hurricanes
The impact of the natural disasters in the US, which erased whole communities and towns, is still being evaluated and discussed. Of course, the loss of human lives, desperate search for the missing loved ones, and frantic efforts to save the lives of those who survived the hurricane but then found themselves without food or drinkable water – those are horrible conditions. However, these awful experiences of the Missisipi and Lousiana communities, are almost an everyday experience for the millions of women, men and children in dozens of countries. Paradoxically, the encounter with suffering and pain, the shared experience of the whole human race, brought the US closer to the rest of the world. Not unlike the tragedy of September 11, the common experience of suffering and helplessness in the face of a large scale disaster has a great potential to bring people closer.

 I don’t know what will be made of the great potential of a catastrophe to bring people closer on the national and international level, but I know that Episcopal Colleges and Universities have been able to find great redeeming value in the relief effort. Although University of the South (Sewanee, TN) was not affected by Katrina directly, that active CUAC member has the closest proximity to the site of the disaster. And many Sewanee graduates lived and worked in Louisiana. Indeed, some of Sewannee alumni, such as Rev. Stephen Hood of St. James Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, were directly impacted by the hurricane. This caused the immediate and extended Sewannee communities to reflect on the disaster and to participate in the relief effort in many efficient and creative ways. Donations to benefit victims of Katrina have been collected by the students; placements for displaced college students were offered; the alumni association started its own bulletin board offering shelter and temporary homes for those who lost their to the hurricane. For further details on Sewanee relief effort, click here.

 However, it was not just Sewanee, but all Episcopal colleges who showed their loyalty to the on-going tradition of solidarity with the poor and spirit of generosity. Thus, the students of Bard College collected food, clothes and funds for the victims. Bard accepted a number of the displaced students from the University of New Orleans. Kenyon College is admitting a limited number of students from the disaster area as do Hobart College, Voorhees College, Clarkson College, and St Paul College, all CUAC members. This list, however, is not exhaustive, as the momentum of the relief effort continues to build.

 St. John's Institute of Technology, Taiwan: another CUAC University upgraded!
On a separate note, momentum of a stream of good news seems to have built up as well. In the last issue I wrote about the upgrade of a number of UK Colleges and Cuttington College in Liberia to the status of a full University. And now I am please to announce that another CUAC member, St John’s and St. Mary’s Institute of Technology, Taiwan, was upgraded as well. For a full press release (and photos), click here.

 St. John’s University, formerly St. John’s and St. Mary’s Institute of Technology, located in Tamsui, Taiwan, celebrated an upgrade from Institute of Technology to University of Technology with ceremonies on August 1st.  Over 200 dignitaries, faculty, alumni, and government officials were in attendance for the day of activities.  The accreditation as a university of technology, which became official on August 1, 2005, was marked by a morning service with the Right Reverend David J.H. Lai presiding bishop in the Diocese of Taiwan addressing the audience. St. John’s University is a university of technology affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and is a member in good standing with the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion. Both President Dr. Yang and Bishop Lai attended CUAC conference last summer.

CUAC Expedition to India
Let me also remind you about an exciting expedition organized by CUAC. The Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC) is  organizing a trip to India over the Christmas holidays, to take a look at the  effect of the local and international concern that followed the devastating  Tsunami of December 26, 2004 across the Indian Ocean. Although there are obvious parallels with the effect of hurricane Katrina on the Gulf coast of the US, this expedition will look at the ways in which a society (and Christians) respond to massive destruction, and how it rebuilds itself. For details on the educational trip, click here.

The expedition will focus on the key Christian groups in India - the "Dalits" (the untouchables) who were most affected by the Tsunami, and how these communities responded to that crisis. Key to this will be examining India society and culture, and how groups of people interact and  interchange at critical times. Both coastal and inland communities will be visited. There will be obvious parallels to the response to hurricane Katrina in the US.

The Expedition is facilitated by the Rev. Winnie Varghese, Episcopal Chaplain at Columbia University and staffed by the faculty of Madras Christian College, Chennai, and Lady Doak College, Madurai. The program will have some theoretical input, blended with field visits and exposure trips. (-Rev. Dr. Don Thompson)

Sabina Alkire
Those folks who attended the Triennial Conference in June will remember a very finer and energetic presentation given by (The Rev. Dr.) Sabina Alkire, who is a priest and economist working for the Harvard Global Equity Project.
She has just co-authored a book directly along the same lines as her address to CUAC. It is entitled: What Can One Person Do? by Sabina Alkire and Edmund Newell.The book outlines the eight Millennium Development goals agreed to by the international community at the Millennium Summit in 2000. Alkire and Newell show how a shared vision grows and how these goals can be actually be accomplished. It is full of good news and possibility. It can be ordered from The Episcopal Book Store http://www.episcopalbookstore.org for $18.00 US. (--Rev. Dr. Don Thompson)

CUAC Australia Chapter Meeting
Finally, Australian chapter of CUAC held its meeting last week. They meet at the regular heads meeting for all Australian College and Halls last week to begin a conversation on what was possible for them to do as a group. However, more on that meeting in the next issue.

 If you would like to share news or announcements from your college or university, please send me an email, office@cuac.org.

 Sincerely yours,