Five undergraduate students will join the Division of Higher Education Leadership Fellows Program, a group of students preparing to take leadership roles as laypeople or ministers in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

DHE Leadership Fellows are selected based on their leadership potential, church participation, and academic promise. The five new Leadership Fellows, who will all be incoming freshmen during the 2004-2005 academic year, are:

	Jean Ellen Cowgill, a member of Central Christian Church and Crestwood Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., plans to attend Dartmouth College.
	Tiffany Curtis, who worships at Familia de fe Christiana in Downey, Calif., is a Claremont native who plans to major in international studies at Chapman University.
	Christopher Miller-McLemore, who worships at Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville, will attend Vanderbilt University.
	Mandy Ogunnowo, a member of First Christian Church of Lawrence, Kan., plans to major in marketing at Indiana Wesleyan University.
	Kelly Rand, a member of St. Andrew Christian Church in Olathe, Kan., plans to be a social work major at Texas Christian University.

“The purpose of the Division of Higher Education is to nurture men and women, both lay and clergy, for transformational leadership in the church and the wider human community through the church’s institutions of higher education,” said DHE president Dennis Landon. “We believe these students embody future leaders for our church and for society in general.”

Eighteen states and 67 students applying to more than 70 colleges and universities submitted applicatiosn for the Leadership Fellows Program. Thirteen institutions either in covenant or historically related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) were represented in the group of applicants.

“Selecting the Leadership Fellows gets more difficult every year,” Landon said. “That’s good news, because it shows our congregations are working hard to create and support young leaders. Because of the limited resources available, we could only award five fellowships, and that’s very unfortunate since we could have added 20 students based on their leadership potential alone. We had to turn down some great students who are already leading, but we take heart knowing these young leaders will certainly be part of our church’s future.”

Since the fellowships are renewable for up to three years, DHE plans to work with participants on developing their leadership skills through their undergraduate careers.

“In the three years since the Leadership Fellows program began, we have watched some of our fellows hear a call to ministry. While our program does not focus exclusively on recruiting students for the ministry, seven of the eight graduates in our first two classes are either working in the church now or have continued their educations in seminary,” Landon said. “We believe this program is just beginning to show its potential impact for the church – developing the young leaders, both in the pulpits and in the pews, the church needs in the coming years.”

This year’s fellows will receive a $2,000 grant for educational use. In addition, DHE Leadership Fellows will covenant with DHE to participate in planning and leading campus ministry programs or similar activities. The campus chaplain, director of church relations, ecumenical campus minister or another appropriate official will oversee this participation. DHE Leadership Fellows also attend annual leadership conferences; the next conference will be held November 12-14, 2004, at the Dayspring Conference Center in Ellenton, Fla.

The Division of Higher Education is changing its name to better reflect its ministry.

This summer, DHE will become Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The name change was approved by the DHE Board of Directors during its spring meeting in St. Louis.

“Before anything else, we are a ministry of the whole church focused on nurturing leaders for a faithful future,” said DHE President Dennis Landon. “We will continue our work with and on behalf of Disciples educational institutions and campus ministries, but we now understand that work in a larger context. We want to do everything in partnership with other institutions and ministries.”

The DHE Board of Directors has been examining DHE’s mission and vision over the past several years and realized the energy that would come from a name that reflected the ministry’s new direction. A task force led by Rev. John Nichols Rodenberg, pastor of Mayfair Christian Church in Stockton, Calif., made the recommendation to the full board.

“By changing our name at this time, we are steering a course in the new paradigm of ministry,” Rodenberg said. “We are hoping to meet the needs of the church and the communities it serves through higher education and leadership development.” In addition to Rodenberg, other members of the name change task force were Tim Lee of Torrance, Calif., and Brite Divinity School; Don Lucey of Pittsboro, N.C.; Paul Rivera of Locust Valley, N.Y; and Madge Vasquez of Austin, Texas.

In its role to develop leaders, the Division of Higher Education provides:

• Scholarship assistance and support for leadership training for undergraduate Disciples through the DHE Leadership Fellows program.
• Recognition of outstanding ministerial students through the Dewitt and Othel Fiers Brown awards.
• Support for Ph.D. students in religious studies through the Ann E. Dickerson Fellowships and the William Gilbert and Florence Leonard Jones Scholarship.
• Special needs funding for ministerial students.
• Networking opportunities through the Student Ecumenical Partnership (STEP) for thousands of Disciples students in both public and private colleges and universities.
• Coordination of recruiting efforts to make all Disciples aware of Disciples-related colleges and universities.
• Management of endowments from individuals and congregations that support future leaders, both in the pulpit and in the pews.
• Grants to support programs to enhance and strengthen the relationship between the church and the educational institutions.
• Forums where campus leaders can gather and create resources for their institutions, Disciples higher education, and the church as a whole.
• The T. A. Abbott Award recognizing excellence in teaching and scholarship.
• Ecumenical partnerships to broaden educational and spiritual horizons for students, faculty and administrators.