Higher Education Initiative

The Higher Education Initiative builds mutually supportive partnership and collaborative efforts among historically related institutions to United Methodist Women. Most of them share the common mission goal of United Methodist Women – empowering women through education. 

The colleges and universities that are a part of the Higher Education Initiative are:

• Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan   
• Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Pakistan   
• Hiroshima Jogakuin University, Hiroshima, Japan   
• Fujian Hwa Nan Women’s College, Fujian, China   
• Harris Memorial College, Taytay, Philippines   
• Mary Johnston College of Nursing-Philippines Christian University, Manila, Philippines   
• Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea   
• Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow, India   
• Kwassui Women’s College, Nagasaki, Japan   
• UNIMEP – Methodist University of Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil   
• IMB – Bennett Methodist Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil   
• IPA - Porto Alegre Institute, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Bennett College for Women, North Carolina
• Clark Atlanta University, Georgia
• Huston-Tillotson University, Texas
• Paine College, Georgia
• Pfeiffer University, North Carolina
• Rust College, Mississippi

United Methodist Women works with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the United Board of Christian Higher Education in Hong Kong, SAR, P.R. of China and the Scranton Women’s Leadership Center in Seoul, Korea to create a wider network of support. United Methodist Women partners with the institutions to follow through the vision created in Higher Education Initiative gatherings.

The Scranton Center supports a scholarship program of the Higher Education Initiative institutions in the global south. This scholarship program also includes many of the institutions related to the Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia, Africa University, and newly established Mission Initiative countries of the General Board of Global Ministries: Mongolia, Vietnam and Cambodia.

History

The Women' Foreign Missionary Society, a predecessor organization of United Methodist Women, founded many institutions of learning for girls and women around the world. Some of these educational institutions developed into colleges and universities.

In November 2000, United Methodist Women invited representatives of 12 institutions of higher learning from around the world to come together. Nine from Asia and three from Latin America constituted the beginnings of the Higher Education Initiative.

Later, six institutions of higher education in the United States, which were also founded by the predecessors of United Methodist Women, were added to the international institutions.

Today, the Higher Education Initiative relates to 18 institutions, and the number increases as we continue to connect to institutions that have developed into higher education.