Announcements
April 7, 2021
Wilberforce International Institute is excited to welcome a new faculty member, Dr. Sylvanus A. Ayeni, who will be working with the Institute as a Faculty Associate and the Coordinator for our Africa Working Group. The Africa Working Group focuses on empowering African and African diaspora mentees. The Africa Working Group is a critical part of Wilberforce and its vision to train international students, past and present, to be Redemptive Change Agents in their own societies. Dr. Ayeni brings both passion and vision to his new role. As a past speaker at the 2019 Global Summit, Dr. Ayeni is well known to many of our mentees.
Dr. Ayeni is a retired neurosurgeon, university faculty, and has been involved in development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa for many years. He is the author of: RESCUE THYSELF: Change In Sub-Saharan Africa Must Come From Within. Dr. Kevin Cooney, President of Wilberforce International Institute, praised Dr. Ayeni, “I am excited to have such a talented and passionate man helping guide our mentees. Dr. Ayeni has a heart for God and the two great commandments, ‘Love the Lord your God…and your neighbor as yourself’ as a guiding passion of his life. I know that he will be a blessing and inspiration to our mentees in their callings to be God’s Redemptive Change Agents.”
When asked about his new role at Wilberforce, Dr. Ayeni had this to say, “I have been in this arena for more than three decades. I have firsthand experience from the poorest village to near the highest levels of power in Africa. My intention is to work with the mentees to achieve their goals as seamlessly as possible and offer advice and guidance. Our Heavenly Father has blessed the continent of Africa with everything it needs ‘to be fruitful and multiply.’ My hope is that one day, Africa would rid itself of the culture of dependency and with God’s help I can see the Wilberforce mentees moving this process forward.” Please welcome Dr. Ayeni. You may contact him at sylvanus.ayeni@wilberforceii.org .
Short Bio of Dr. Sylvanus A. Ayeni
Dr. Ayeni is a retired neurosurgeon who was born and raised in Nigeria. He graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria. This was followed by two years of general surgery training at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, and residency training in neurosurgery at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals, Madison, Wisconsin. He then undertook research fellowships in Fulda, Germany and Osaka, Japan. As a doctor, he worked as a civilian neurosurgeon for the US Navy and was on the faculty at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha Nebraska. Dr. Ayeni has been involved in development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa for many years at all levels of society. He is the author of: RESCUE THYSELF: Change In Sub-Saharan Africa Must Come From Within. Married with three children and two grandchildren; he resides in Maryland, USA.
March 23, 2021
Wilberforce International Institute is excited to announce our first ever webinar series! This series is designed to focus on different aspects of the Christian Worldview. We initially planned to make this available just for our international mentees but as it developed we realized that it would be a blessing to many others. We have lined up an incredible list of speakers with one webinar being held each month April through November 2021. Our first webinar is next week on Friday April 2nd at 7 PM Central time here in the USA (We are timing it so our Asian mentees can log-on on Saturday morning April 3rd in Asia) with our very own Dr. Bob Osburn speaking about “WHY Corruption Matters” to our Christian worldview.
We look forward to “seeing” you online next Friday and in the coming months. Here is the link:
OR you can use this link:
https://zoom.us/j/94865726488?pwd=VmtETnYxK1MvVWlzQ25oaDdvSWxFUT09
For the full list of speakers and the dates please see the Programs page.
January 27, 2021
Wilberforce International Institute is excited to welcome a new faculty member, Jenny Jee-El Park, who will be working with the Institute as an Academic Fellow and Artist-in-Residence. Jenny is a world class pianist and is active in Southern California as soloist, chamber musician, educator, producer, and arranger. One of the goals of Wilberforce International Institute is to be a resource of ideas across the spectrum of God’s Creation with a Christian worldview. What Jenny brings to Wilberforce is a brilliant gift and is a wonderful resource for the role of music in worldview formation. Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables, once said, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”
When it comes to music and her Christian worldview, Jenny finds it impossible to be silent! Institute President, Dr. Kevin Cooney, had this to say about Jenny, “Jenny is remarkably talented and gifted with a passion for music that is only exceed by her passion for God. She will be a great asset in broadening the Christian worldview offerings of Wilberforce International Institute to our internationals and supporters. We have sorely needed someone to articulate a Christian worldview towards music and Jenny is the perfect fit for us. God has truly blessed us.” Wilberforce Senior Fellow, Dr. Bob Osburn had this to say, “Jenny Park brings a Spirit-empowered passion for music that has been cultivated in some of America’s finest musical institutions. Her passion is as remarkable as is her willingness to deploy that passion and her skills for the sake of Christ-animated redemptive change across the globe.”
Jenny has previously made multiple short term mission trips around the world to share God’s gift of music. When asked about how she planned to contribute to the mission of the Institute Jenny replied, “Ideas have consequences; but with music, they can be powerful. In shaping our worldview, we need a ‘wholistic’ approach that combines ethos, logos, and pathos (goodness, truth, and beauty). It is my humble desire to offer something of value to this global collaboration. I am excited to join the Wilberforce community and very grateful for the fellowship. Looking forward to meeting you all.” You can hear a sample of Jenny’s music at: LIFT HIGH THE CROSS Please welcome Jenny at jenny@wilberforceii.org.
Jenny Jee-El Park short biography:
Active in Southern California as soloist, chamber musician, educator, producer and arranger, Jenny Jee-El Park received her B.M. in Piano Performance from Manhattan School of Music (formerly the Julliard School) and M.A. in Music Education from Teachers College of Columbia University. Since her first public recital at age 15 in Italy, Ms. Park made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1998 as the Winner of Artists International Special Presentation Award, followed by numerous concerts in Europe, Asia and throughout North America. In addition, her compositional work, “Lift High the Cross,” was published in 2017 under the Jubal House imprint, and distributed through the Fred Bock Music Company/Hal Leonard companies.
Born in South Korea she moved to the USA at the age of 12 with her parents who were missionaries to the Korea community in the New York metro area. Jenny currently resides in Southern California. She has worked at the Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center as music curriculum consultant and started a volunteer-based music program for the homeless children at the Orange County Rescue Mission. Formerly a faculty member of the United Nations International School, Vanguard University, Concordia Conservatory, and Bethesda University. Currently Jenny is teaching music online at Immanuel Bible College in Cebu, Philippines and for Union University International.