The Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA) will soon be housed in a new 50-acre campus in Masoro, a Kigali neighborhood. Pastor Jan Paulsen, world president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, participated in a foundation-laying ceremony there May 12.

The new campus will replace one formerly operated by the Adventist church that is now occupied by Rwandan armed forces. The government has purchased the old campus from the church. Classes are being held in a downtown Kigali facility too small for the 840-student enrollment; that building will be retained as an extension campus.

"There were those that said we should walk away from operating a university here in Rwanda again, because of the political uncertainty of the country, but we should not and cannot," Paulsen said at the event. "And the loss of our property still causes me deep sadness, but the mission of the church urges us forward."

Jozsef Szilvasi, AUCA rector, welcomed Pastor Paulsen and other distinguished guests, saying, "The University enjoys an excellent reputation in the eyes of both the government and the community, so much so that the existing city campus will be kept for continuing education purposes."

In his address, Paulsen said that "although other universities have academic value, an Adventist university has an added value, that of the spiritual. We believe in the holistic development of the individual in our pursuit of excellence."

The Adventist world church president then quoted physicist Albert Einstein's comment that "'it is the supreme task of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression, joyous in finding knowledge, in exciting discoveries and in finding God,'" adding, "we want to make our education a supreme testimony to His greatness. My appeal to the teachers is, use your influence wisely and to the very best of your ability."

An estimated 1 million Adventist Christians, including 400,000 baptized adult members worship weekly in about 3,000 local congregations in Rwanda. [John T.J. Banks and Christian B. Schaeffler for ANN/APD]