The People of Our Mission

Learn more about the individuals whose achievements, dedication and generosity are at the heart of the United Board’s work.

Judith Berling

Insights from Our New Board Chair
Our new board chair reflects upon her career, her United Board service, and how the United Board can best support higher education in Asia.

Strategic Planning: Strong Relationships and Shared Goals

Interview with Anthony Ruger, United Board Trustee
Strategic planning emphasizes the “intellectual” work of assessing strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats – the SWOT analysis – but often overlooks the equally important “relationship” work. That’s been the experience of Anthony Ruger, a United Board trustee and member of its Development Committee.

Mark Raygan Garcia, Silliman University

A New Perspective on the Asian Region
The Philippines has embarked on a major transition in education, and that is creating an opportunity for academic professionals like Mark Raygan Garcia to take a fresh look at their roles in higher education. Mr. Garcia is enrolled in the Master of Public Policy and Governance, with Social Policy Specialization program at the Education University of Hong Kong.

Wutien Peng, Tunghai University

The Golden Age of My Life
“I consider my time at Tunghai to be the golden age of my life,” Wutien Peng, a retired economics professor and member of Tunghai University’s Class of 1962 recalls. Tunghai’s emphasis on whole person education created a lasting impression on Dr. Peng, one that guided him through his career as an economics professor at the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin, and other institutions.

Herbert S. Corpuz, University of St. Louis

An Educator and a Global Citizen
Herbert S. Corpuz considers himself to be a global citizen, so when he learned about the United Board Visiting Lecturers Program (VLP), he seized the chance to spend a few months at Kachin Theological College and Seminary in Myanmar. “It has always been my dream to learn about the cultures of different people through actual immersion in their community while serving them through sharing my expertise,” he says.

Xiang Rong, Yunnan University

Service Learning: Integrating Academics and Practice
“If there is no United Board, I would have no idea of service learning,” reflected Xiang Rong, an associate professor of social work at Yunnan University. But since she was first introduced to the concept by Birgit Linder, then serving as the United Board’s China/Hong Kong program director, Dr. Xiang and her colleagues have made service learning a key part of their social work curriculum.

David York

Growing from Strength to Strength
David York’s support for the United Board began in 2012, but his connection to the United Board actually goes back much further. In the 1940s, Mr. York’s father attended St. John’s University in Shanghai, one of the 13 Chinese Christian universities that comprised the United Board’s earliest network.

Mary Hazeltine

A Family History of Bridging Cultures
As a young child, Mary Hazeltine lived in Chengdu when Nanking University relocated to western China during the years of Japanese occupation. Despite wartime conditions, her father, William P. Fenn, saw opportunities for his students. “The picture of China that Allied soldiers got was limited,” she said during a recent interview. “So students at the Christian universities were a kind of bridge between the two cultures. “

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Whole Person Education: Engaging the Eyes, Mind, Feet, Hand and Heart
Whole person education cultivates both values and knowledge, so that students may use their college or university training to improve their communities as well as to advance their professional careers. This approach resonates with the United Board’s mission of promoting Christian presence in higher education, which is grounded in the belief that each person deserves to grow as a whole person – physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually.